3 Ways I Learned to Be Human from 5 Years on Jeju Island

Bliss, love, and natural beauty changed me after living in Jeju, South Korea for five years.

There is a beautiful island that I want you to know about. There are turquoise-blue waters lapping up on volcanic rock shores, dolphins that frolic (as long as they are able) off the coast, rolling rounded hills called oreums, wise old forests, and a high volcano that slopes up slowly into the clouds. There are also people who have endured unimaginable social hardships, the destruction of nature, and an influx of tourist development. It is a place that draws me and gives me the certainty that the Earth is alive and has a spirit that talks to us.

I lived in Jeju-do, South Korea, from 2011–2016. I arrived there when I was 29, thinking I’d teach there for one year, and ended up staying for five. I taught in public schools, hiked through breathtaking hills and coastal cliffs on weekends, and played at the beaches in the summers. I was married there. I had my daughter there. She and I have a lot that ties us to the magic of that place.

I am about to take you on a journey of bliss, love, and natural beauty, and tell you how those things changed my life for good.

Natural Beauty

In Jeju, I learned to slow down and enjoy the juiciness of life. In my life in the U.S., I have rarely been able to truly make the most of each day without stresses and expectations. I had few obligations in Jeju outside my job, and a whole island of wonder to play with. Ironically, Korean culture is often intertwined with obligations and duties that consume waking life, but in Jeju, one could learn to enjoy the simple side of life.

I was not tuned in to the noise of American news and media. People around me didn’t speak of it either. I believe that helped immensely.

I also did not own anything but a flip phone for half the time I lived there. This helped to quiet my mind and focus on my surroundings. The technology I owned served my inner creativity; I listened to music on my iPod and took my iPad Mini to cafes to write.

I ventured into the beauty of nature, which surrounded me always, as often as possible. I went alone most of the time. So much time walking silently in the woods, the oreums, and along coasts created a space inside me that allowed deep introspection. Sitting at beaches all afternoon until sunset reading a book and thinking allowed serenity to grow in me. Swimming in the waters or watching them lap up against jagged black rocks, I could feel the world speaking to me. While many other ex-pats spent every weekend together playing volleyball or frisbee, I felt that solitude called me to find myself.

I had friends who studied Buddhism extensively and attended a Won Buddhist temple every weekend. But that wasn’t the way for me — being around other people at that time in my life was not conducive to freedom. Getting off a bus alone after riding for an hour and walking right through someone’s tangerine orchard felt like freedom.

And so, without knowing it, I fell into the rhythm of nature in Jeju. Often, I think I must have been one with the island.

Love

Jeju was a place where I found a lot of love and learned about what love really means. While I did find romantic love there, that is not what I’m here to tell you about now. I found a deep connection with human beings who were thrust into my life and whose lives I was thrust into: my students. I taught high school ESL at three different schools over five years. My students taught me more about living a life that is worthwhile than I could have learned anywhere else.

My students were lively, showing, and causing me to feel every inch of the spectrum of human emotion. And they saw me for who I was — vulnerable, searching, and hoping to offer service to others. They laughed at my jokes and got me. They forgave me for my mistakes, and I never held any of theirs against them. I praised them when they had unique thoughts, and admittedly, for going against the ‘system’ to be movers and shakers (the same system that employed me). Their futures excited me, and I will always be grateful for the opportunity to be a part of their lives.

Because I was foreign, I could be different from them. And I got away with it. I didn’t have to be a strict or judgmental Korean high school teacher. I could be the ‘fun’ teacher because I taught my lessons with games, and English class was the only time they could learn through games. Most of the time they had to memorize things from books and practice endless equations. I gave them a moment of freedom, and a way for even the least confident student to participate in the community. It was truly beautiful.

They were my friends. Sure, students shouldn’t be friends with teachers, as they say. But I always wondered: who came up with that rule? I learned from these beautiful souls that we are all equals in this journey of life; some of us were just born a little earlier, chronologically. They had so much to teach me, and so many ideas and dreams about life in general. I felt full of happiness after work each day, which allowed me to live a fuller life.

These were children of the island. Many had lived on tangerine farms and coastal villages their whole lives. Nature had been whispering in their ears from a young age. How could they not be perfect?

Bliss

I believe that my personal energies were well aligned with purposeful and meaningful life in Jeju. Because of this, I was able to truly find inner peace.

I began to meditate for the first time in my life. Creating stillness in the mind, removing attachment to all things and thoughts, one day I felt it wash over me. It was a higher state of consciousness, where things had a different meaning than before — more meaning. I was able to watch the movements in the world around me with complete joy and without worrying about the outcomes of things. I was really ‘in the moment.’

It did not last forever, unfortunately, and I started to be attached again (I fell in love). Only now, years later, have I come back to that place where I can attain stillness again. I wrote about this experience more extensively earlier this year.

Jeju moved my life to new places. I miss it every day. But I had to leave. After I had my daughter, it became rough to stay there. I hope to take her back someday to the beautiful beaches and the people I knew with so much love in their hearts. This island taught me to love and enjoy natural beauty, and my soul will forever be entwined with it.

I write about healing, consciousness, and existence. I enjoy connecting with others who are waking up. I have a master’s in philosophy, metaphysics has always been my passion, and I have lived around the world. I also make websites like www.awakening-journeys.com.

The divine in me recognizes the divine in you.