Jangsaengpo is a port located in

Nam-gu, Ulsan Nam District (Nam-gu) is a district of Ulsan, South Korea. Its name literally means "South Ward". History Nam District was established on July 15, 1985. On January 1, 1995, Ulsan City Nam-gu was consolidated after the merging of Ulsan City and Uls ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. It was famous of the hottest

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

place of Korean Peninsula before banning commercial whaling by IWC. Now, Jangsaengpo is a rising tourist attraction with

Jangsaengpo whale museum Jangsaengpo Whale Museum is a history museum located in Jangsaengpo, Nam-gu, Ulsan, South Korea. It is the only whale museum in South Korea. The museum details Ulsan's history of whaling. Whaling was banned in South Korea in 1986, but whaling a ...

, Whale ecological Experience Hall & Ulsan whale cruise.

History

The Jangsaengpo

originates from the establishment of the Pacific Fisheries Co., Ltd. by the Russian Emperor, Aleksandrovich Nikolai II in 1891. However, as Japan monopolized the whaling business after the victory of the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

and overhauled whaling stations nationwide, Jangsaengpo drew attention as the center of the whaling business. After liberation, Korean people jointly took over the Japanese-run company and changed its name to Joseon Whaling Co., Ltd. This was the start of the history of Korean whaling. In the late 1970s when the whaling was at its zenith, Jangsaengpo held 20 whaling ships, with 10,000 residents. However, careless whaling reduced the catch and some species were even in danger of extinction by 1980. These drawbacks led the

International Whaling Commission The International Whaling Commission (IWC) is a specialised regional fishery management organisation, established under the terms of the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) to "provide for the proper conservation ...

(IWC) to decide to ban

commercial whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry a ...

in 1986, and eventually, the whaling industry was stopped. Then, as industrial complexes were created in the vicinity of Jangsaengpo and most of the residents moved away, the decline of Jangsaengpo resulted.

Tourist attractions

& Whale ecological Experience Hall : As the only whale museum in Korea, Jangsaengpo Whale Museum collects, maintains and displays whaling-related artifacts, which have been disappearing since 1986 when whaling was prohibited. It also provides a variety of information related to whales and marine ecosystems and is a space for education, research and experience. * Whale Cruise : Encounter whales in their natural environment when you take to the seas along a whale migration route. Since dolphins also migrate in groups, a chance of watching them could add to the unforgettable experience. The possibility for seeing whales is highest between June and August. Whale cruise reservations are available via internet only. ( http://www.whalecity.kr/whale/)

External links

Official websites
Ulsan whale festivalJangsaengpo whale museumTour guide of Ulsan
Nam District, Ulsan