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Hyeoncheol and Juhyeon's sled dogs are
successfully adapting to Alaska.
The couple has to secure enough firewood
and find a way to get water in the house
before winter approaches.
But they get shocking news.
Juhyeon starts sobbing.
Oh, no. Poor Ippeun.
Awaiting her is Ippeun's lifeless body.
Oh, no.
Hyeoncheol takes Ippeun's body inside.
She was playing with them just hours ago.
They can't believe what has happened.
The couple was in the city,
and Seongho stepped out for a moment
when the accident occurred.
Oh, no. Look at all the bite marks.
This is too much.
There are signs of a vicious struggle.
A fight broke out with another dog,
but there was no one to break up the fight.
Ippeun spent 24-7 with them for 7 years.
The unexpected goodbye is filled with tears.
The condition of the dog box is telling.
The leash, once tied to a tree, is cut.
What exactly happened?
Many people had been coming in and out
to install internet in the house.
The strangers agitated Gaeddong,
cutting the leash while the couple was out.
There was an accident.
Gaeddong and Ippeun got into a fight.
Gaeddong's badly hurt too.
Neighbors apparently heard barking.
Gaeddong and Ippeun had gotten into fights
before, but this time, no one was around.
She suffocated to death.
There's no one to blame.
They're all just devastated.
Ippeun had gotten into a fight with
a dog she never could've beaten.
Gaeddong senses the sadness.
But he's injured. He can't be left outside.
He can't help but think this was his fault.
Should he have left Ippeun in Korea?
But she was like the couple's child.
The tragedy is difficult to stomach.
The next day.
Life goes on indifferently.
Hyeoncheol prepares for their farewell.
The two men have been very quiet.
Ippeun will lie to rest on a sunny plot.
Pit bull terriers are patient and loyal.
Greedy people turn them into fighting dogs.
Hyeoncheol brought Jo-un's ashes in an urn
to bury in Alaska next spring.
He never thought he'd end up
burying Ippeun first.
Ippeun, doted on by the couple, will be
laid to rest right by the couple's home.
Death leaves a cutting mark.
Ippeun ("sweet one") was indeed very sweet.
Juhyeon can't seem to let her go.
As always, Hyeoncheol and Juhyeon
are together in a time of need.
Goodbye never gets easy.
It's a tearful day in Alaska.
Ippeun's traces go up in flames.
The living will now have to keep on living.
A few days later.
Hyeoncheol heads to downtown Fairbanks.
He looks tense.
He's on his way to a job interview.
Can you operate maintenance equipment?
I can do all that.
I'll introduce you to him,
but I don't know what will come of it.
Let's go in.
Myeongok is putting in a good word for
Hyeoncheol with the car dealership's owner.
Hyeoncheol used to work with car parts.
My name is Nicky Seo. I'm from South Korea.
What type of job?
I can do anything.
I don't know what jobs you have here,
but I can do anything.
We don't have a lot of openings right now.
We could have an opening.
Washing cars and getting ready for delivery.
- Would you be interested? / - Yeah.
Hyeoncheol desperately needs a stable job.
With his racing dogs, his home...
So he's basically looking for a job.
Because his English level is so limited...
It will be some time before he gets a job,
but he already feels closer to his dream.
He didn't give up mushing in Korea.
The confidence and passion he gained from
mushing will be his greatest asset here.
Is there anything else you'd like to ask?
I can do anything, so...
- Thank you. / - I hope to see you again.
He even learned English on his own to mush.
This is only the beginning,
so I'm just going to hope for the best.
I don't know if he'll call me or you,
so let's keep in touch.
Hyeoncheol finds the strength to carry on.
See you next time then.
I'll be in touch. Thank you.
There's a subtle bounce to his gait.
My wife was going to work too, but it's not
easy leaving the dogs unattended.
But she does need to get out too, so she'll
probably have to find something easy.
And we can take turns at the house.
Fairbanks, the city of sled dogs.
They begin full-fledged training.
They come up with the day's roster after
thoroughly examining each dog.
Hyeoncheol once worked on a German team
to learn training techniques
and improve his team.
Team organization, training, and feed...
Sled dog racing is a scientific sport.
The dogs have fully adapted.
Optimus.
Tiesto.
Hyeoncheol continues to encourage them.
He got drawn into the sport because
of the joy of being with his dogs.
Easy.
They stop right on command.
And as soon as Hyeoncheol says go,
they start running again at full speed.
The teamwork is astounding.
Sue, Prime, good job.
Hyeoncheol lavishes praises on them.
However...
You didn't do your best.
She's not panting.
Because she didn't run hard.
She looks very different from them, right?
Honey, look at Tiara. She didn't run hard.
Her harness was as slack as can be.
Achilles, good job.
A few words of praise can go a long way,
so Tiara might do better next time.
Juhyeon is the team's trainer.
You should wait a bit.
They should catch their breath at least.
Okay.
They find themselves at odds.
They're all hot and tired though.
I know, but you're rushing it.
- They could get indigestion. / - Okay.
Hyeoncheol's unusually high-strung today.
But sled dogs made their love possible.
Plus, couples argue all the time.
With their canine children around,
the argument soon subsides.
If a race or training doesn't go
exactly as he anticipated,
he tends to get agitated. But things can't
always turn out the way he'd like them to.
Hyeoncheol talks to them lovingly
as he would to people.
Because we work and race together,
they're very special to me.
They're not like pets we raise at home.
We're making something together.
I consider them athletes I'm training.
It's thrilling to see the team get better.
They're using Arlie's trails for now,
but they hope they'll get their own one day.
That afternoon.
A huge problem has been resolved.
They found a community tap near their home.
We'll need a hose.
This saves them 2 hours a day.
For $40, we can use this for a year.
They give you a key when you pay the $40.
By turning the key, you turn the motor on.
Alaska has taught them the value of water.
We'll have running water eventually.
We can't live like this forever.
The town's groundwater supply seems okay,
so their water woes will hopefully end.
Early next morning,
Hyeoncheol heads into Fairbanks.
He straightens his hat and jacket.
Where could he be going?
He walks into a restaurant kitchen.
He'll be working mornings here.
Wash them through here,
then you kinda...Like this.
Load them up and run them through.
He couldn't just sit around waiting,
so he got himself part-time work.
He would've gotten something better in Korea,
but he's told himself he'd work
his way up one step at a time in Alaska.
It's just rinsing dishes and loading them
in the dishwasher, so it's easy work.
I'll be working in between training.
I'll be doing this and that.
I'll have to do whatever I can find.
This is just part-time work.
I'll be working my way up.
It pays a little under $10 an hour.
Until he can live on mushing alone,
he'll be doing more jobs like this.
He has to tidy the kitchen and the hall.
May humble beginnings lead to greatness.
They've gotten more used to Fairbanks.
They visit a musher in the neighborhood.
They're so cute.
He has a lot of huskies.
The couple has come to see Nicky,
a third-generation musher.
Your dogs?
- Yeah, the yearlings? / - Yes.
All these are yearlings.
Hyeoncheol's team needs a new member.
Do you have developing leaders?
Yeah. Do you want me to show you?
There's one right there.
Mushers vie to get sled dogs
from high-ranking teams. Hyeoncheol hopes
his dogs will one day be sought after.
I think it's good.
I wish there were more people coming.
I wish Nicky was here 10-15 years ago.
We're worried about being enough races.
I think it's very good.
Sled dog puppies stop them in their tracks.
They're so cute.
How can anyone not fall in love with them?
My latest litter.
This one's my last litter here.
I'm going to sell one of these litters.
They'd love to take them home,
but right now, they need a racing dog.
Wanna see them?
Around 3 weeks old?
- 3 weeks? / - Yes.
- She has a runny nose. / - She's cold.
They'll come back about their race dog.
So I will call you back.
When you're training, call me or I'll call you.
We want to see the yearling in training.
It's a slow but involved process.
The time for his team to shine will come.
Night falls early as winter deepens.
The night is still and quiet.
- Wow! / - What is it?
Hold up.
- It's nuts out there. / - Why?
There are huge auroras.
We should go out.
Hurry, Juhyeon!
Look over there.
Let's go to the clearing like last time.
Alaska puts on a special show for them.
With auroras and shooting stars, Alaska,
the "great land," becomes one grand stage.
The Northern Lights embroider the sky.
I saw 3 shooting stars.
The auroras and shooting stars
seem to be telling us we'll be alright.
It's like heaven decided to show us
these massive auroras as a sign.
I hope Seongho does well back in Korea,
I hope we do well here, and I hope we all
can be good sons and daughters.
There's another one. Wow.
It doesn't end.
Northern Lights, show me the way.
They really can show people the way
because they appear in the northern skies.
They show up near the Big Dipper,
so they serve as a coordinate of sorts.
Hyeoncheol and Juhyeon, who are happiest
being with their sled dogs, are in Alaska.
Winter has come in Alaska,
the land of icecaps and glaciers.
It's the first snow of the season.
They're more excited than concerned.
It's the first snow, so it's nice to see.
They say it'll keep snowing from now on.
One of the coldest winters is lying ahead,
so she'd better get used to this.
The dogs are also excited about the snow.
Hyeoncheol's day will get more hectic.
They traveled 6,000km from Korea.
It feels like they only just got here.
They arrive at a nearby lake.
The sled dogs are in their element.
They're having a ball.
The dogs too have traveled far.
She calls out to her husband and babies.
Optimus.
The dogs begin to pick up speed.
Optimus.
They don't leave Hyeoncheol's side.
Let's have some water.
Born on January 1, 2012, they are
the rising stars of Hyeoncheol's team.
All sled dogs are born to run.
First, second, third.
They'll run toward a new future in Alaska.
Hyeoncheol, the doting daddy of sled dogs,
This is a good place for them to train.
always has mommy Juhyeon by his side.
*** was running very well.
But AK didn't do well.
He couldn't really speed up.
It's team effort.
One fast dog isn't always a good thing.
You need balance.
Without her, he couldn't have come here.
I'm thankful she trusts me and
has come with me to do this together.
I think by working together,
we can achieve greater things.
We probably hit rock bottom
earlier this year. What this means is
we now have nowhere else to go but up.
In Alaska today, there lives a couple who's
on a road no has ever gone down before.
Greetings from Alaska.
We've gotten so much snow.
2 weeks after you left...
We're doing well, so...
We received a welcome message from Alaska.
Greetings from Alaska!
We've gotten so much snow after you left.
You must've kept the snow away.
We've continued to train hard.
We're all healthy and well,
so see you again next time.
Bye!
It's a video message from the couple.
The couple travels
an unchartered road in Alaska.
The road to Alaska.
Their dazzling journey begins now.