A promotional poster for the 2026 Ulsan 119 Safety Culture Festival, held under the theme "South Korea's No. 1 Safety City — This Is Ulsan." [Provided by Ulsan city]
A promotional poster for the 2026 Ulsan 119 Safety Culture Festival, held under the theme "South Korea's No. 1 Safety City — This Is Ulsan." [Provided by Ulsan city]

The 2026 Ulsan 119 Safety Culture Festival, a two-day event designed to build public safety awareness through hands-on activities, opens Friday and Saturday at the Ulsan Exhibition and Convention Center (UECO), hosted by the Ulsan Fire Department.

The opening ceremony, set for 10:30 a.m. Friday, will be attended by Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk alongside three civic heroes — Kim Song-gon, Moon Hyeon-seo and Yun Jae-jun — who saved lives at fire and disaster scenes. They will deliver a message on spreading a culture of safety to the public.

Under the theme "South Korea's No. 1 Safety City — This Is Ulsan," the festival will run 93 safety experience programs across five zones: a disaster experience zone, a life safety zone, a future experience zone, a family participation zone and a safety experience zone. Activities include fire evacuation drills, descent device training, CPR practice, safety and health virtual reality (VR) experiences, an AI fire truck experience and a firefighter uniform experience.

Families can enjoy a range of performance programs — a children's safety musical, a magic show, a juggling performance and a paper airplane contest — as well as hands-on activities including a four-cut firefighter safety photo booth, a 360-degree photo zone, caricature drawing, face painting and a fire truck coloring station.

Competition events will also be held, featuring a lifestyle safety OX quiz game, a disaster psychology safety quiz, a safety golden bell contest, an Ulsan citizens' talent showcase and a 119 firefighter children's song competition.

"This year we have expanded hands-on programs that families can enjoy together and will also operate an expanded temporary parking area," a Ulsan Fire Department official said. "Safety is best remembered when experienced firsthand, and we hope all citizens will use this festival to feel the importance of safety."


cityblue@heraldcorp.com