Ulsan Shipbuilding and Sea Festival
UPDATE: The Dong-Gu office has generously delayed registration deadline for foreigners until July 25th. Get your teams ready NOW!
If you’re looking for something interesting, fun and different to do the weekend of July 29th through July 31st then the Ulsan Shipbuilding and Sea Festival may be just what you’re looking for. And, if competition is something you like, and the prospect of winning some cash sounds good this is definitely a must-do event. Situated in the heart of the shipbuilding area at Ilsan Beach in Bangeojin, Dong-gu, the festival promises to be a mix of fun and games for all ages.
Events planned include a concert featuring the talents of Tae-jin-a, Gogostar, Aura, Maya and No-brain; boat making and racing contests; water-walking contests, yacht sailing, sandcastle building, ice carving, amberjack fishing, and nail art and face painting. After the concert, a fireworks show to light up the night sky is planned.
Some of these activities require a little advance planning. Registration is required for building a boat from recycled materials but the prize – nearly 15 million won (almost $15,000) – might encourage some to participate. Registration must be completed by July 18th. Ice carving registrants must also register early but the grand prize is 300,000 won. Walking on water, something I thought only special people could do, will pay out 500,000 won, 300,000 and 200,000 in prize money. These participants must also register early.
Other events, such as amberjack fishing, pay 10,000 won but require no advance registration. The sandcastle building is free for all to attend and build with instruction provided. Yacht and raft sailing are free of charge.
In addition, there will be games such as the Yellow Mud event (in case you didn’t get your Boryeong mudfest groove on this year), swimming contests, and something that quite a few people might find interesting – a bus tour of Hyundai Heavy Industries ship yard. Below is the schedule of events in detail.
Local food and exhibitions will be available throughout the festival.
For more information, albeit in Korean. Check out this link.
A number of buses go the Dong-gu and Ilsan Beach. To find onefrom your neighborhood use our handy-dandy bus search engine and look for Ilsan.