Ulsan

This past weekend Blair and I went to Ulsan. Ulsan is a seaside city located on the eastern coast of Korea along the East Sea. It’s only a 30 minute train ride from Daegu via the KTX (high-speed train). The city is known for its whaling heritage and as the industrial heart of the country. 

On Saturday, we visited Ulsan’s petroglyphs. Our journey began at the Ulsan Petroglyph Museum. The museum explained the history of the area’s petroglyphs in great detail. After some time in the museum, we made our way to the Bangudae Petroglyphs and saw lots of nice scenery along the way.

Bangudae, meaning turtle.

The engraved rock at the Bangudae Petroglyphs shows pictures of hunters, fishermen, shamans, deer, tigers, cows, whales, and sharks. The engravings are believed to have been made towards the end of the Neolithic or the start of the Bronze Age. Unfortunately, the distance between the viewing area and petroglyphs made it difficult to see the engravings of Bangudae.

Near the Bangudae Petroglyphs.

Next, we made our way to the Petroglyphs of Ulju Cheonjeon-ri which was just a short hike from Bangudae. The Petroglyphs of Ulju Cheonjeon-ri represents the Hwarang System of the Silla period. Thankfully, these petroglyphs were more accessible, making them much easier to see.

The engravings at the Petroglyphs of Ulju Cheonjeon-ri.

After the petroglyphs, we made our way to the city and stumbled upon a local fish market. At the fish market, we wined and dined with the locals. Everyone was very friendly, they offered us some their dinner and plenty of soju (type of rice-vodka). We then decided to grab a bite to eat ourselves. So, Blair bought us some freshly caught octopus and we had it cooked on the spot. We really enjoyed our time at the fish market.

The fish market in Ulsan.

The next morning, we tried to catch the bus to the waterfalls near Ulsan, but we ended up missing it. So Instead, we explored some parts of the city and slowly made our way back to Daegu.