Festival runs Thursday through Sunday at Jangsaengpo Whale Culture Special Zone

Fireworks show, whale parade among highlights

Aerial walkway 'Goraedunggil' to open on first day

The 30th Ulsan Whale Festival runs Thursday through Sunday at the Jangsaengpo Whale Culture Special Zone, featuring citizen participation programs. Shown are last year's fireworks show (left) and the aerial walkway Goraedunggil (right), which opens on the festival's first day. A Wales Cart rides along the walkway above. [Ulsan Nam-gu Office]
The 30th Ulsan Whale Festival runs Thursday through Sunday at the Jangsaengpo Whale Culture Special Zone, featuring citizen participation programs. Shown are last year's fireworks show (left) and the aerial walkway Goraedunggil (right), which opens on the festival's first day. A Wales Cart rides along the walkway above. [Ulsan Nam-gu Office]

The 30th Ulsan Whale Festival, the city's signature annual event, will be held Thursday through Sunday at the Jangsaengpo Whale Culture Special Zone, organized by the Whale Culture Foundation.

Themed "Whale's Invitation: A 30th Birthday Party!," this year's edition is designed as a participatory festival where attendees take center stage. The aerial walkway Goraedunggil, a new scenic landmark within the special zone, will also open on the festival's first day.

Goraedunggil is a 135-meter-long, 3-to-6-meter-wide elevated walkway built at a cost of 6.1 billion won ($4.55 million) as part of the Southern Region Wide-Area Tourism Development Project led by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Positioned 20 meters above ground, the 360-degree panoramic promenade offers sweeping views of the Whale Culture Village, hydrangea groves, the sea off Jangsaengpo and the Ulsan Grand Bridge.

Festival-goers can enjoy a range of attractions, including Wales Swing — a 14-meter-high aerial swing — Wales Cart, a ride that follows a dedicated track for speed and scenery, The Wave, a media-art installation, and Jangsaengpo Light, a nighttime media experience using SK Group's former oil storage tanks. Visitors looking to extend their stay can use Goraejam, a family-oriented tourism accommodation facility within the Whale Culture Village.

To mark the opening of Goraedunggil, Ulsan Nam-gu Urban Management Corporation will run a social media discount promotion from Thursday through Oct. 30. Visitors who take a verification photo in front of the hydrangea sculpture along the walkway and post it with the required hashtags will receive a 20 percent discount on admission to Yetmaeul, Wales Cart and Wales Swing within the Jangsaengpo Whale Culture Special Zone.

The festival opens Thursday evening with a ceremony at 7 p.m., followed by hands-on programs including whale-fin crafting, a Whale Explorer family tour, augmented reality experiences and a whale-riding challenge, as well as children's musicals, performance stages and nighttime events.

On the third floor of Jangsaengpo Culture Warehouse, an exhibition titled "Time of the Whale" will trace 30 years of the Ulsan Whale Festival and the memories its visitors have made.

On the final day, a whale parade commemorating the 30th edition will begin at 4 p.m., followed by a special whale-themed fireworks show after dark. The full daily program is available on the Ulsan Whale Festival website.

Nam-gu District Mayor Lim Hyeon-cheol, who also serves as chairman of the Whale Culture Foundation, said he hopes both local residents and out-of-town visitors will create happy memories at the festival, which has been prepared as an event people can take part in and shape together in its 30th year.


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