[One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters] The Reason Behind the '10,000 km Club' Walking and Walking Again

Jeju Olle Trail Walkers Who Have Covered Over 10,000 km Gathered in One Place
Reasons Vary from Health to Sense of Achievement

People who have walked more than 10,000 km on the Jeju Olle Trail gathered in one place. The purpose was to share “Why do I walk?” The answers from the meeting varied, including “to maintain health” and “to gain a sense of accomplishment.”

Jeju Olle announced on the 22nd that it formed the “10,000 Kilometer Club” on the 22nd of last month. To hold such a record, one must complete the 27 Jeju Olle courses, totaling 437 km, more than 20 times. Since official completion records began in September 2012, a total of 20 people have walked over 10,000 km.

Among them, nine gathered in one place to share “why I walk.” Choi Ki-seon (77), who completed the Jeju Olle Trail 51 times, started walking for health reasons. After being diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer at age 63 and undergoing chemotherapy, he impulsively wanted to walk and headed to Jeju, where he saw the Olle Trail markers and walked whenever he had time. In 2017, despite his family’s objections, he made a trip to Jeju and walked the Jeju Olle Trail every day. After a year and a half, Choi, who had become so healthy that even his attending physician was surprised, believed that “walking is the answer to health.” He did not stay only in Jeju but also completed the Haeparang Trail, which stretches 800 km from Busan to Goseong in Gangwon Province, in three stages, and walked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in Spain for 60 days. At the end of the 10,000 Kilometer Club meeting, he said, “Walking is a journey from painful mental habits based on worldly worries, laziness, and fear toward love and peace.”

Park Jo-eun (27), who completed the trail 26 times, gained a “sense of accomplishment” through walking. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when it was difficult to take even a single step outside, Park started walking the Jeju Olle Trail following her parents. She recalled, “Strangely, I found myself walking step by step, course by course.” Saying goodbye to powerless times and gaining a sense of accomplishment and dreams, Park encourages her friends to walk by gifting them Jeju Olle passports.

Kim Yong-chan (67), who retired from a company he had worked at for 36 years and moved to Jeju seven years ago, built a new career thanks to the Jeju Olle Trail. He started with the thought, “If I live in Jeju, I should walk the Olle Trail,” and now he works as an Olle guide and walking companion. The walking companion program explains Jeju’s culture and nature to Olle walkers. Having completed the Jeju Olle Trail 45 times, Kim said, “When I completed the trail for the fifteenth time, I learned about the walking companion training program,” adding, “Before the training, I was just walking the trail with my feet, but after the training, the Olle Trail reveals a new world to me every time.”