Moments in the Journey of Life : Visiting Ulleungdo: Korea''s "Mysterious" Island

I started planning trip to Mysterious Island. A couple of weeks ago I was selected for a trip to Ulleungdo-DOKDO trip. With few restrictions: I have to write an easy on ecosystem and etc. I agreed because I want to explore Ulleungdo, a magically green island off Korea’s western coast, and I wanted to make a visit to the country’s most renowned island, Jeju.

Can i just live here ?

Getting to Ulleungdo proved to be much more difficult than we’d originally expected. Our trip coordinator book ferry tickets, we leave from Mukho because it is closer to both Seoul and Ulleungdo. We boarded a bus headed for Donghae at 4.AM and rush to our destination after 3.5 hour travel we reach to Mukho ferry terminal, on Monday morning we were crossing the East Sea (or Sea of Japan if you aren’t in Korea) toward this island that, from the crowd on the ferry, seemed to only be popular with Koreans between the ages of 35 and 75. This really wasn’t that surprising as most of the foreigners I’d told I was going had never heard of the island and the two things Ulleungdo is most popular for are hiking and being a gateway to the disputed-with-Japan pile of rocks known as Dokdo, both of which the aforementioned demographic holds in high regard.

Our ride to the island: the Sunflower 2.

First glimpses of the island from the ferry window.

Welcome to Mysterious Island.

The ride was uneventful, full of calm seas and Olympic highlights, and about three and a half hours later we docked in the small, but crowded, colorful harbor of Dodong-ri. I was feeling slightly panicked at this point as I was alone how I will booked my accommodation, but fortune was with me our trip organizers mange everything very great manners. We peeked into the Ulleungdo Motel and the nice manger welcome us, after having some rest and lunch. We immediately set off to explore and two things were soon apparent. The first was that Ulleungdo is incredibly Korean. Don’t expect to see any English translations or Romanizations. If you’re coming without a tour group make sure you can read Hanguel and brush up on your seafood related vocabulary. The flip side to this is that the island doesn’t see many foreign tourists and most people seemed very pleasantly surprised to see us. Everyone went out of their way to be accommodating and helpful in whatever way they could be. The second thing we learned quickly is that there isn’t much to do. Dodong-ri is a sleepy fishing village with just enough hotels and small, family run restaurants to support a fledgling tourism industry. There aren’t any Western style bars or restaurants. It’s not a beach destination. No place to just hang out.

Melt-in-your-mouth delicious squid.

But there’s a lot that Ulleungdo does have. An interesting glimpse into Korean society. Some of the most stunning scenery I’ve seen. Anywhere. Immense cliffs jutting up from the turquoise water. Mountains covered with emerald green trees. Colorful squid boats floating in harbors. The next week will focus on coverage of the few days I spent on Ulleungdo exploring the beauty of this almost undiscovered island.

Though it was difficult to get to, and not the easiest while there, Ulleungdo is a destination that should become a must see for visitors to Korea and and island whose beauty could rival more famous places in the rest of Asia.

Ullengdo-DOKDO Trip in the eye of Camera!