Jeju Oreum

Jeju Oreum (Hangul: 오름, Hanja: 岳) is a rising small defunct volcano in the Jeju Island in South Korea. The word "oreum" is the Jeju dialect which implies the parasitic cone [Hangul: 측화산, Hanja: 側火山 (also Hangul: 기생화산, Hanja: 寄生火山) and the origin of the word "oreum" is a noun type of the word "climb" (Hangul: 오르다). The name refers to a small volcano within a main volcanic crater in Jeju-do and is usually applied to the hill in Jeju. The cinder cone, symbolizing the oreum, is a typical form of Jeju Oreum. The Oreum is divided into pyroclastic cone, tuff cone and lava dome depending on the nature of volcanic eruptions. The pyroclastic cones are volcanic bodies formed by the accumulation of volcanic clusters released into the air by an explosive eruption.

More than 360 Oreums are distributed throughout Jeju Island from the mountains to the coast, centered on Mt. Halla. Their formation and preservation are due in part to the high permeability of the volcanic rock. Oreum is an indispensable object with Dol Hareubang (Hangul: 돌하르방) and is a symbol of Jeju Island. To the people of Jeju Island, it has been sacred as a site of folk religion. So, even now, in the areas, can be found traces of the site in which the villagers performed ancestral worship rituals. Oreum has also become the home of the villages as a base for people living in Jeju. The people gathered at the base of Oreums, planted the fields, farmed the fields, and raised livestock.

Efforts are being made to protect and manage Oreum as a target of sustainable development. It was designated as a Natural Monument (No. 444) in 2005 and was registered as a World Heritage Site in 2007 under the name of 'Geomunoreum Lava Cave System' in Korea. The Geomunoreum lava tube system (Hangul: 거문오름 용암동굴계) is one of Jeju's three locations to be designated as UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites.