episode_0052

To get rid of the ox horn, I ate the dinner soup (…) prepared by my mother and immediately boarded the liner heading to Ulleungdo.

-What is the purpose of visiting Ulleungdo at this time?

-It’s annual leave tomorrow! I’m going to eat squid sashimi.

-admit. When are you coming back? What are your travel plans?

-I plan to see Dokdo in the morning when the clouds are bright, buy pumpkin taffy, and return in the afternoon or evening.

-Well, you’re the perfect tourist. Pass!

-yes? Senior, isn’t that reason a bit different? I’m trying to enter Ulleungdo.

-You’re a Sejong Island faculty member. Since the verification has already been completed at the academy level as a ‘domestic national’, there is no need for rigorous verification. I’m going from Sejong Island to Ulleungdo.

– Well, that’s true too.

If my starting point was not Sejong Island, it would not be easy to get in and out of Ulleungdo.

Although it has been an island inhabited for a very long time, Ulleungdo is close to Sejong Island, so access to Ulleungdo is strictly controlled to the extent that access is similar to that of Sejong Island.

This is especially true between Sejong Island and Ulleungdo.

As there are people who smuggle themselves to Sejong Island through Ulleungdo Island, the ships that travel between Ulleungdo Island and Sejong Island are not just passenger ships, but have an appearance reminiscent of a military ship.

Moreover, the entry screening is similar to the entry screening on Sejong Island.

-But shouldn’t it be handled according to the manual?

-It’s okay because Sejong Island’s faculty and staff are going to Ulleungdo. It’s not like I’m going with a foreigner. no. If you are taking your foreign daughter-in-law with you, is it a free pass? Hehehe.

It was a shame because it was a Sunday evening and we were barely able to get on the last boat to Ulleungdo. If the screening had been delayed just a little longer, we wouldn’t have been able to get to Ulleungdo.

Sigh.

The ship arrived at Ulleung Port.

“Stop. Please line up and get off one by one. You must follow the agent’s control until your identity is verified.”

After getting off the ship anchored in Ulleung Port, which was built on a scale reminiscent of Busan International Port, I went through an entry screening and exited Ulleung Port, just as I did when leaving Sejong Island.

‘This is the Ulleungdo of this world.’

This is a place that brings back memories of a time when I came with friends to see Dokdo.

If there is one thing that is a little disappointing.

‘Is this Ulleungdo or Guam?’

The Ulleungdo I knew does not exist in this world.

It goes without saying that there are all kinds of Sunshade franchises, and there are even many foreign franchises.

Although the building breathes in the sea breeze, it is managed with a much more sophisticated design than the buildings in Seoul, and neon signs are sparkling like the night streets of Gangnam.

[Welcome to Ulleungdo, the island of miracles!]

Under the phrase, all kinds of foreign languages are written, and women wearing uniforms similar to marine look are stationed here and there like tourist guides, soliciting foreigners.

To sum up the world’s Ulleungdo in one line, it can be said to be a resort run by the government.

It is no exaggeration to say that it is not Ulleungdo but Ulleungdo Guam or Ulleungsaipan, and Ulleungdo has become a tourist attraction more popular than Jeju Island.

Because of mana.

Starting with Sejong Island, people visit the East Sea to absorb as much mana as possible, and among them, everyone wants to come to Ulleungdo, which is the closest to Sejong Island.

Most of the people who came to the island were people with special abilities.

After entering the island and finding accommodation, you accumulate mana through your own mana meditation.

Because Ulleung accumulates more mana than Uljin and Gangneung.

However, many people without special abilities also visit Ulleungdo.

Who are you?

Residents of Ulleungdo?

no.

“Baby, can we really succeed?”

“You should do it. You came to Ulleungdo for 2 days and 1 night with the money you paid for 5 days and 3 nights in Hawaii. I will make sure you succeed no matter what.”

“Baby, if we really have ‘that child’ later, will we raise it happily?”

“Okay. Instead of making villains, raise them to be patriots.”

Mostly newlyweds in their 20s or 30s visit.

Young children are almost impossible to find.

Because ‘persons with special abilities under the age of 15’ are not allowed to enter this island.

There is no reason for children to come to Ulleungdo, this ‘dream island for adults.’

Because this is an island where children are created.

“Look, there’s a bachelor. Did you come alone?”

An old man in a gray suit who looked to be about 60 years old came towards me.

When I came to visit Ulleungdo with friends in the past, the old man who came out in the pickup was wearing a fishing vest sold at the market over there, but the clothes the old man here is wearing are different.

Right now, the Nolex worn on top of the Taegeuk watch is proving the flex of the elderly.

This old man is old and old, but he is extremely rich.

And these old people are not the only ones.

“What about the lady?”

“I came alone. I am a faculty member at Sejong Academy.”

“Oh, draw it? That’s such a shame. I also thought they were a newlywed couple who came to the ‘Conception Course for those with special abilities’.”

“Hahaha….”

That’s really how a parent feels.

I want my children to be better than others, and this world is now a world where you can eat anything and survive as long as you have ‘talent’, even if you are ignorant or not talented.

“As you know, even people like me who were born before the cataclysm have ways to contribute to the country in the age of extraordinary abilities. Giving birth to a child with this ability.”

“Do any of your grandchildren have special abilities?”

“Say, man. My son is now a B-level talented person. Even if giving birth at age 40 is considered old age, giving birth is still giving birth.”

“Oh….”

A child born with a silver spoon in his mouth?

So can the child bend the spoon?

Even those with a silver spoon had to bow their heads in front of a spoonful of superpowers, and parents tried to enable their children to awaken their superpowers even if they could not pass on a huge amount of money.

“If you look at the indigenous people of Ulleungdo, you will find that one of their family members or relatives has or had a family member with a special ability. The same goes for virgin bachelors who come to Ulleungdo. Even if we charge 5 million won per night, why do so many people come here? They’re all here because they want to make my kids super-powered.”

“‘Pumpkin Honeymoon’.”

“Don’t use curly language. No, that’s why we make a living now, but we use our own language.”

“What is that?”

“Patriotic trip.”

“…….”

My child will somehow become a person with special abilities.

A honeymoon trip to Ulleungdo for the purpose of conceiving a child with special abilities was created in such a climate.

In fact, meaningful statistical data was released, and in fact, the probability of children born on Ulleungdo while spending a honeymoon being born with special abilities was quite high.

Even though it is difficult to live on Ulleungdo for a year because it costs hundreds of millions of dollars, you can come to receive the energy of Ulleungdo for just one night when fertilization takes place.

Now that we have reached 2025, most couples visiting Ulleungdo are those who chose to visit Ulleungdo on an auspicious day.

Not only Korean couples, but also foreign couples all have the same goal.

This is a pregnancy spot.

It is not a place for tourism, but a place to get pregnant.

“There is no reason for a man to come here alone… Are you trying to seduce a woman from Ulleungdo? If that’s the case, quit. What even judges and prosecutors can’t get over is that Ulleungdo’s virgins.”

“……Haha.”

“What is that reaction? Are you a talented person?”

“Not a person with special abilities. I just think it’s a bit different from the image of Ulleungdo I heard about when I was young.”

A strange look appeared in the old man’s eyes.

“When you were young? Hehehe, this guy. When you were young, it must have been when Ulleungdo surpassed Jejudo?”

“When my parents were young, we went on a date in Ulleungdo. I heard a lot about it back then.”

“Hehe, this guy. You’re talking about Ulleungdo before the cataclysm.”

The old man was filled with emotion as he gazed at the distant sea.

Not matching the numerous neon signs flashing behind him.

“In the past, everyone bought goods here and took boats. But there are no fishermen here anymore. Because the government forced them to change everything from pensions to hotels.”

“Was there any backlash?”

“Backlash? If I had kicked him out, there would have been an uproar right away. But fortunately that didn’t happen. You can make a hundred to a thousand times more by doing business with tourists than by soaking up the sunlight on a bad day, so who would refuse that?”

The profit was too much to refuse.

“Ulleungdo, which contained your parents’ memories, is no longer there. This is a place with only one purpose.”

The purpose of patriotism.

Giving birth is patriotism.

“So is that really the reason the man came alone? Even if you’re a Sejong Island faculty member, it’s a bit suspicious, right?”

“Haha. It’s true that you came alone. Actually… I’m this kind of person.”

I took out a business card.

“What kind of business card does the Sejong Island faculty member have…?…?!”

“Elderly.”

I narrowed my eyes at the old man, and he immediately handed me his business card back and stuck out his tongue.

“You’re a gentleman who comes out of nowhere… hehe. Mr. Joo’s wife contacted me and I was wondering if there was someone, and I ended up hosting a really big guest.”

“Thank you very much.”

This old man.

In addition to being a local of Ulleungdo, he is also the manager of a pension directly operated by the organization.

“Welcome to Ulleungdo, the island of miracles and patriotism.”

The old man pressed the car key toward the parking lot, and a black mid-to-large sedan flashed its lights as if it had called him.

Weeeeing.

The car jumped forward on its own, and the old man opened the backseat door.

“Up to this point.”

“Even if you go to a 5-star hotel in Seoul, they provide valet parking, so why not do this at a 5 million won per night pension?”

“That’s it again.”

I laid down on the back of the chair.

“Then…I will take you to your destination comfortably, Manager Do.”

“Thank you very much. Elderly.”

“Yes.”

Does this old man know?

The hot springs that gush out from your own land and the pensions built around them are the most valuable places on earth.

You won’t know.

On the outside, everyone knows that I am just an ordinary pension manager and a collaborator in a desperate situation.

In the first place, no one knew that the hot springs managed by this old man had such effects.

“Well, Manager Do. I’m asking this because I’m really curious about the old man.”

“What is it?”

“…Which of the directors will you bring with you next? By any chance, Chairman?”

No matter how much Ulleungdo has changed.

“Could it be that all five of you…?”

“…….”

“Ah. It’s okay if not. Even if you bring another woman, I will keep my mouth shut. LOL.”

Adults in this country are still the same.

Ulleungdo.

Overseas, this place was called the island of miracles and pregnancy.