Discovering Gyeongsangbuk-do - Ulleung-gun Part 3

We have gone sightseeing and participated in some fun activities like climbing, hiking, fishing, cycling and rock wall climbing which means that we are almost nearing the end of our stay in beautiful Ulleung-do.

Talking about sightseeing, I almost forgot, there are also boat trips round the island which is another great way to admire Ulleungdo’s wonderful landscape from afar. You can take these tours from the Dodong ferry terminal. There are normally 4 trips per day depending on the demand, with additional trips during the peak season. Sometimes they may be even cancelled during the non-peak season.

There are also other sightseeing boats which serve Jukdo, a nature reserve, 4 km from Ulleungdo. This tour offers great views of Ulleungdo in addition to Jukdo’s own cliffs. As you will be allowed to go on the island, you can always pack a picnic lunch to eat over there. This tour takes about 1hr 30mins in all.

On Saturdays during the summer there are boat trips around Dokdo provided there’s sufficient demand for it, for W37, 500 lasting 3hrs or 5hrs 30mins return (no disembarking at Dokdo.) The 3hr boats are speedier but you can’t go outside whereas the slower boats have open decks where you can come out to enjoy a better view of the sights.

Another way to see the sights in Ulleungdo is to charter a taxi by the day. It takes about 5 hours to go round the island. The recommended course is Sa-dong → Namyang → Guam → Taeha → Cheonbu → Chusan→ Nari Basin → Do-dong. Going by taxi saves you from worrying about how to get to the tourist spots, transportation etc. Sometimes you can even get some tourist info from the taxi drivers about the places you visit.

Today I shall tell you about some of the festivals that are being held on the island. Ulleungdo has been long famous for its squids (up to 70 percent of Korean squid is caught in the waters off Ulleungdo.) The Ulleungdo Squid Festival is an event enjoyed by both the locals as well as the tourists. It is a hands-on event where some of the major events are experiencing the squid fishing boat, catching squids with bare hands, see the course of squids drying and even taste delicious squid dishes, a cooking contest, a log rafting race and a squid marathon. It is only during this annual squid festival that one gets to go aboard and ride on the boat out to the sea. It’s a unique experience being in the squid fishing boats with their lights shining upon the waters in the still of the night.

This year it was held from the 4^th – 6^th August 2009. The festivities commenced with the sampling of complimentary squid dishes like stuffed squids, squid salads and squid soups. There were competitions held like finding squids in blocks of ice, a cooking contest, catching squids and cutting squids.

The Usan Culture Festival was named after Ulleungdo’s ancient name, Usanguk, and the first festival was held in 1965. It is being held in October every year by the Ulleung Culture Center to promote its local culture and to foster better relationships amongst the Ulleungdo residents. Major events are religious ceremonies, the decoration of boats with colorful flags, demonstration in the making of neowaneo bird cages, a local food contest, and a good man and woman contest.

The Ulleung Seaside Song Festival is held in August every year in the small park of Dodong harbor. This event serves as an opportunity for the local residents and the tourists to get together and mingle. Various events are held such as the fire cracker festival, the song festival and local food tasting.

The Taeha Seonghashindang Festival is held on the 1^st day of the 3^rd calendar month of the Lunar Calendar at Taeha Seonghashindang to pray to the SeongHwangEyeogisin, a guardian deity of Ulleungdo. The participants consist of the chief officers of the institution, the village headman and the inhabitants, held at the Choheongwan, Aheongwan, Jongheongwan Ceremony Hall.

Ulleungdo is the birth place of Hoedang Son Gyu Sang who was a leader of the Jingakjong of Korea Buddhism. The Hoedang Culture Festival was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of his birth, the first festival being held in 2001 and consequently held in August annually by the Jingakjong of Korea Buddhism.
Major events include the Film Madang, the Concert Madang, the Culture Experience Madang and the Appendent events (exhibition, medical service, pilgrimage to the Holy Land).

Did I tell you about the delicious food that you can get in Ulleung-do? Of course the main ingredient will be the squid. Squid dishes are squid mulhoi(sashimi soup), squid seasoned with vinegar and condiment, squid bulgogi and squid jeotgal(salted fish), and you can taste delicious squid dishes at a low price in raw fish restaurants in Ulleungdo, Jeodong fish market and Dodong wharf. A seafood dish popular on the island is honghap-bap, rice cooked with chopped mussels. This seasoned rice dish mixed with hard-shelled mussels is a savoury dish that can only be found on the island of Ulleungdo. Mussels caught around Ulleungdo are about four times the size of mussels sold on the mainland. A distinctive Ulleungdo dish, ttagaebibap, consists of seasoned rice mixed with small shellfish. Sanchaebibimbap is vegetables that are unique to the island mixed with rice and topped off with egg, a must-have dish! Cattle raised grazing on wild medicinal herbs on the island are used when making Yaksobulgogi, a marinated beef dish. The beef is especially tender. Various other dishes to be found in Ulleungdo are Bbulmyeongyi Sukhoe, Muchim, Myeongyi pickles and Myeongyi Kimchi. There are plenty of places to eat in Dodong-ri due to the tourism trade there, but if you like fast foods, then you are out of luck because there’s nothing but Korean food around here, mostly of the fresh fish variety. There are a few scattered haengmyeon /gimbap shops where the prices are as low as W2000 and also a few outdoor restaurants by the harbour.

Café Myconos comes recommended as the owner speaks English and they serve the best coffee on the island. When you first arrive on the island you can stop and have a cuppa here and at the same time check out on the local info, sightseeing etc. Then when you are about to leave the island it’s also the last place you’ll spend before you catch your ferry back to the mainland. Incidentally the owner’s husband owns a taxi in case you are interested to go sightseeing by taxi.

The 99 Sikdang is famous for its ojing-eo bulgogi (squids grilled at the table with vegetables and hot pepper sauce) and taggaebibap (shellfish with rice.) The Haeun Sikdang, across the road from the 99 Sikdang also offers similar fare which is just as delicious.

For you Buddhists who would like to go to a temple there is the Daewonsa Temple which is within walking distance from just about anywhere in Dodong-ri: It is not all that big or spectacular but it is worth a visit because it makes a nice little scenic place to visit.

And so we’ve come to the last agenda on our visit to Ulleungdo – the specialties of Ulleungdo. Ulleungdo is heavily forested and some of the locals have taken advantage of these natural resources to become master woodcarvers. The Ulleungdo aromatic tree, protected as a natural monument item, has a unique appearance and a strong aroma. Walking around town you can find many places like the souvenir shops near Dodong harbor to buy some outstanding wood carvings as gifts for someone back home.

As for the other specialties, they are more of the perishable kind and cannot keep for long, and unless you want to consume it immediately or in a day or two, then it’s not worth buying them. Anyway I shall tell you about them so that you can have an idea of how they look like and what they are used for.

Ulleungdo squids are caught in the clean neighboring waters from June till January of the following year and dried under the sun at the clean seaside. Transparent and bright red squids are regarded as prime quality. Those squids that are dried in the dry and cool winds in Autumn are supposed to be tastier.

Ulleungdo hobakyeot (pumpkin jelly) doesn’t contain any preservatives at all and 30 percent of good quality Ulleungdo pumpkin is mixed into this jelly so that it is not that sticky as compared with other kinds of Yeot(Korean Jelly. It doesn’t stick to the teeth, leaving a good aftertaste in the mouth as it isn’t too sweet. Other products made from pumpkin are the Garakyeot, pumpkin jam and pumpkin syrup which can be purchased at the special local product shops. I suppose you could buy the dried cuttlefish and the pumpkin jelly to eat on the bus/car on the way to our next destination.

I’m sure you must have seen Ulleungdo Wild Edible Greens on the menus of the restaurants you’ve been to so I shall tell you something about them.

Ulleungdo is located in the warm oceanic climate latitude and the island has a lot of mountains and valleys in it. Many unique plants are self generating throughout the island. Ulleungdo wild greens are sprouting in the snow in the early spring, and their quality and taste is excellent and there are many greens which have remedial results. Most of wild greens picked in spring are edible. Well known Ulleungdo wild greens are the Samnamul(Ginseng greens), Osmund, Myeongyi(mountain garlic), Ulleung goldenrod, Jeonho, Aralia. Dried greens are available throughout the year and in-season greens and be purchased around Dodong harbor.

Samnamul(Ginseng greens) also called Nungaeseungma. Samnamul is self generating in alpine regions and it is a perennial herbaceous plant. It is famous for its high nutritional value and unique flavor and taste. It is called ‘Samnamul’ as it contains plenty of saponin which is known to be the main constituent of ginseng. It is seasoned with vegetables after being boiled in the water and it gives a savory taste when it is cooked in various soups.

Osmund looks like fernbrake in appearance but its calorie is higher than fernbrake and it's a prime quality green. Osmund picked in Ulleungdo contains good quality protein, carbohydrate and such nutrients as vitamins

Jeonho is a family of dropwort which is self generating throughout the island and its shape is similar to a carrot leaf. You can have the real taste and unique flavor of these greens in Ulleungdo

Bujigaengyi( Erysimum aurantiacum) is a perennial plant and called Jawan, Jawon, Gaechimui of Baekwon. It can be picked throughout the year in Ulleungdo as it is grown in the snow as well and it is well known for its great taste

Myeongyi, (Mountain Garlic) is a perennial plant and it has a unique flavor and spicy taste like garlic, Korean leek and wild rocambole. Mountain garlic contains plenty of fibroid materials and it helps to remove toxins from the body. It also helps normalize cholesterol and is good for constipation.

I have enjoyed my stay in Ulleungdo, I hope you feel the same way. My only regret is that I did not get to visit Dokdo. So till we meet again in our next destination, goodbye for now.

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