Ulsan City Achieves Selection as '2025 Preliminary International Conference District'

Laying the Foundation for Ulsan's Leap as a Global Exhibition and Convention Industry City

Ulsan City has been finally selected for the "2025 Preliminary International Conference District Revitalization Support Project" hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

With this selection as a preliminary international conference district, Ulsan City will receive 300 million KRW in national funding over the next three years until 2027. This is considered a significant turning point for Ulsan as it aims to transition from an industrial city to a global exhibition and convention industry (MICE) hub.

A "preliminary international conference district" is a strategic phase in preparation for future growth and designation as an international conference complex district. It aims to foster the international conference industry and enhance urban competitiveness by linking concentrated exhibition and convention industry infrastructure with local resources.

Since the opening of the Ulsan Exhibition and Convention Center (UECO) in 2021, the city has continuously expanded its exhibition and convention industry base. This selection as a preliminary international conference district is expected to further strengthen the foundation for attracting international conferences focused on industry and business.

The city, together with the Ulsan Culture and Tourism Foundation, the dedicated agency for the project, has worked on investigating and selecting specialized conference facilities (UECO) and cluster facilities (such as the Ulsan Petroglyph Museum), developing linked content, and establishing strategies to attract international conferences in order to be selected as a preliminary international conference district.

In particular, focusing on the Ulsan Exhibition and Convention Center, the city branded approximately 3.4 million square meters in Ulju-gun as "TimeRoad Convention City, Ulsan," a differentiated branding strategy. The conference district was structured around three themed zones connecting the city's past (Petroglyph Museum), present (Yeongnam Alps Complex Welcome Center), and future (UECO).

A city official stated, "With the selection as a preliminary international conference district, we expect Ulsan to further strengthen its competitiveness as an international conference city and lay the foundation for growth into a global exhibition and convention industry hub. We will actively attract Ulsan's signature international conferences and host large-scale business open forums and academic conferences to create a sustainable exhibition and convention industry ecosystem."

For the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s "2025 Preliminary International Conference District Revitalization Support Project," four regions were selected: Ulsan, Yeosu, Gunsan, and Wonju.