Gwangju to Jeju

On the final leg of his journey, Michael travels to South Korea’s south west, where food, protest and landscape reveal the values that have shaped the modern nation. Arriving by high-speed train in Gwangju, he explores the region’s deep-rooted food culture, meeting a prizewinning kimchi maker to learn how Korea’s iconic fermented dish has sustained communities for centuries and become a symbol of shared labour and tradition.

Michael then confronts a darker chapter in South Korea’s history at the May 18th Memorial Park, where a survivor of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising recounts how student-led protests against military rule were brutally suppressed and why the events are now regarded as the cornerstone of Korean democracy.

Leaving the mainland, Michael crosses by ferry to Jeju Island, a volcanic landscape dominated by Mount Halla. Exploring lava tubes with a volcanologist, he uncovers how the island was formed before meeting the Haenyeo, Jeju’s legendary female free divers.