[2][3] Volcanic in origin, the rocky steep-sided island is the top of a large stratovolcano which rises from the seafloor, reaching a maximum elevation of 984 metres (3,228 ft) at Seonginbong Peak.

[4] The island makes up the main part of Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and is a popular tourist destination.

After tourism, the main economic activity is fishing, including its well-known harvest of squid, which can be seen drying in the sun in many places.

In that year, the Silla general Kim Isabu conquered the island, which had previously been the autonomous nation of Usan-guk.

Some accounts relate that he used a number of wooden lions to intimidate the population, threatening to turn them loose unless they surrendered.

[5] Usan-guk did not remain under the Silla rule, however, and the island did not become a permanent political part of Korea until 930, when it was annexed by Goryeo.

As above mentioned, North Pacific right whales and pinnipeds were targeted by whalers and sealers in the adjacent waters.

Other scenic sites are Seonginbong, the highest peak on the island (984 m (3,228 ft)); Bongnae waterfall; the "natural icehouse"; and a coastal cliff from which the Liancourt Rocks can be discerned in the distance.