"Our GDP is the Highest" Han So-hee's Well-Founded 'Ulsan Pride' [News Explanation]

⑤'Ulsan, the Wealthy City'... Concentration of Automobile and Shipbuilding Factories
1st in Per Capita GRDP (77.51 million KRW)... 2nd is Chungnam
Hyundai Motor and Heavy Industries in the Top 10 National Wages Located in Buk and Dong Districts
High Population Outflow to the Capital Area... Ulsan Is No Exception

"GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is the highest, our Ulsan! The level is high, and the streets are clean."

Actress Han So-hee's cute 'Ulsan pride' (Ulsan + pride) is a hot topic. Han So-hee, who appeared on the YouTube channel 'Channel Sibo-ya' to promote the Netflix series 'Gyeongseong Creature,' expressed pride in Ulsan by mentioning GDP during a conversation about their hometowns with fellow actor Park Seo-joon and producer Na Young-seok. Han So-hee is a representative celebrity born and raised in Ulsan, having attended high school there. The video has been shared multiple times on social networking services (SNS) under titles such as 'Ulsan people know the special GDP,' attracting attention.

To be precise, Ulsan is the metropolitan city with the highest per capita Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP). Regional income levels are measured not by GDP, which includes total production by households, businesses, and government within a country, but by GRDP, which is specific to the region. According to the Statistics Korea National Statistical Portal (KOSIS), as of 2022, Ulsan's per capita GRDP was 77.51 million KRW, the highest nationwide, significantly ahead of second-place Chungnam (58.94 million KRW) and third-place Seoul (51.61 million KRW). The national average was 41.95 million KRW.

The reason for Ulsan's high income level is the abundance of quality jobs in the region. According to an economic indicator analysis report released by the Busan-Ulsan Regional Headquarters of the Korea Federation of SMEs, the proportion of regular workers among wage earners in Ulsan is 76.4%, the second highest in the country after Sejong (86.4%). The average monthly wage of regular workers in Ulsan is 4.53 million KRW, ranking second nationwide after Seoul (4.55 million KRW).

Based on the workplace location as of April last year.

Ulsan is home to major industrial conglomerates driving the Korean economy, such as Hyundai Motor Company and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries. Due to the many companies with 'Hyundai' in their names, the city is nicknamed the 'Hyundai Republic.' In April last year, Ulsan was the only non-capital region to rank among the top 10 districts with the highest average monthly wages based on workplace location. Hyundai Motor Company is located in Buk-gu, Ulsan (6th place, 3.81 million KRW), and Hyundai Heavy Industries is in Dong-gu, Ulsan (9th place, 3.63 million KRW). The other eight districts were all in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Jongno-gu, Seoul (1st place, 4.26 million KRW), Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul (2nd place, 4.15 million KRW), and Jung-gu, Seoul (3rd place, 4.04 million KRW).

Despite being a city with a high per capita income level, Ulsan faces challenges. There is significant population outflow to the capital region and other areas, and the aging population is increasing rapidly. Ulsan, along with Gwangju, has the highest net population outflow among cities. Over the past six years, the proportion of population outflow was 44.1%, significantly exceeding the national average of 38.5%. From 2015 to 2022, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over in Ulsan increased by an average of 7.9 percentage points annually. This aging rate is faster than that of Sejong (1.5%), where aging progresses slowly, as well as higher-aging regions like Busan (21%) and Gyeongnam (5.3%).