The Nation's First National 'Carbon Neutral Science Museum' to Open in Ulsan

Ulsan City Secures Nationwide 7th National Science Museum, Scheduled to Open in 2025

Ulsan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The first national science museum in Korea dedicated to carbon neutrality will be established in Ulsan. Ulsan City has succeeded in attracting the 'National Ulsan Carbon Neutrality Specialized Science Museum.'

On the 20th, Ulsan City announced that 1 billion KRW for the basic plan and design of the National Ulsan Specialized Science Museum was included in the '2022 Government Budget' passed by the National Assembly on the 3rd, marking the official start of the construction project.

Although Ulsan City failed in the Ministry of Science and ICT-led 'National Specialized Science Museum Competition' last July, it did not give up. Through various efforts, including communicating with government ministries and local political circles to explain the necessity of attracting the museum to Ulsan, it ultimately succeeded in securing the location.

The Ministry of Science and ICT evaluated in this year's feasibility study that Ulsan is the optimal site nationwide for building a specialized science museum in the carbon neutrality field, based on industrial environments and policy promotion such as floating offshore wind power, confirming the project's feasibility.

The carbon neutrality specialized science museum will be built with a total project cost of 40 billion KRW, undergoing basic and detailed design procedures, and is scheduled to open in 2025 around Ulsan Grand Park.

As Korea's first specialized science museum focused on the carbon neutrality industrial sector, it will feature facilities where visitors can learn about hydrogen energy cities, carbon neutrality technologies, and future mobility through education, exhibitions, and hands-on experiences in future science and technology.

Currently, there are five national science museums nationwide, operating in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi; Daejeon Central; Gwangju; Daegu; and Busan. The National Gangwon Specialized Science Museum, selected in last year's competition, is set to open in 2024.

The seventh national science museum to be built in Ulsan is expected to provide scientific culture and educational benefits to the southeastern and Daegu-Gyeongbuk regions.

Park Soon-cheol, Director of the Innovation Industry Bureau, said, "A national science museum will be established in Ulsan, a region that has been underserved in scientific cultural facilities," adding, "We will support its growth into a world-class science museum in the field of carbon neutrality."