Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Trip]

A friend of mine will be moving to Ulsan from overseas. I'll be visiting him and both of us would like to know more about Ulsan. If you can add info on these things, thanks in advance.

Good foreign restaurants

Foreign-friendly bars and hangouts

Nice parks

Weekend activities in or near the city

Finding Korean restaurants will be super easy, but feel free mentioning any favorites

[mcviking]

I am not going to lie to you Ulsan is pretty terrible. Go to Samsandong for Western food fix, and check out Beat bar and W Garden. There is Bench Warmers in Shinae, Purple Haze in the College area. That's Ulsan in a nut shell. THere are no subways, no English bus terminals, and there is no OMG this is awesome experience in Ulsan; its all just so so. If you are the only Waygook teacher at your school, good luck making friends, everyone seems pretty uptight and in their own clock there. The silver lining is that you are one hour away from Haeundae. Busan is 100x better.

[busanliving]

I totally disagree, most teachers in Ulsan are at schools where they are the only teacher, making friends is pretty easy, we are a pretty friendly bunch here in Ulsan. Sums up the bars pretty much, there isnt a great scope of western bars, a new ENglish pub in Samson dong called the Golden Eagle is where most people seem to find themselves these days. A lot of people tend to hangaround in non western bars too, it seems people in Ulsan do this a lot more than in the other big cities. Ulsan also has a lot to offer, if you like cycling or hiking plenty of opportunities, there's the beach, and the river area is nice to walk. There are sports groups, rugby and football, drama, orphanage volunteering and a bunch more stuff.

I would check out the facebook group Ulsan online and Ulsan Happenings, but also the website ulsanonline which is pretty useful and has guides to most of what is happening in the city. Feel free to ask me any questions or PM me.

[austinmc86]

Ulsan doesn't have great nightlife, i'll give you that. There are a few bars/pubs scattered in old and new downtown, but nothing too great. There are like 2 clubs, but they are a waste, really.
Though, Ulsan is in a pretty good location. You're close to Gyengju for the historical and close to Busan for shopping, food and nightlife.

Busan is like an hour away and costs only 4,000 won to get there.


Ulsan is good, but it's def. not Seoul or Busan.

[Yaya]

I plan on visiting Ulsan, and I hear it has way more expats than Itaewon. Is that true?

[brier]

What ever happened to the old ulsanweb? Lot of engineering types with the Hyundai yards if I remember.

http://www.hosterstats.com/HistoricalDomainStatistics.php?hoster=ulsanweb.net

[austinmc86]

it's ulsanonline.com



Also, there are a good number of foreigners here. I see a lot around the area, and i don't even live near Samsondong.

I see more and more each.

[mcviking]

I spent 9 months in Ulsan and hated it so much I transfered to Busan. If its your first time in Korea Ulsan is pretty rough. If you like staying at home and saving money Ulsan is great. It wasn't for me. Some people like it. I have met a few people that have had a blast there but Busan is where my Korean heart is.

[noobteacher]

I will also have to agree that Ulsan is not a bad place to be at all. If you're looking to party , get sloshed with huge groups of foreigners, and go to dance clubs/night clubs every night, then YES you will probably be miserable in Ulsan.

Ulsan is definitely the type of city for more chill people, and like busanliving said, there are plenty of other things to keep you busy such as hiking, biking, rock climbing, groups, etc.

There is the University area with tons of restaurants and coffee shops and more, Samsandong has some decent bars and great shopping, there is bus access to four different beaches, and there is the Ulsan Grand Park which is massive as well as some other smaller park areas. Plus, getting to Busan is super cheap and easy (and only takes 45-55 minutes), and bus/train access to other cities in Korea is also pretty easy.

Ulsanonline.com has also been my savior here for everything from bus routes to restaurant suggestions. I will also say that if you or your friend has any questions, you can PM me too

[jonpurdy]

Don't limit yourself to foreign bars here (which tend to be lame and attract the same crowd every week). There are lots of great restaurants and bars and hofs that you will have a great time in. Samsandong, Mugeodong, and Seongnamdong are all the best places to party in.