Ulsan Industrial Center Monument

울산공업센터 건립 기념탑 蔚山工業Center建立記念塔 Ulsan Industrial Center Monument
Gongeoptap, taken from Southeast side
Location within Ulsan
Alternative names	공업탑 (工業塔) Gongeoptap (Industrial Tower, Industry Tower)
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Monument, Traffic circle
Location	Ulsan
Coordinates	35°31′56.1″N 129°18′27.1″E / 35.532250°N 129.307528°E / 35.532250; 129.307528Coordinates: 35°31′56.1″N 129°18′27.1″E / 35.532250°N 129.307528°E / 35.532250; 129.307528
Construction started	1962
Completed	1967 (Tower) 1974 (Garden)

Ulsan Industrial Center Monument (울산공업센터 건립 기념탑), widely known as Gongeoptap (공업탑, Industrial Tower), is a monumental tower located in Gongeoptap Rotary, Namgu, Ulsan.

Epigraphy

There are 4 epigraphs around the tower: 2 of them are written by dictator and then chairman of Supreme Council for National Reconstruction Park Chung-hee in 1962 and one is written by the monument construct committee in 1967, while the other is written by the city government in 2012.

Congratulatory Note On the Groundbreaking Ceremony For Ulsan Industrial Center

Congratulatory Note On the Groundbreaking Ceremony For Ulsan Industrial Center

We have gathered here in Ulsan to build a new industrial city through which we aspire to end the 4,000-year history of poverty
in our nation and achieve long-hoped-for national wealth.
We are determined to make our dreams of transcending the miracle of Ruhr and reviving the glory of Silla become reality in Ulsan
based on our firm commitment to establishing the foundation for national rehabilitation,
devising and pursuing long-range national projects, and realizing the promise of prosperity through the generations.
The day when the roaring of the wheels of construction resonates across the nation and the smoke from the chimneys of industrial production sites whirls
through the air is the day our national hope for development has been realized.
My fellow citizens in hardship, The May 16 Revolution was not for any political greed or change in political beliefs
but solely for the lofty mission of ending poverty and achieving economic rehabilitation towards national prosperity and eternal social welfare.
The construction of an industrial city in Ulsan is, in itself, a symbol of the revolutionary government’s determination to do its utmost to achieve this mission.
This government’s success or failure will decide the economic status of the nation, and it is my sincere hope that the Korean people, in this knowledge,
will do their best for the successful completion of this task of the century by channeling patriotism, pursuing aspirations, and embracing cooperation.

— February 3, 1962, Army general, Chung-Hee Park, Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction

Declaration Of the Designation Of Ulsan Industrial District

Declaration Of the Designation Of Ulsan Industrial District

The Korean government, to advance with its “First Five-Year Economic Development Plan,”
hereby declares the designation of Ulsan-eup, Bangeojin-eup,
Daehyeon-myeon, and Hasang-myeon in Ulsan-gun;
Cheongnyang-myeon, Dowang-ri, Mugeo-ri and Daun-ri in Beomseo-myeon;
and Hwabong-ri and Songjeong-ri in Nongso-myeon
in Gyeongsangnam-do as the Ulsan Industrial District
in which integrated steelworks, fertilizer plants, oil refineries,
and other related industrial facilities shall be built.

— February 3, 1962, Army general, Chung-Hee Park, Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction

Note On the Purpose Of Constructing the Monument

A Note On the Purpose Of Constructing the Monument

It has already been six years since Ulsan undertook initiatives to reposition Korea, through which the East Sea flows,
as a modern, industrialized nation in the Asia-Pacific region.
Ulsan, a region steeped in the wisdom of Silla with a thousand years of history, is now opening a new chapter in history
by freeing Korea from the chains of sorrow and poverty
so that it may embrace the freedom of joyous prosperity.
We are here to commemorate this joy and pride as well as the promise of a better future
through the erection of this tower—
which will stand both as a symbol of national victory and prosperity,

and as a historical record of national restoration for future generations.

— April 20, 1967, Committee for the Erection of the Ulsan Industrial Center Commemorative Tower

Second Declaration For the Leap Of Ulsan

The Second Declaration For the Leap Of Ulsan
- For New Centennial, For the New Glory -

— January 27, 2012, Ulsan Metropolitan City

Gongeoptap Rotary

Gongeoptap Rotary (공업탑 로터리, Industrial Tower Rotary Intersection) is a traffic circle that the monument is located. Like the monument's number of pillars, it contains 5 exits (from North and counterclockwise Bongwol-ro, Munsu-ro, Duwang-ro, Suam-ro, Samsan-ro) and is egg-like asymmetric because of this. As it is the most 'rushing' intersection in Ulsan,^[1] the rotary has been functioning as de facto bus transfer center, which is in fact not available in the city yet.

List of bus stops named after Gongeoptap

There are 4 city bus stops and 2 intercity bus stops which use 'Gongeoptap' name around the rotary, listed in Bus Information System. The stops are:

• Samsan-ro
  • 공업탑 (BIS No. 40401, Google Maps) - East bound, incorrectly informed as 'route to Taehwagang Station' but actually buses do not go straight through.
  • 공업탑 (BIS No. 40403, Google Maps) - East bound, no description but the actual bus stop for buses route to Taehwagang Station.
  • 공업탑 (BIS No. 40402, Google Maps) - West bound, informed as 'route to Gongeoptop' and in reality buses turn the rotary.
  • 공업탑 (BIS No. 40404, Google Maps) - West bound, no description but for buses that go directly Bongwol-ro or Munsu-ro.
  • 공업탑 (Google Maps): East bound, intercity/Express unload only.
• Munsu-ro
  • 공업탑 시외정류소 (Google Maps): West bound, intercity load only; there was a city bus stop with the same name and location but removed in 2015.

References

1. ↑ "공업탑로터리 퇴근시간 최악 정체구간". Kyungsang Ilbo. 12 May 2011.