Ulsan

Ulsan, officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring Busan to the south and facing Gyeongju to the north. Ulsan is the industrial powerhouse of South Korea, forming the heart of the Ulsan Industrial District. It has the world's largest automobile assembly plant, operated by the Hyundai Motor Company; the world's largest shipyard, operated by Hyundai Heavy Industries; and the world's third largest oil refinery, owned by SK Energy. In 2020, Ulsan had a GDP per capita of $65,352, the highest of any region in South Korea. Administrative divisions Ulsan is divided into four gu (districts) and one gun (county): Buk District Dong District Jung District Nam District Ulju County History Stone tools found at the Mugeo-dong Ok-hyeon archaeological site indicate that Ulsan was inhabited by humans at least as early as the Paleolithic Era. Other findings indicate human inhabitation in the Neolithic Era. Ulsan also contains a substantial number of settlement remains from the Bronze Age. During the Jinhan confederacy, Ulsan was a site of iron mining and production. In the Later Silla period, Ulsan served as an important port for the economic hub of Gyeongju, and likely saw the import of luxury Persian goods such as silver, glass, and peacock tails.