Lee Man-gi meets an elderly couple on a Ulleungdo cliff and Dokdo shrimp

Encountering the Mysterious Island of Ulleungdo via a 93km/h Ferry

KBS 1TV 'A Round in the Neighborhood' sets foot on the land of Ulleungdo for the first time in the program's history. Episode 378, broadcasting on the 11th at 7:10 PM, is the first part of the 'Summer Island Special 2-part series,' titled 'Verdant, the Mysterious Island.' Lee Man-gi, the 'neighborhood keeper' who has traveled all corners of the country to record people's lives, heads away from the mainland toward an offshore island this time.

The journey to Ulleungdo is challenging from the very start. Lee Man-gi and the production crew board the 'Eldorado Express,' a high-speed ferry departing from Pohang. Although the ship reaches speeds of 93km/h, the departure itself is a variable, as it is heavily influenced by waves and weather due to the nature of the open sea. After a voyage of approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes, they arrive at Dodong Port, which reveals a landscape where massive rocky cliffs meet the deep blue sea.

As soon as they disembark at the port, residents welcome the unfamiliar visitor, Lee Man-gi. The locals express their hospitality by offering drinks made from deodeok (codonopsis lanceolata), a specialty of Ulleungdo. Walking along the Haengnam Coastal Walk, which connects Dodong Port to Jeodong Port, Lee Man-gi encounters the unique terrain of a volcanic island. Pillow lava formed by lava cooling upon contact with seawater, sea caves carved by waves, and dizzying bridge sections reveal the raw nature unique to Ulleungdo. Chotdaebawi Rock, located at the end of the trail, is an iconic landscape of the island.

From Honeymoon Destination to Settlement: People Rooted in Ulleungdo

The charm of Ulleungdo lies not only in its sheer cliffs but also in the people who have made their homes there. In the Jeodong Port food alley lives the couple Lim Woo-seok and Lee Hye-rin, who decided to settle on the island after falling in love with its scenery during their honeymoon. They build their new lives by serving thick Seop-guk (mussel soup) made with wild mussels and squid ink pancakes made with Ulleungdo squid.

Painter Kim Dong-sik, who experienced the pain of losing everything to a typhoon, is also writing a new chapter of his life on Ulleungdo. He paints murals of Ulleungdo's breathtaking scenery, such as Dokdo and Chotdaebawi Rock, all over the island. When there is no work to do while painting, he breathes with nature by heading out to the sea to gather seafood himself.

The challenge of Kim Kwang-wook, who became a baker at the age of 74, continues. After retiring, he learned baking skills and now welcomes tourists by baking bread made with Ulleungdo specialties like thistle and myung-yi (garlic scapes). Park Jong-hyun, who once returned to his hometown after facing failure, has found a new path in life by running a restaurant specializing in 'Dokdo Shrimp,' using the red banded lobster, thorny shrimp, and flower shrimp caught off the coast of Dokdo.

A 100-Year-Old House on a Cliff: The Self-Sufficient Life of the Elderly Couple in Kkakgaedeung

The scenery of 'Kkakgaedeung,' an extremely remote village in Ulleungdo that is very difficult to access, is the core of this broadcast. The path following the steep cliffs is so treacherous it is called the 'Path of Death,' but there are those who have silently protected their lives there. The protagonists are the elderly couple Kim Tae-jung and Oh Bun-nam, who live by repairing a house that is over 100 years old themselves.

The elderly couple leads a self-sufficient life by farming wild mountain herbs. Their daily lives, having relied on each other for many years to protect their home amidst the rugged terrain, are in touch with the harsh nature of Ulleungdo. The couple's simple meal unfolding atop the cliff and the way they tenderly care for one another show the true essence of island life.