Ilsan Beach & Daewangam

Getting here

From KTX Ulsan Station

Limousine 5002 is the direct link. On Ulsan City's 2021 list it calls at Ilsan Beach, Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan University Hospital, the Hyundai Motors Ulsan Plant front gate and Jung-gu Office, every 26 minutes from 04:00 to 24:00. KTX trains from Seoul Station and SRT trains from Suseo stop at KTX Ulsan Station; Ulsan City's 2021 timetable has the first KTX leaving Seoul at 5:15 and arriving at 7:29.

From Busan

Take the train from Bujeon to Taehwagang Station: about 40 minutes by KTX-Eum or around 80 minutes by the Donghae Line metro, in VisitKorea's 2026 figures (Busan City's 2022 figure for the metro is 76 minutes). From Taehwagang Station, take a taxi to Ilsan Beach or Daewangam Park.

From Seoul

Take the KTX from Seoul Station or the SRT from Suseo to KTX Ulsan Station, then limousine 5002 to Ilsan Beach (Ulsan City's 2021 list). By road, Ulsan City's 2021 page gives about 4 hours 10 minutes by express bus from Seoul, with buses every 30 to 40 minutes, to Ulsan Express Bus Terminal at 288 Samsan-ro, Nam-gu.

From Gimhae Airport

VisitKorea's 2026 Gimhae Airport guide says you can buy tickets at the airport for intercity buses to Ulsan. By rail, go through Bujeon in Busan to Taehwagang Station, about 40 minutes by KTX-Eum (VisitKorea, 2026), and take a taxi from there to the coast.

On your doorstep

• Daewangam Park A seaside park on the east coast, open 24 hours, all year, says VisitKorea, with a trail through pine, cherry, magnolia, camellia, apricot and forsythia. Dong-gu says it began as Ulgi Park in 1906 and took the name Daewangam Park in 2004.
• Daewangam Rock Shaped like a dragon rising into the sky, says VisitKorea, and linked to the mainland by an iron bridge. In Dong-gu's telling of the legend, King Munmu's queen also became a dragon after death to guard the East Sea, and seaweed does not grow on the rock where her soul fell.
• Daewangam Park Suspension Bridge A 303 m bridge joining the Hatgaebi and Surubang coastal trails inside the park. Open 09:00–18:00, last admission 17:40; closed on the second Tuesday of each month.
• Ulgi Lighthouse Built in March 1906 and first lit on 24 March 1906, the first lighthouse on Korea's East Sea coast, according to Dong-gu. It stands in Daewangam Park.
• Seuldo Island Also called Gomboseom, the pockmarked island, for the tiny pits in its rock, with an unmanned lighthouse from the late 1950s. Ulsan City likens its waves to music played on a geomungo, and Dong-gu recommends it at sunset.
• Ulsandaegyo Observatory A lookout over Ulsandaegyo, which Ulsan City calls the longest single-span suspension bridge in Korea, linking Nam-gu and Dong-gu. Open 09:00–21:00; closed on the second and fourth Mondays, New Year's Day and Chuseok.
• Jujeon Mongdol Beach A 1.5 km stretch of black pebbles, one of Ulsan's Best 12 Scenic Views. Ulsan City lists haenyeo experiences, bare-hand fishing and transparent canoeing at Jujeon Fishing Village.
• Hwaamchu Lighthouse An eight-storey lighthouse in Bangeo-dong that Dong-gu calls the highest of its kind in Korea, with sea views and over 160 photographs on harbours and navigation.
• Jangsaengpo Whale Culture Village In Nam-gu, opened in 2015, and built, VisitKorea says, to reproduce an old whaling village. Open 09:00–18:00, to 20:00 at weekends; closed on Mondays and on the Seollal and Chuseok holidays.
• Daewangam Park Campground An official campground inside the park, opened in December 2016, with 53 sites: 36 for cars and 17 for caravans, at 80-61 Deungdae-ro.

One easy day from here

1. Morning A walk on the sand at Ilsan Beach, the first stop on Dong-gu's own one-day course.
2. Lunch Sashimi by the beach: Dong-gu's course points to the Ilsan Sashimi Center.
3. Afternoon Daewangam Park's pine trail, the 303 m suspension bridge (closed on the second Tuesday of the month), Daewangam Rock and Ulgi Lighthouse, then Seuldo Island for the sunset.
4. Evening The Ulsandaegyo Observatory, open until 21:00 and closed on the second and fourth Mondays, New Year's Day and Chuseok; Dong-gu suggests arriving around 20:00 for the night view.

Before you book

• Time your days around the closures: the Daewangam suspension bridge shuts on the second Tuesday of each month, and the Ulsandaegyo Observatory on the second and fourth Mondays.
• For a sunrise over the sea, stay on this coast. Dong-gu holds the Daewangam Sunrise Festival on 1 January and writes that sunrise at Daewangam Rock is said to be earlier than at Ganjeolgot except in early January and late December.
• July is busy at Ilsan Beach: the Ulsan Shipbuilding & Sea Festival is held there, with a night run, beach soccer and a Hyundai Heavy Industries tour. Book early.
• Plan your rides. Limousine 5002 serves Ilsan Beach from KTX Ulsan Station on Ulsan City's 2021 list; from Taehwagang Station, take a taxi.
• Want to sleep outdoors? Daewangam Park has its own campground, with sites for cars and caravans.