How Two Adults Transformed Their Lives Through Passion Projects: A Deep Dive into ‘Korean Journey’

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EBS1’s Korean Travel opens the first installment of “Adults’ Side Projects,” profiling Lee Hyun-woong, who has spent two decades photographing birds, and Song Soon-ja, who has spent the last ten years teaching herself English.

The episode follows adults who immerse themselves in study and exploration, tracing lives driven by curiosity and purpose.

Some adults fill their days with study and inquiry, treating side projects as serious pursuits. This episode profiles people who, outside of work, follow personal passions that give their everyday lives new meaning.

Sixty-year-old Lee Hyun-woong, a produce wholesaler, heads into the mountains after finishing his early-morning shift. Dressed in a ghillie suit and carrying a telephoto lens, he spends spring—the birds’ breeding season—traveling to mountains across the country to observe and photograph birds. What began about 20 years ago when he first photographed a kestrel grew into a deeper pursuit. Captivated by fleeting moments that can be captured only in an instant, he has photographed about 500 bird species. His photos and videos now draw about 590,000 followers on social media. Lee sometimes camps on a hillside near Daejeon to stay close to the wild. Two decades of focused work are visible in the images he shares.

Meanwhile, 70-year-old Song Soon-ja, who runs a hair salon, has spent the past decade intensively self-studying English. With only an elementary school education, she long harbored a hunger for learning. At 60, realizing even a shop sign could require English, she began studying. Notebook notes did not stick, so she turned to a childlike method: posting words around the home. She wrote English on calendars and put up roughly 700 sheets of paper, covering the living room, bedroom and even the ceiling. She reviews them daily, studying relentlessly. Her immersion in English reveals a fierce appetite for learning.

These people pursue what they truly want beyond the confines of a job. Their lives reflect a simple, persistent hunger for learning. Lee’s 20 years of single-minded focus and Song’s decade of steady study show how passion can be a valuable asset at any age. Their thoughtful side projects have become more than hobbies; they are engines that enrich their lives.

New landscapes and faces each week: EBS’s Korean Travel archive

EBS1’s Korean Travel first aired in August 2009 and remains one of EBS’s longest-running documentary series. The show documents seasonal landscapes, local culture and the lives of people across mountains, seas, towns and alleys nationwide.

Each week the program develops a single theme across a five-episode arc. Each episode runs about 30 minutes and offers a calm, attentive look at local lifestyles and sentiment.

Korean Travel favors authenticity over sensational staging. The producers pair restrained narration with stories encountered in real-life settings, presenting a plain, honest portrait of nature, people and place.

The series visits a wide range of locations—mountain villages, fishing communities, farms, island towns and urban alleys—introducing seldom-seen regional landscapes, residents’ lives and distinctive cultures.

The series currently airs regularly on EBS 1TV and continues to record lives and landscapes across the country with a new theme and location each week.

The show airs Monday through Friday at 9:35 p.m. Broadcast information is available on the EBS1 ‘Korean Travel’ homepage under “Preview.”