Ulsan

This article is about the city. For other uses, see Ulsan (disambiguation).

Ulsan
Metropolitan City
Taehwa River and skyline
Flag Logo
Ulsan Location within South Korea Ulsan Location within Asia Ulsan Location within Earth
Coordinates: 35°33′N 129°19′E
Country	South Korea
Region	Yeongnam
Districts	5 (including 1 county)
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Mayor	Kim Sang-wook (Democratic)
• Body	Ulsan Metropolitan Council
Area
• Total	1,057.136 km2 (408.162 sq mi)
Population  (February 2026)
• Total	1,098,421
• Rank	8th Korea
• Density	1,039.054/km2 (2,691.137/sq mi)
• Dialect	Gyeongsang
Demonym	Ulsanian
GDP (Nominal, 2023)
• Total	KRW 90 trillion (US$ 72 billion)
• Per capita	US$ 77,511
Area code	+82-52(2)
ISO 3166 code	KR-31
Website	Official website (English)
Korean name
Hangul	울산광역시
Hanja	蔚山廣域市
RR	Ulsan-gwangyeoksi
MR	Ulsan-gwangyŏksi

Ulsan (Korean: 울산; pronounced [uɭ.s͈an]), 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.

Ulsan is the city that built the first automobile hydrogen charging station in the country in 2009. In addition, the first hydrogen ship charging station in the country was installed in Jangsaengpo Port in 2021. Currently, the Ulsan Green Hydrogen Town project, a hydrogen city that supplies hydrogen by connecting the city and a hydrogen power plant, is in progress. In December 2016, 10 Hyundai ix35 FCEVs, the first hydrogen fuel cell taxis in the country, entered test operation.