Discovering Gyeongsangbuk-do - Ulleung-gun Part 1

I’m sure all of you must be getting a bit bored with the mountains and valleys already, so what say you if we stop on the island of Ulleung for a few days to enjoy a bit of the sun and the sea , with the sea-breeze blowing in our faces, also not to mention the amount of fresh seafood we shall be consuming. At first I thought that there would not be much to do and see here on the island but as I read more and more about Ulleung-gun, I began to realize how wrong I was. Ulleung-gun covers a big area you know, 43 islands in all. But don’t worry, we won’t be hopping from one island to another because only 3 of them are inhabited and the rest are not. What a relief to hear that isn’t it?

Administratively, the county is divided into one eup and two myeon: Ulleung-eup (including Liancourt Rocks or Dokdo), Buk-myeon, and Seo-myeon. *Dokdori on Dokdo was newly established in 2000.

Here’s something I dug up about Dokdo. Located 87.4km away from Ulleungdo Island, Dokdo is a volcanic island that was formed by lava which erupted about 2,000m underwater. It was formed between the early and the late Pliocene in the 3rd phase of the Cenozoic Era. Dongdo, the south eastern part of Dokdo, preserves two old volcanic craters and has a relatively flat peak, whereas Seodo has a sharp, cone-shaped peak. In the center of Dongdo is a vertical hole that goes right down to the surface of the water. It has most of the maritime facilities, including a manned Light House. Seodo's major facility is the Fisherman's Lodge. Presently there are security guards on Dokdo to protect several houses that were built onto the rocks as well as a small harbor. With strong sea wind and infertile rocky soil, not many plants can survive in Dokdo. It is where migratory birds stop by or rest for a while on their way to the final destination.
Currently, the population in Dokdo is three. They are Sung Do Kim, the captain of Ship Dokdo, his wife Sin Yeol Kim, and poet Bu-kyeong Pyeon. Sung Do Kim and his wife moved to Seodo on November 17, 1991 and have been making a living by catching fish.
Bu-kyeong Pyeon moved to Dokdo on November 19, 2003.
Sung Do Kim has been living in Seodo since the 1970s as a crew of Captain Jong Duk Choi, the first resident of Dokdo (Ship Deokjin, 2.22 tons). As a crew, he made a living by gathering seafood and catching fish.
When Choi died in 1987, Kim began to operate his own ships (Ship Myeongseong, 2.08 tons; Ship Buyeong, 1.5 ton) and settled in Seodo. He eventually moved his permanent address to the current address in 1991.
Jong Duk Choi was the first registered resident of Dokdo. As a resident of Ulleungdo Island, he moved to Dokdo in March 1965 to gather seafood in the common fishing ground of Dodong. He began modernizing facilities in May 1968.
When Japan began to claim their ownership of Dokdo in 1980, he moved his permanent address to Dokdo on October 14, 1981, saying, "I will show them that a Korean is living in Dokdo." He established an underwater storage and developed an abalone fertilization method and a special fishing net. He even discovered a spring called Mulgol in the heart of Seodo. He tried hard to develop Dokdo until he passed away on September 23, 1987.
Although there are only three people who actually live in Dokdo now, 2,051people from 613 households have moved their permanent addresses to Dokdo (as of 2007) through the 'National Dokdo Permanent Address Registration Movement' when they found out Japan was trying to register Dokdo as their land in 1999.

Japan acknowledged the value of Dokdo Islet after the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. Japan unilaterally transferred Dokdo Island to Shimane Prefecture, Japan and renamed it "Takeshima". Several authorities in Japan have continuously declared their dominion, over the islet, which led to diplomatic conflicts between Korea and Japan. Such conflicts have yet to be resolved.
See the distance Dokdo is from Ulleung and Oki Island, Japan. On a clear day you can see Dokdo from Ulleung but it cannot be seen from Japan. So who do you think has got more rights to claim it? While I was writing this, something happened which was like an answer to my prayers. I fervently want Dokdo to be part of Korea. I came across this article in the Chosun Ilbo which I am reproducing here.

Japanese Document Shows Dokdo as Foreign Territory

Japanese Ministry of Finance Notice no. 654 specifying Dokdo as foreign soil

A legislative document from 1946 shows Japan voluntarily acknowledging that Dokdo does not belong to it. According to records obtained on Sunday by Liberty Forward Party lawmaker Park Sun-young from an unidentified senior Japanese government official, Japan's Ministry of Finance issued a notice document numbered 654 on Aug. 15, 1946, a year after Korean independence, that says Dokdo is foreign soil along with Korea, Taiwan, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the South Sea Islands.
In 1946, just after it was defeated in World War II, Japan enacted an emergency law handling corporate accounting matters to resolve the issue of overdue payments and compensation owed by Japanese companies, Park's office explained in a statement. The emergency law designated the assets, real estate and other property owned by Japanese companies that would be necessary for the country to rebuild itself, and also designated assets that were to be excluded, namely land that belonged to foreign nations. Dokdo was on the list of those to be excluded.
Korea has already learned about two legislative Japanese documents issued since the end of World War II in which Tokyo acknowledged the fact that Dokdo was not part of Japanese territory. One, passed to Cheong Wa Dae in December last year by the state-run Korea Maritime Institute, was Prime Ministerial ordinance no. 24 proclaimed on June 6, 1951. The other was a Finance Ministry ordinance issued on Feb. 13, 1951. There was evidence of efforts by the Japanese government to conceal the two documents.
The latest find was proclaimed five years earlier. "The latest discovery is a valuable legislative document for us in the fight over sovereignty over Dokdo," Park said. "The government must be more active in its search for such historic and legal evidence and use it so we can finally put this sovereignty dispute to rest."
Professor Yuji Hosaka at Sejong University, a Dokdo expert and naturalized Korean citizen, said the document appears to be "the first legislative document showing Japan's exclusion of Dokdo from its own territory following its defeat in World War II."

englishnews@chosun.com / Nov. 16, 2009 11:32 KST

These are the symbols of Ulleung but I cannot tell you the significance behind them as I could not find the explanatory notes on them.

Ulleung is a pentagon island made of volcanic rocks when a volcanic island erupted from the sea during the Cenozoic era 3 and 4. Made out of basalt, trachyte and andesite, the soil on the island is mostly grey, one which is very fertile and favorable for water supply. Ulleung was originally known as Mureung, Ureung or Usanguk. As dolmens, pattern-less earthen wares and grinding stones, assumed to have been made in the Bronze Age(BC 1000 – BC 300) or in the Iron Age(BC 300 – AD 1) have been discovered in Ulleung, it can be surmised that people were already living here in Ulleung during that time. In 1696 during the reign of King Sukjong, negotiations were held with a sovereign of Baekgiju, Japan and Ulleung was recognized as a land of the Joseon.. The first 54 settlers from 16 families only came to stay on this island in 1883. There were a few name changing of the island before it was finally changed to its present name of Ulleung-gun. In October 1900, it was renamed as Uldongun and incorporated as the 27th county of Gangwondo. In 1906 it was changed from Uldongun to Ulleunggun, incorporated to Gyeongsangnamdo. But in 1914 it was transferred from Gyeongsangnamdo to Gyeongsangbukdo where it still remains unchanged till today.

Know what? It says on the homepage that there are 3 things which are non-existent in Ulleung - thieves, pollution and snakes. Ooh, I’m going to love it here because these are the three things that I detest. On the other hand there are 5 things that are plentiful in Ulleung:- aromatic trees, wind, beautiful women, water and stones.

You don’t have to worry a thing about accommodation here in Ulleung because there are lots of places to stay according to the website, a list too long for me to print here. However I shall tell you where you can get accommodation here in Ulleung. You will observe that most of the accommodation will usually be centred around the tourist spots. You can find the inns and home-stays in Do-dong 1 ri, Do-dong 3 ri, Sadong-ri, (in Ulleung-eup) and Tonggumi, Taeha-ri, Namyang-ri, (in Seo-myeon.) There are even more homestays in the Jeo-dong Area, Namseo Area, Cheonbu, Hyeongpo Area and Nari Area. If you still can’t find what you want or if you're looking for something cheaper, you could try camping for free at Naessujeon and Sadong-ri. There are toilets and showers at both places.

Maybe you’d like to know what type of food you can get in Ulleung-gun. Well how about some raw fish or squids? Mackerel pike mulhoi is a dish frequently eaten by local residents. Don’t like raw fish? You prefer to have rice? Then you can either have the wild greens bibimbap which is rice mixed with the edible wild greens of Ulleung, like the Samnamul(Ginseng greens), Osmund, Myeongyi(mountain garlic), Ulleung goldenrod, Jeonho, Aralia or rice with Sea Mussels which is steamed rice cooked with various vegetables and fresh sea mussels. Or perhaps you might like to try the nutritious abalone gruel? Maybe you’d rather have the Ulleungdo Prime Beef Bulgogi? There are about 570 kinds of plants which are self generating everywhere in Ulleungdo, and the Ulleungdo cows are fed with medicinal herbs, thus the beef has a unique herbal flavor and is of better quality.

How to get there? There are 3 departure points from mainland Korea to get to Ulleung-gun as you can see from the map below.

Sightseeing in Ulleung can be divided into 3 sections, those tourist spots in Ulleung-eup, those in Seo-myeon and those in Buk-myeon. And this is how I’m going to do my sightseeing in Ulleung. So shall we start first with Ulleung-eup?

Dodong Harbor is where we landed when we first arrived in Ulleung island and it is about 3 hours from Pohang and Mukho.

The Ulleungdo Aromatic Tree is the oldest aromatic tree in Korea. It is about 2,000 years old, 4 meters tall and 2 meters wide. It is a protected tree designated by Gyeongsangbukdo. It is one of Ulleungdo’s symbols which rooted itself in the barren rock and has been growing since people began to live in Ulleungdo.

The Dodong Yaksu Park is a historical site. ‘Yaksu’ when translated means ‘medicine water.’ The Yaksuteo mineral spring here is supposed to have healing properties. It is well known for its medical effectualness to anemia, eczema and skin disease.

It is a short 15 minutes walk from the ferry terminal and is also home to the local historical document museum, the Dokdo Museum, the Dokdo Observatory Cable Car, The General An Yon Bok Monument and the Ulleungdo Poem Monument of Cheongma. The Cable Car Ride this is a must-do thing as you can get a panoramic view of the island from the car . It goes up to the nearby Manghyang Peak and on a clear day, you can see Dokdo in the distance.

The Dokdo Museum is an advance base to protect Dokdo’s interests and to disprove Japan's claim to the island. It holds ancient documents recording the history of Dokdo.In 1995, Ulleunggun provided the site and Samsung Culture Foundation built it in 1997 and presented it to Ulleunggun.

The Local Historical Document Museum has 270 exhibits showing life during the exploitation period in Ulleungdo.

The Dokdo Observatory cable car, from where one can get a birds-eye-view of Ulleungdo Island, is a must-see tourist attraction. Located inside the Dodong Yaksu Park, the cable car takes visitors up to Manghyangbong Peak. When the sky is really clear you can see as far as Dokdo Island. This is also the first place to view the rising sun in Ulleungdo.

The cable car starts from 5.10am, just in time to grab views of the sunrise, and operates until 7pm or 8pm. The round-trip fare is 7,500 won for adult and 5,000 won for children ages 3 to 13. Tickets can be purchased at the site without a reservation.

There’s a legend about Chotdaeam/Chotdae Bawi. It seems that after the death of his wife a man was left with his daughter. One day the old man’s boat didn’t come back as it met with heavy winds and waves. The grieved daughter spent several days crying. However, she felt that her father was coming back and she went out and saw a sail boat coming in. She couldn’t wait for it to reach, so she swam out towards the boat. She was exhausted and died, and was transformed into a rock at that spot. The sunrise view from here is just exquisite.

Walk along the seaside of Dodong harbor to catch a superb view of the place. You have to see the wonderful view under the bridge connecting a natural cave and a valley. This seaside walk leads to a village called Haengnam. The village is also known as Salgu(apricot)namu as there was a big apricot tree at an entrance to the village.

The Dodong Lighthouse which is located 400 meters away from the village lightens the waterways. It is also called the Haengnam lighthouse. On a clear day you can see Dokdo from the top. You can take a leisurely 1 hour walk up a staircase from the ferry terminal.

The only source of drinking water on the island, this triple level fall, the Bongnae Waterfall is about 25m high. When you pass the entrance, follow the trail up around a reservoir, but stop at the Punghyeol, where natural air vents blow cool subterranean air. Next to the Punghyeol is a pretty cedar forest, which is worth a stop on the way to see the waterfall.

Jeodong Harbor was designated as a fishery advance base in 1967. Harbor construction was completed in December 1979. Able to accommodate 510 ships of 10 ton level and 150 ships of 30 ton level.
In a special weather report such as typhoon, it protects ships working at a distant sea.
Most of Ulleungdo squids are dealt with in Jeodong Harbor.

The Wood Pigeon Habitat, the silver magnolia forest (a Natural monument) is just a 15 minutes’ bus ride from Dodong.The Wood pigeon is the county bird of Ulleunggun and it likes fruits of silver magnolia. It is a rare bird which is designated as a natural monument. The Sadong Mongdol Seaside is just in front of the silver magnolia forest.

Jukdo Island is 4km north east from Jeodong Harbor and 7km from Dodong Harbor. Presently, only two people from the same household are residing in the island. There are many bamboo trees growing here which are self generating. This island is lacking in water, so rain water is used as drinking water. A spiral stairway is the only entry to this island. Codonopsis lanceolata is famous.

Sadong is called Waroksa, as the mountain in the village resembles a lying deer and is also called Waoksa because of the sands which look like gems lying on the seashore. At present it is called Sadong as there is a lot of sand around here.

Indigenous people called this place Jeongmaehwagol because there was a remote house where a person called Jeongmaehwa lived. This place was halfway between Dodong which was a town of the county office and Bukmyeon Cheonbu village. The site where the married couple of Lee Hyo Yeong saved 300 lives for 19 years has been developed as a rest area.

It takes 25 minutes to get here from the Dodong Ferry Terminal. Climbing up to the Naesujeon Sunrise Observatory, Jukdo Island, Gwaneumdo Island and Seommok can be seen on the horizon. From here take a walk to Bukmyeong Seokpo Village which will take about 1 hour and 30 minutes. I’m sure you will enjoy it when you see all the beautiful sights along the way.

A famous sunrise viewing spot, Naesujeon was also called Jeojeonpo as paper mulberries were thriving here. There is an internal combustion power plant providing electricity and also a mineral spring here. During the summer people come here to enjoy its good camping sites which are free.

All this walking and climbing must have made you hungry. Don’t worry I have been recommended a few restaurants which I will share with you. Some of the food items that are unique to the island are honghap bap, seasoned rice with mussels; sanchae bibimbap, rice mixed with sprouts and edible wild greens, yakso bulgogi, barbequed beef from cows raised on herbs and vegetables growing on the island. Other food items special to Ulleungdo are the cuttlefish and the hobak yeott (squash candy). Most of the restaurants in Dodong-ri are clustered in the same small area. It is a couple of minutes past the information centre on the straight road towards Jeodong-ri. Here are two restaurants that serve the specialty dishes at decent prices:-

The Ulleung Yakso Sutbul Garden open from 8 am to midnight in the peak season, this place offers yakso bulgogi and honghap bab. Prices range from W6,000 to W15,000. Call at 82-54-791-0990.

At 99 Sikdang you'll find their famous ojing-eo bulgogi (spicy grilled squid mixed with veggies) at around W9,000. Here you can also find another island specialty, taggaebibap (shellfish with rice) at W14,000. Call 82-54-791-2287.

Like I told you earlier Ulleung is bigger than I thought. We’ve just covered only one third of its sightseeing and there’s so much more to see and do here. It’s a good thing I suggested a few days stopover otherwise we cannot see all of Ulleung. It looks like I have to continue with our sightseeing in my following post. Bye for now.