It’s a place I’ve always seen while driving along Seoseong-ro, the road that connects Seogwipo and Seongsan.
Since I drive an EV, I pay extra attention to places with charging stations—and I remembered this spot because it always has several chargers sitting empty.
On the way to an outing on the east side with the kids for the first time in a while, we stopped by to charge up and take a look around the memorial hall.
The parking lot isn’t huge, but it’s not a place that draws big crowds, so parking is usually easy.
And since there are EV chargers, it’s great to charge while you explore the memorial hall.
They say it opened in 2021 to commemorate Heonma Gongsin Kim Man-il, who dedicated thousands of horses to the nation over his 83-year lifetime.
Because it opened during the COVID era, it feels like it hasn’t become widely known yet.
In the Joseon era, Kim Man-il ran ranches and, whenever the country faced hardship, he sent horses to help overcome national crises.
It’s said that his descendants carried on that spirit and continued donating for nearly 300 years.
In recognition of these contributions, he reportedly rose to the highest government post ever attained by someone from Jeju.
Looking at the map showing where Kim Man-il’s ranches were located, it’s nearly half of Hallasan’s mid-mountain area.
A single stallion he met “by fate” brought in around 80 mares, and those horses multiplied into about 1,000 in just 3–4 years…
Later it’s said the number grew to around 10,000—honestly, it sounds like something out of a myth.
Historical materials related to his life are also well displayed, which made it a nice place to explore with kids.
On one side of the memorial hall, there’s an exhibit of old artifacts donated by residents of Uigwiri.
The kids kept asking with wide eyes, “What is this? What was it used for?”
It made me glad we decided to come in.
It’s not just about things to see—there are lots of fun activities too.
There’s a spot where you can put on a horse mask and take photos, and if you try the branding experience, they even give you a cute animal-shaped bracelet-making kit.
And after doing a survey, we even got a unicorn pen~
The hands-on programs seem to change a bit depending on the season…
But it seems like there are always some programs running.
The kids loved that they could learn some history while touring the memorial hall—and even go home with little gifts.
Jeju has all kinds of tourist attractions, but there are more free places like this than you might think.
This memorial hall was established to honor the achievements of Kim Manil, who was appointed as a “Heonma Gongsin” after donating thousands of horses to the state during the Joseon Dynasty. He is recognized as a figure who helped the nation overcome times of crisis by repeatedly offering horses to the government during and after the Imjin War. Inside, exhibits introduce Kim Manil’s life and accomplishments, the history of Jeju’s livestock and horse-breeding culture, and a variety of horse-related materials, and hands-on programs such as screen horse riding are also available. Visitors can easily and enjoyably learn about Uigwiri’s horse culture and the history of the Jeju horse, making it a popular educational destination for families and student groups. When visited together with the nearby Otgwi Horse Theme Town, it becomes a special place to better understand why Jeju is called the “island of horses.”
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