Activities range from kayaking and camping to pro sports outings; Ulsan factory's 1.2 billion won fund restricted to local spending

Employees at Hyundai Motor's Ulsan factory kayak on the Taehwa River as part of a team-building activity. [Hyundai Motor]
Employees at Hyundai Motor's Ulsan factory kayak on the Taehwa River as part of a team-building activity. [Hyundai Motor]

Hyundai Motor has replaced its large-scale, division-wide athletic competitions with small-group team-building activities and required employees to spend their activity allowances locally — a shift the company says will strengthen workplace culture while supporting neighborhood businesses.

Starting this year, the Ulsan factory has swapped out its traditional sports days, which drew thousands of employees, for team-led activities running through the end of next month.

Teams have been planning a range of outings to suit their interests. Outdoor options include kayaking on the Taehwa River, coastal hiking along the East Sea and "plogging" — a combination of jogging and litter collection — along riverside paths. Younger employees have gravitated toward screen baseball, escape rooms, recreation workshops, urban camping and group outings to professional sports events.

To support the initiative, the company provides each employee 40,000 won ($30) in activity funds. Across the roughly 72,000-strong workforce, the total comes to 2.9 billion won, with the Ulsan factory's approximately 30,000 employees accounting for 1.2 billion won of that.

To keep the money circulating in the communities where its plants operate, Hyundai Motor has restricted spending to the region where each factory is located. Ulsan factory employees may use their allowances only in Ulsan, Busan and South Gyeongsang Province, a measure expected to benefit local restaurants, cafes and leisure businesses.

"By making team-building activities more flexible and self-directed to match what employees actually want, we hope to energize our workplace culture while also helping small local business owners through the spending restrictions — a win-win for everyone," a Hyundai Motor official said.


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