Ulsan, officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea"s seventh largest metropolis with a population of over 1.1 million. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring Busan to the south and facing the East Sea between Korea and Japan.
Ulsan is the industrial powerhouse of South Korea, forming the heart of the Ulsan Industrial District, which is home to the world"s largest automobile assembly plant operated by Hyundai Motor,[1] the world"s largest shipyard operated by Hyundai Heavy Industries[2] and the world"s largest oil refinery owned by SK Energy.[3] In 2008, Ulsan had a GDP per capita of $63,817, the highest by far in South Korea.[4] It would have been the world"s third wealthiest economy if ranked, being richer than Norway, Singapore, United States, Hong Kong and Switzerland.[5]
The city hosts the K-League football club Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i (Ulsan Hyundai Tigers), who, after the 2002 FIFA World Cup, relocated from their former stadium in Jung-gu, which is now a municipal ground, to the Munsu Stadium, which hosted several matches during the 2002 World Cup. Ulsan is home to another soccer team, Ulsan Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, which plays in the Korea National League. It is also home to the University of Ulsan.
