Ulsan – Korea’s Industrial Port

Ulsan is located on the south east coast of Korea. The city is known for being an industrial port city, with Hyundai operating one of the world’s largest car assembly plants and one of the largest shipyards in the world in Ulsan. Despite this, Ulsan still draws tourists in with its various sites and places of interest.

Things to do in Ulsan

Daewangam Park

Daewangam Park is located on the coast in the east of Ulsan. It’s a large park where you can spend most of the day walking through its pine forest and seeing the unique rock formations by the sea. One of the main attractions in the park is the swinging bridge – a suspended bridge that hangs over the sea.

You can follow the trail through the forest or take the coastal path to see the rocks and caves. There is an iron bridge out to Daewangam Rock in the sea. When I visited this part of the park was incredibly windy, making crossing to the rock more fun.

Another highlight of the park is Ulgi Lighthouse marking one of the highest points in the park.

Seuldo Lighthouse

Being a coastal city, Ulsan is home to many lighthouses. One of the most famous of these is Seuldo Lighthouse. This can be reached from Daewangam Park by walking along the Daewangam Coastal Path.

You’ll see a large white whale sculpture then a walkway extending out into the sea where the white Seuldo Lighthouse is located. Beyond that there is another lighthouse, the red Defense Lighthouse.

Visiting these lighthouses is easy to fit in with a day visiting Daewangam Park.

Ilsan Beach

Ilsan Beach is to the north of Daewangam Park. The beach is about 600m long and offers a good view of the Daewangam swinging bridge. There are also some surfboard sculptures to see along the beach.

Taehwagang National garden and Bamboo Forest

Taehwagang National Garden sits on the banks of the river of the same name. It’s a fairly large park home to flower meadows, sculptures and, the highlight, the bamboo forest. It’s worth visiting if you have some extra time in Ulsan.

Ulsan Grand park

Ulsan Grand Park is the largest park in Ulsan – so big that I didn’t have time to explore it all during my weekend trip to the city. In the park you can find a botanical garden, a famous rose garden, and even a zoo.

When I visited I only had time to walk through a small part of the park, but I saw Memorial Tower and the surrounding fighter jets and tanks that sit as a reminder of the Korean War.

I’ll need to return to Ulsan to explore more of this park, as you can easily spend a whole day walking through it all.

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