Mara island

Marado or Mara Island is a tiny treeless island 11 km off the south coast of Jeju, in southernmost South Korea, having an area of 0.3 km². It is home to about 90 people, and has long been known for its population being composed of strong women and docile men. It's becoming a popular tourist destination, thanks to the many unusual rock formations, and is connected to the mainland by two regular ferries and numerous excursion boats. Mara-do is within the administrative boundaries of Daejeong Township(Daejeong-eup) in Seogwipo City, and is included, along with Gapa Island(Gapado), in Gapa-ri, and is South Korea's southernmost point. Because of its subtropical marine habitat the island is a natural reserve. It was designated as National Monument no. 423 on July 18, 2000. Marado was originally uninhabited. It was known as Keumdo which means forbidden island. According to a Choson Ilbo article published by Lee Kyu-tae in 1967, the island was first occupied by a woman named Kim Seong-oh and her brothers in 1880. As a poor peasant with no land to farm, Kim Seong-oh decided to move to the island when her father mentioned about the island on his deathbed. So Kim left Jeju with her two brothers, farming tools, and some seeds. They had to circle the island around three times, because they couldn't find a place to dock their boat. After about 10 years, they were joined by two stranded fishermen from Torishima in the Kingdom of Ryukyu. However, documents from Jeju county also had another story on Marado. According to this story, the first residents came to live on Marado in 1883. One Mr. Kim originally living in Daejeong gol, a small village in Jeju, ran through his all fortune. His relatives proposed to let them move to Marado. Sim Hyun Taek, pastor of Jeju at that time, permitted them to do so, and Marado became inhabited for the first time. After independence, it was administered by Gapa-ri, Daejeong-eup of Jeju, and registered as an independent township called Marari.