10 Best Family Things to Do in Ulsan

Soepyeong Children's Park is a pretty park designed to provide children with a safe place where they can play without worrying about anything. In highly industrialised cities, it has now become difficult to find sandy flooring at playgrounds in apartment complexes and neighbourhoods. Playing with sand has a positive effect on the stable emotional development of children, and this park has a space for sand play and slides.

From low slides that children of all ages can ride, and two-storey slides in the shape of a tree house, which may be a bit challenging for timid children, there are different types of slides. The park features other various attractions, including a thrilling rail sled that is popular with children. There is also a pavilion where you can take a break while watching your children having fun, and a barbecue area where you can have a small barbecue party with your family.

Amethyst Cavern Park is Korea's largest cave-themed park to experience the wonders of nature with your family in a cave where it is cool all year round. The park was renovated from an abandoned mine for amethysts, one of the world's five greatest gems. As the temperature is constantly maintained, the park is called the “heating cave” in winter and the “cooling cave” in summer. As the nicknames suggest, you and your children can have a good time together here, regardless of weather conditions.

The Cave Waterway Exploration is a programme where you can enjoy a leisurely tour of the cave on a boat, and it is especially popular with families with the elderly who have difficulty walking. The amethyst natural soap making programme is popular especially with children. Every time you wash your hands at home using the soap you made, it will bring back the happy memories. Even children who don't like washing will run to the sink seeing the soap they made.

The Ulsan Science Museum, which opened in March 2011, is a learning centre for the whole family that runs various programmes for both students and parents. The interior space from the 1st to 6th floors are divided into the Station of Time, Station of Meeting, Station of Thinking, and Station of Investigation that provide experiences on various themes. The planetarium on the first floor has a hemispherical dome screen to observe celestial bodies and astronomical phenomena.

The Basic Science Hall, consisting of a physics laboratory, a chemistry laboratory, a biology laboratory, and an invention education centre, runs a one-day educational programme, which is a valuable opportunity for those who find science difficult to become familiar with various scientific principles. The Big Bang Hall regularly holds a “science concert” by inviting prestigious scientists as lecturers. Their stories on how they have pursued their dreams and made achievements in their fields will help children can pursue their own dreams.

Ulsan Keunaegi Night Market is a place where all your family members can find foods that will suit their tastes. Even after you had dinner, you sometimes get the hunger pangs at night. If you want some snacks that will satisfy your hunger without making your stomach feel heavy, this night market can be the answer. Of course, it is also good to visit the market earlier in the evening and have dinner there.

The market, certified by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, has a reliable management system to ensure the safety of foods through a reliable management system, so even family tourists with young children can have a diversity of choices. One of the biggest merits of a night market gourmet tour is that every family member can choose the food they like, without having to select one to please them all. Sharing the various foods chosen by each family member, such as gimbap (seaweed rice roll), kkosuntteok (set meal of skewers, Korean sausages, and stir-fried rice cakes), assorted pancakes (modumjeon), and chicken heart skewers (yeomtong kkochi), in the rest area, you will feel the bonds between you strengthen.

The Jangsaengpo Whale Museum is the only whale museum in Korea established on a port that served as the centre for the local whaling industry in the past. Collecting, preserving and displaying artifacts related to whaling that has come to an end since the ban in 1986, the museum witnesses the history of whaling in the region. Looking around the museum slowly, you may get the sense of history coming back alive.

On the grounds in front of the museum, a real whaleboat is on display. The whaler, which once sailed the seas but is now fixed on land, seems to symbolise the end of the era of whaling. In the museum, which consists of the Special Exhibition Hall, the Whale Learning Centre, the Whale Research Lab, and an observatory and a video room, children seem to most favour the slide. As the slide descends from the 3rd floor to the 2nd floor in an instant, ensure your kids don't get hurt while riding.

Dinosaur Footprints Park is a place where you can let your imagination run wild while looking at real dinosaur footprints and dinosaur models from the Cretaceous period. The site, designated as Cultural Property Material No. 12 of Ulsan Metropolitan City, preserves 3 footprints of the carnivorous dinosaur Maniraptora and 77 footprints of the herbivorous dinosaur Koreanosaurus that were created some 100 million years ago. Created with the theme of dinosaurs, the park has become popular with tourists.

You can find dinosaur models that represent four species of dinosaurs, including Tyrannosaurus, Tarbosaurus, and Hadrosaurus, throughout the park. Being life-size, they give an imposing impression. Some of the dinosaur models have a built-in sensor and move every 10 minutes, making children so excited. The park also features a playground where children can play with sand and a rest area, which make it a popular family outing destination. However, as it is located near an apartment complex and has a small carpark, you may have difficulties finding a parking space.

Established in 2015, Jangsaengpo Whale Culture Village is a place that reproduces the atmosphere of old villages in the region with the theme of whales. The village consists of various spaces and facilities, including the Jangsaengpo Old Village, Whale Square, Whale Madang, 5D Theatre, and Jangsaengpo Whale Life Experience Centre. Jangsaengpo Old Village is a street that recreates the era where whaling thrived in the 1960s and 1970s. Visit with your parents and learn and talk about their times seeing the exhibits along the street.

The most popular attraction in the village is the Whale Ecology Experience Centre. Here, you can see whales swimming in a lively manner. There is even an underwater tunnel that can only be seen in a large aquarium, which will leave your children's jaws dropping. In the 5D Theatre, you can sit on a 360-degree swivel chair and watch whales swimming in the ocean, while artificial water fog, wind and vapour make you feel like you're seeing real whales up close.

Make pottery in Oegosan Onggi Village, Korea's largest pottery village, with your family and experience the wisdom of ancient Koreans. The village that has produced pottery since the 1950s, was once a place where around 350 potters lived together and supplied the pottery that they made to the entire country. Today, the custom of preserving kimchi for winter in earthenware has become part of Korea's bygone lifestyle, but the village provides an invaluable opportunity for the older generation of Korea to share their memories with the younger generation.

At the experiential centre, you can knead clay to mould it into the shape you want. Though you may not be very skilful, you will feel so rewarded to be able to make a one-of-a-kind pot in the world. The pot you made is baked at a high temperature by potters at the centre and sent to your address by courier after a month. You cannot make large pottery like those for storing kimchi, but you can gain valuable experience while making small pottery using the same techniques passed down from the past.

Ilsan Beach is a place where parents and children can relax and enjoy exciting activities together. The waves are gentle at the beach thanks to its terrain recessing towards the shore in the shape of a jar, so even young children can safely play in the water with their parents. You can feel the family bond strengthen when you sit on the outstretched white sandy beach and watch the sea together. The fantastic seascape will become part of the memories that you and your family share together.

Among the various marine activities, family boat and picnic boat riding are the most popular at the beach. Prepare some snacks and get on a picnic boat together. Floating on the blue sea, you can eat tasty foods and have nice little chats with your family.

The Ulsan Whale Festival is a local festival held every year with the theme of whales, a symbol of the region. As the festival is held around Jangsaengpo, the former whaling base, it was once called the “Jangsaengpo Whale Festival.” The festival kicks off on slightly different dates every year, but it is usually held between May and June. The festival provides various programmes the whole family can enjoy together, such as the opening ceremony, congratulatory performances, re-enactment of gocheonje (heavenly rituals), street parade, Jangsaengpo Punggyeongje Festival, closing ceremony, and Whale Concert.

There are also many experiential and participatory programmes where the whole family can have a good time together, such as a whale-themed ice sculpture contest, whale-shaped boat racing contest, dolphin-shaped boat riding, prehistoric rafting experience, prehistoric whaling boat making, and cooking contest. Visit the festival with your children and participate in these special programmes.