This afternoon I accompanied the new photographer, Natalie, and videographer Jari, into Ulsan. We started off looking for whale-meat restaurants. We found several in the nearby streets, but nothing worth photographing or videoing. We asked at the local convenience store, using Natalie's only Korean phrase, where we can find whale meat, but the shopkeeper seemed to think we were asking for cookies. So we proceeded into town, Natalie dodging large trucks as we wound our way through petrochemical complexes and Hyundai shipping yards. This entire area is devoted to heavy industry, but reassuring signs picturing happy dolphins splashing about in sunlit seas, and cartoon renditions of whales with the slogan "Ulsan for You" paint a greener, more appealing picture.

Eventually, after refusing the rather enthusiastic assistance of a local taxi driver who kept following us, we found the huge market complex near the inevitable Hyundai department store in the centre of town. The markets feature fruit and vegetables, dried produce, and more importantly for us - fresh seafood. So fresh, in fact, that I saw a large fish being cut up alive right in front of me. I recoiled instantly and nearly knocked over the woman behind me, believe me - the image will stay with me a long time. The floor in some areas was covered in writhing, gaping, suffocating fish and pools of blood. A huge red octopus lay spread out on a table surrounded by his smaller cousins (you can see it in the photo), and the skin of a shark lay across chunks of meat, complete with gills and eye socket. As you can probably tell, I didn't find the place very appealing, and the stench was oppressive - most of this produce wasn't packed in ice.

And of course, we found the whale meat. Chunks of the fatty kind, as well as the choice cuts Jim was telling us about. There were several stalls selling it, so it isn't unobtainable - there must be a fairly regular supply. We also saw dark-skinned fins, which we think may have belonged to dolphins or smaller whales. Nothing very scandalous though, so we left and examined the cumquats for a while before returning to the ship.

But don't worry, tomorrow there will be some more exploring...