We first learned about ‘Agast Yoga’ accidentally through a photograph. It showed people doing yoga in a large pavilion. It felt like their positive, healthy energy was palpable. The background was a thick rainforest, or so it seemed. It turned out that it was Jeju Island.
Agast Yoga mostly holds outdoor classes in a pavilion without walls. Only when the weather is bad, classes are moved indoors. We asked founder of Agast Yoga Yun Su-kyung about the outdoor training and its advantages. “You can listen to birds, butterflies, and rustling leaves while you’re training outdoors. In the evening, there are crickets. Smelling rosemary or lavender while doing yoga is also a plus. Sometimes the noise of tractors or passing cars would disrupt people’s focus. Mosquitoes are a nuisance in summer. All that, however, is up to a trainee who decides to choose this location for their practice.” 
Agast Yoga offers various modern yoga programs such as Yin yoga, Forest yoga, and Odaka yoga. When we asked her about modern yoga, Yun said she practices Asana yoga which entails moving your body to find the right pose for you, instead of moving your body to fit into a pose. She added that modern medicine continues to advance, and modern yoga aims to unite yoga with innovations in modern medicine. Agast Yoga provides yoga classes with safety and consistency based on modern yoga principles.
Inquiries about class reservation can be made through Instagram messaging, texts, and e-mail. Make sure to book ahead and get the class receipt to participate in training sessions.
Address To be shared upon reservation
Phone +82-10-2133-2018
Price 45,000 won for one-time experience
Homepage www.agastyoga.com
Instagram www.instagram.com/agastjin
 

While doing yoga, you often wonder. What if you just take a yoga mat to the woods, a sandy beach, or a field of grass to practice yoga? What if you do a tree pose and become one with nature in your most comfortable outfit? What if you do a headstand outdoors imagining you’re lifting Earth? ‘Oryo Yoga’ is a program which turns those wildest imaginations into reality. Founder Yu Yun-jong served the army in Jeju Island. Memories of having trained in an untouched forest or on the beach led him to grow attached to Jeju’s natural environment. He planned outdoor yoga programs based on those experiences.
A 60-minute training session first requires going into nature whether it’s a beach, forest, field of grass, or even a theme park. Comfortable outfits and shoes that fit the practice venue are mandatory, and a light jacket or a pair of sunglasses can be helpful. Most importantly, you have to have a mindset that you are ready to accept everything that comes with nature, including the sunlight, rain, or bugs. Oryo Yoga takes pictures of the trainees in session and shares them after class. You may bring your own cam or tripods to record the class, so it may be a good idea to document your special yoga experience that way, as long as it doesn’t bother other trainees.
Address Outdoor venues in Jeju
Duration About 100 minutes every Saturday
Price 50,000-200,000 won per session
Instagram www.instagram.com/oryo_official_
 

Among all yoga studios in Jeju, Hamdeok Hatha Yoga is perhaps the closest to the ocean. It’s on the third floor of a commercial building that stands near Hamdeok Beach. On one side, the jade-colored ocean comes into the view. Turn around and you get a panoramic view of Mt. Halla. In summer, you can walk straight out to the beach from your yoga lesson. You don’t have to get into the water; enjoy the cool ocean breeze as you walk along the beach after your yoga session, and few things will feel as refreshing.
Kim Gi-tae, a disciple of Han Ju-hoon, runs every class. Kim focuses on small details and his classes are relatively easy even for beginners. A session typically runs for 70 minutes, including meditation, with about 10 people on hand at a time. Participants get to sip at pu-erh tea to calm their nerves before each session, and so be sure to get there with time to spare. Yoga mats are all there, and you just have to show up in comfortable clothes and relaxed mind.
Address Third floor, 509 Shinbuk-ro, Jocheon-eup, Jeju
Hours Mon/Wed/Fri 8:00, Mon~Fri 18:30
Price 30,000 won per session
Instagram www.instagram.com/hamdeok_hatha 
 

‘Art Gallery yoga’ sounds unfamiliar to Koreans but it’s a trend that has been popular in places like Europe and America. It is a unique program blending art and yoga by using the space of a museum in the early morning or in the evening when it’s closed and having yoga classes on the floor of the museum. 
You don’t have to go to Europe for this experience. Jeju has programs for you. The Kim Tek Hwa Museum, exhibiting the life-long works posthumously by artist Kim Tek Hwa who devoted his life to painting the nature of Jeju Island, offers an art gallery yoga workshop every Friday. Led by Park Dara who had her training in India, the workshop will be a quiet, natural time of taking in the air of the museum, breaths of the participants and calm instructions by Park. Booking is necessary because only 10 people can participate in a session. Prepare your own yoga mat. The museum also has a yoga drawing class for children as part of its effort to interact and communicate with the community.
The first-floor at store sells yoggings(yoga leggings) reconstructing the patterns from Jeju landscape paintings by artist Kim Tek Hwa. Try looking for a Jeju beach among striped patterns.
Address 1 Shinheung-ro, Jocheon-dup, Jejudo-si
Time About 50 minutes every Friday
Homepage kimtekhwa.com
Instagram www.instagram.com/kimtekhwamuseum
 

Anybody who likes to travel would have experienced walking into a small shop on some street out of curiosity, finding out the place has a lot of what you like, and ending up buying a bunch of them. Opening the door to ‘Padma Jeju’ is a similar experience that brings back such a memory. It's a unique way to try to understand the minds of tourists who roam around the unknown city in a strange country.
Padma Jeju sells yoga outfits from a showroom cum studio that used to be an old house with a low ceiling located at the entrance of a hillside village. ‘Padma’ can also mean a lotus flower, or one of Asanas in yoga.  It is in fact the yoga name of the shop’s CEO who practiced yoga for a long time. Han Ju-hoon gave her the nickname ‘padma’ and that’s why she named the brand padma.
Most of the outfits at Padma are designed and made by the CEO herself. In one corner of the shop was a loom. The owner explained that she used to own a clothing shop and after seeing the whole process of garment making, she wanted to do it herself and relocated to Jeju Island. Yoga pants and tops are available,  but the most popular item is meditation clothing such as robes. Meditation clothing simply refers to comfortable clothes that don’t hamper your movement when sitting. Made mostly with soft fabrics such as linen, Padma Jeju makes clothes that are comfortable enough to be worn daily. The silky smoothness of the yoga wear will be difficult to forgo. 
Address 357 Jowa-ro, Jocheon-eup, Jejudo-si
Hours Mon/Wed/Fri 12:00-17:00 Reservation required(Business hours vary. Check Instagram for hour updates)
Instagram www.instagram.com/padma_jeju
 

LOTTE HOTEL JEJU is a resort hotel with 500 rooms and suites. Inspired by ‘Palace of the Lost City’ in South Africa, the hotel blends in nicely with the beautiful landscape of Jeju and creates an exotic atmosphere. All-day dining restaurant THE CANVAS offers over 140 items on the menu cooked with the freshest local ingredients hand-picked by hotel chefs. The four-season spa pool and other various facilities ensure your relaxing vacation in Jeju Island.
Address 35, Jungmungwangwang-ro 72beon-gil, Seogwipo-si, Jeju Province
Phone +82-64-731-1000
Homepage www.lottehotel.com/jeju-hotel