'Island Hero' Lim Young-woong's Handwritten Letter at Sea Leaves Everyone in Tears

Lim Young-woong is set to deliver a tear-jerking surprise: a handwritten letter penned aboard the boat ride home.

SBS’s feel-good reality series ‘Island Hero’ airs its finale on Tuesday, Sept. 16 at 9 p.m. KST, wrapping a season that showed off new sides of Lim and kept viewers buzzing. The show follows Lim and his close friends as they dive into a delightfully unplanned island life.

For the last chapter, the crew closes out their island journey with a meaningful send-off. The centerpiece is Lim’s marathon encore set, where he turns the stage into a heartfelt thank-you, serenading the village elders who embraced them―an unforgettable gift. The celebration continues with a full spread of elevated, home-cooked dishes the team prepared, setting the table for a warm, all-in community feast.

Lim also opens up with candid reflections. According to production, even after cameras stopped rolling, he and his friends couldn’t bring themselves to leave right away, sharing gratitude for one another. He gave special shout-outs to the team’s “big brother” Orbit, the “kitchen hero” Lim Tae-hoon, and to Lee Yi-kyung and Heo Kyung-hwan, who rushed out to Somo-do Island to join the adventure. Short as it was, Lim’s bond with his crew promises to land with real emotional weight in the finale interviews.

And there’s a twist: Lim surprised the staff with a handwritten letter he wrote on the ferry back from the island. In it, he calls the crew “the true heroes who quietly gave their all in their own roles,” adding, “I hope our paths cross again soon.” The note reportedly moved the set to tears and made the final stretch of their journey even more special.

All the laughter, the gut-punch emotion, and the sincerity that defined Lim’s time on the island come together in the ‘Island Hero’ finale, airing Tuesday at 9 p.m. KST.

(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Sun-ae)