Initially, the organizers feared that the heavy rains that had fallen for several days in a row the day before could ruin the holiday, but just in time for the start of the event the sky cleared up, creating a wonderful airy summer atmosphere. temperature around 30 and water around 25 degrees.
Ulsan was chosen as the venue for the “Sea and Shipbuilding Festival” not by chance. Here, in addition to other enterprises, the shipyards of several of the world’s largest shipbuilding companies, which have a Korean “registration”, are concentrated.
Despite its serious name, the festival, whose centerpiece was the Ilsan beach within the city, took place in a very happy and relaxed atmosphere. Various contests, concerts, night “water parties”, shows and other entertainment related in one way or another to the sea awaited the guests and participants.
Perhaps the funniest and most interesting part of the festival was the regatta of “original boats”, which were to be built during the festival making the most of household waste. As a result, a strict jury allowed about 20 boats to participate in the regatta, while in its creation, it must be admitted, the “shipbuilders” demonstrated a considerable amount of ingenuity, resourcefulness and humor.
To determine the winner, qualifying phases were held in four subgroups, whose winners reached the final. In the final part, amid joyous whoops and even squeals from the most active spectators, victory was won by a long canoe made from used oil cans, plastic bottles and other materials. Interestingly, the captain of this boat turned out to be the oldest participant, confidently outperforming the younger competitors largely thanks to his experience and skill in rowing. For the victory, all participants in the final received large cash prizes.
Other events were also held in parallel, including a concert by K-Pop groups, a dance contest among the children in the audience, a water acrobatic show, and much more. In the evening, already in the dark, under the spotlights and incendiary dance music, the closing ceremony of the “Shipbuilding and Sea Festival 2023” took place, which turned into a general dance party on the beach.
