Ulsan Nam-gu (Mayor Dong-wook Seo) held the “29th Ulsan Whale Festival Evaluation Debriefing Session” on the 26th in the District Mayor’s Office.

At the debriefing, which was attended by Mayor Dong-wook Seo, relevant public officials, and about ten people including representatives from the Whale Cultural Foundation, the festival’s organizing body, the program proceeded in the order of screening a festival highlight video, presenting the results, reporting on the evaluation study, and discussing future development plans.

In particular, there was an active discussion on ways to further advance and differentiate the festival in the future, alongside performance reports focused on the main programs and citizen-participation content.

According to the evaluation by a professional assessment firm, this year’s Ulsan Whale Festival drew 320,000 visitors and generated an estimated economic impact of 15.7 billion won.

Overall visitor satisfaction scored 3.98 points (out of 5, across 10 items), with the item “festival facilities looked safe” receiving the highest score at 4.19 points.

This was followed by “intention to revisit and recommend to others” at 4.13 points and “festival-related programs” at 4.09 points. With all key factors, overall stability, programs, and willingness to revisit scoring above 4 points, positive evaluations of the festival’s operation were found to be dominant.

Held under the theme “Gift From a Whale,” this year’s Ulsan Whale Festival delivered messages of hope, courage, love, and happiness, reaching citizens and tourists with future-oriented content that fused ecology, art, and technology.

In particular, participation- and experience-centered programs received great responses, including the opening performance that combined an AI robot show with media art, a science experience zone where visitors could try AR and a Titan robot experience, a citizen-participation whale parade, and the Whale Family Song Festival.

Throughout the festival period, organizers refrained from using disposable products and actively encouraged the use of reusable and eco-friendly containers, taking the lead in reducing food waste and household garbage.

Based on the opinions and improvement points raised at this evaluation debriefing, Nam-gu plans to comprehensively review them and prepare an even richer Ulsan Whale Festival for its 30th edition in 2026.

Nam-gu mayor Dong-wook Seo of Nam-gu said, “The Ulsan Whale Festival, which has been reborn as an eco-friendly festival with future-oriented content and as an experiential festival for families, has once again proven itself to be Ulsan’s representative festival, attracting visitors not only from our overseas exchange cities but from all over the country,” adding, “On the basis of this evaluation debriefing, we will not rest on our laurels, but will do our utmost to develop the Ulsan Whale Festival into a world-class festival.”