The island lies in the Korea Strait, 82.8 km (51.4 mi) south of the nearest point on the Korean Peninsula.

[3] The Jeju people are indigenous to the island, and it has been populated by modern humans since the early Neolithic period.

Jeju is a popular holiday destination and a sizable portion of the economy relies on tourism and related economic activity.

The name Quelpart coming from the French language is attested in Dutch no later than 1648 and may have denoted the first Dutch ship to spot the island, the quelpaert de Brack around 1642, or rather some visual similarity of the island from some angle to this class of ships (a small dispatch vessel, also called a galiot).

One legend tells that the three divine founders of the country—Go (고), Yang (양), and Bu (부)—emerged from three holes in the ground in the 24th century BC.

[16][17] Until 938 AD, the island was an independent kingdom called Tamna (which means 'island country') when it became a vassal state of Korea under the Goryeo dynasty.

In April 1330, in the midst of political purges of the Yuan dynasty, Toghon Temür had been sent in Exile on this remote island, which was then part of the vassal Korean Goguryeo.

[18] In 1404, Taejong of Joseon placed the island under firm central control and brought the Tamna kingdom to an end.

[22] Jeju is a volcanic island, dominated by Hallasan: a volcano 1,947 metres (6,388 ft) high and the highest mountain in South Korea.

[29] This area remained uncultivated until the 21st century, as its base of 'a'a lava made it difficult to develop for agriculture.

Seongsan-eup, on the southeastern side of the island, is directly affected by both the East Asian monsoon and the Tsushima Current, so annual precipitation is very high.

Snow and frigid weather forced the cancellation of 1,200 flights on Jeju Island, stranding approximately 90,300 passengers.