Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Transport
Daegu has a modern two-line subway system that does a good job of linking most of the
city's key districts. Fares are a flat 1,200 won, with a small discount given to passengers
using prepaid smart cards. The subway is supplemented by dozens of bus routes, but only a
few key buses serving busy downtown streets such as Dongseong-no display route inform-
ation in English. There are also plenty of taxis trawling the city streets; fares are in line with
other cities. Many contain sheets with major destinations listed in Korean and English that
you can point to if other means of communication fail.
Few places embody South Korea's postwar progress as much as Ulsan, which was little
more than a windswept fishing community three or four decades ago but has since become
the country's industrial capital. The main base of operations for Hyundai Motor Group and
the world's largest shipbuilders, as well as a key refining and petrochemical site, this city
of just over one million has the highest per-capita wealth of any town in South Korea, and
is home to a number of foreign engineers, experts, and managers working for its highly
successful corporations. While it's not going to win any prizes for its beauty, the city's
lingering reputation for uninspiring factory architecture and pollution is somewhat unfair.
Some prosperous-looking, carefully planned districts have sprung up to serve an increas-
ingly affluent population, and Ulsan's coastal and mountain outskirts boast some of the
nicest scenery in South Korea. Bisected by the Taehwa River and meticulously planned (at
least in the newer districts), it has a pleasant setting and is easily navigable, with a good
array of shopping, recreational activities, and cuisine. Ulsan has lured talented graduates
from all over South Korea, resulting in a fairly young and fun-loving population.
The area with the highest proportion of non-Koreans is probably the aptly named “for-
eigners' compound” in Bangojin, a fairly quiet seaside neighborhood in Dong-gu (East Dis-
trict). This is primarily a housing development for employees or customers of the burgeon-
ing Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard nearby. Although it's a fair distance of 8 kilometers
(5 miles) from the city center, this collection of aging apartment blocks and bungalows is
fairly self-sufficient, with its own school, shops, and social club, and many foreign resid-
ents enjoy the community feel. However, it's generally accessible only to those employed
by or doing business with Hyundai, who will have their housing arranged for them.
Nam-gu, specifically the relatively new upscale apartment developments of the Samsan-
dong area, is steadily eclipsing the old downtown of Jung-gu (Central District) to the north
as the preferred home of expatriates, though Jung-gu's cramped old buildings are also be-
