Ulsan gears up for a month of cultural events in October

Ulsan will transform into a festival city this October as the city hosts a wide range of cultural events for residents and tourists throughout the month of culture. Highlights include a fireworks festival featuring 1,500 drones lighting up the night sky over Gangdong Mongdol Beach in Buk-gu, art exhibitions, music performances and citizen participation festivals.

The 2026 Ulsan Fireworks Festival kicks off Friday with a pre-show celebration performance at 7:30 p.m. at Gangdong Mongdol Beach in Buk-gu, followed by a 1,500-drone light show and a multimedia fireworks display set to music and video. A variety of food stalls and rest areas will also be available.

The Wangsaengno Light Street Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday along Wangsaengno Street and at Culture Park in Nam-gu, running from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. each day with street performances, a street noraebang, a retro DJ set, invited singer performances and a roadside illumination show.

The Ulsan Art Museum will host a special exhibition, "An Unfinished Story — Lee Jung-seop, the People's Painter," from Oct. 15 through Jan. 17 next year. The show will feature more than 140 works gathered with the cooperation of the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art — including 109 items from the Lee Kun-hee collection — as well as Samsung Leeum Museum of Art, Jeju Island's Lee Jung-seop Art Museum and the artist's family. Works on display will include paintings, foil paintings, postcard paintings, letter paintings and archival materials.

Art Street Ulsan 2026 will run Oct. 15 to 17 in the cultural street area of Jung-gu, featuring a "culture and arts shop" with participation from local artists and nearby merchants, folk percussion and magic street performances, and a thematic exhibition section dedicated to Lee Jung-seop. The Ulsan Picnic Festival will take place Oct. 17 at Taehwagang National Garden's Nam-gu riverside, where participants can hunt for hidden treasures scattered throughout the grounds using the smartphone app "Bomul Chatgo (go)."

The Seonbawi Festival — named after the legendary rock of the Taehwa River — will be held Oct. 23 to 24 at Seonbawi Park in Ulju-gun, centered on the theme of "Baengnyong," a white dragon said to grant wishes. Events will include a moonlit fireworks show with Baengnyong, a Baengnyong concert, a Baengnyong village community gathering, a Baengnyong Explorer Captain contest featuring an OX quiz game, a dance imitation challenge and a cheer battle.

Other events include the Ulsan Office Workers Song Contest Grand Final on Oct. 9 at Taehwagang National Garden's Nam-gu riverside, the Ulsan B-Boy Festival featuring local B-boys and dancers on Oct. 17 at the south gate plaza of Ulsan Grand Park, and the 46th Ulsan Arts Festival — a celebration of local artists — running Oct. 20 through Nov. 9 at Ulsan Culture and Arts Center. Full details on all events are available on the official Ulsan cultural events website, "Ulsan Culture 24."