Industrial hub Ulsan a warning signal for cooling South Korea

Ulsan, South Korea

THE port of Ulsan was the cradle of South Korea's breakneck industrialisation. Now, the main production site for big manufacturers such as Hyundai Motor and oil refiner SK Innovation risks becoming the country's rust belt.

In effect, Ulsan is a real-time warning signal for South Korea, a nation that has the world's fastest-ageing society and an economy struggling to shake its dependence on manufacturing and exports in favour of a model based on consumption and services. "There's a sense of crisis spreading among people and companies here after pretty much all major companies suffered their worst losses in recent years," said Choi Chan-ho, a director at the Ulsan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.