Taehwagang Maduhee Festival
태화강마두희축제 · Jung-gu, Ulsan
– Past
This edition has finished.
Korean festivals usually keep to roughly the same window each year, so the next
one should land near those dates — but the organizer publishes the confirmed
dates and they move, sometimes by weeks.
Last verified: 2026-08-22.
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A summer festival on the Taehwagang riverside built around maduhee, a Joseon-era tug-of-war folk game recorded in Ulsan's own local gazetteer, paired with a riverside chimaek festival at night.
Who it suits: Anyone in Ulsan for the river park who wants to see a genuine civic tug-of-war tradition rather than a staged one.
Where it is
Where it is in the country — 306 km south-east of Seoul
About 126 km across — 8 other places we cover sit inside it. The pick of them is listed below.
306 km south-east of Seoul, in Jung-gu, Ulsan (straight-line distance from Seoul City Hall, calculated from the venue's official coordinates).
We have not timed these connections ourselves, so rather than print a number we have not checked, here is the route on the two apps Koreans actually use — the venue as the destination, already filled in:
- Directions on Kakao Map — live bus and train times, and which platform
- Naver Map — the stronger of the two in English
From Seoul, journeys to Jung-gu start at Seoul Station (KTX and regular rail) or the Express Bus Terminal. Which of the two wins depends on how many cities you are stringing together — our rail pass guide works through the break-even, and getting around Korea covers why these two apps beat Google Maps once you are on the ground.
Getting there and staying
For a bed near the festival, Klook's accommodation search for Jung-gu is the quickest way to see what is left — festival weeks fill local rooms earlier than you would expect.
Outside the big cities, wifi is not something to plan around. Shuttle stops, stage times and the day's program are posted on the organizer's Korean-language page or a Naver Map pin, and they change on the day. A Korean eSIM is the cheapest way to have it working before you land.
Planning a trip around it
On at the same time
If your dates are fixed, these run within ten days of Taehwagang Maduhee Festival and are worth checking before you commit to a route.
- Hansan Ramie Fabric Cultural Festival — 2026/06/12 – 06/14, Seocheon, South Chungcheong, 166 km from Seoul.
- Daegu Chimac Festival — 2026/07/01 – 07/05, Daegu, 237 km from Seoul.
- Gwangalli Eobang Festival — 2026/06/12 – 06/14, Suyeong-gu, Busan, 330 km from Seoul.
- Eumseong Pumba Festival — 2026/06/10 – 06/14, Eumseong, Chungbuk, 95 km from Seoul.
Other festivals in Ulsan
Same province, different times of year — useful if you are choosing when to visit Ulsan rather than when to leave home.
- Ulsan Onggi Festival — May, Ulju, Ulsan
Other museums within reach
- Jangsaengpo Whale Museum — Nam-gu, Ulsan, about 8 km away. Sea and ecology rather than history.
- Gyeongju National Museum — Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang, about 32 km away.
The coast from here
- The Namparang Trail — Oryukdo, Nam-gu, Busan, about 54 km away. The trail itself runs 1,470 km along the south coast, so it likely passes closer than this.