Ulleungdo, at Korea's Easternmost Edge — an Ancient Landscape and a New Experience
Ulleungdo has no flights; the island can only be reached by ferry. Because of that, the wealth of ingredients and the striking food culture of Ulleungdo remain unfamiliar to most people. To take a closer look at the potential and distribution possibilities of the island's herbs and vegetables, along with its Chikso cattle and native pigs, nanrohoe convened at the country's easternmost edge — Ulleungdo itself.
On Ulleungdo, ingredients you would rarely come across in mainland cities — myeongi, bujigaengi, deodeok, seommallari, pumpkin, red potatoes and more — are dressed as namul and cured as jangajji in ways that are entirely the island's own. Those vegetables were enjoyed alongside meat: Ulleungdo Chikso, native pigs, and grilled goat — all raised on the island's namul — brought a deep round of flavor to the table. The goat here was prepared the Ulleungdo way — first seasoned, then grilled over charcoal, then finished in broth, in a style local to the island. The grilled shrimp caught in the pristine waters just off Ulleungdo carried a taste of the sea no one wanted to miss.
Seoul and its metropolitan area now hold plenty of restaurants specializing in regional cooking, and yet — there is still food culture in each part of the country that you cannot really meet without going there yourself. The wide sea and blue sky the group met, far from the city, were things that had been there all along; and yet, everyone said, this was one of the freshest experiences they could remember.
