Editor's Pick: 2 Billion Won Project Opens with Ambition, Only to See 'One Customer'

The World Food Culture Center opened on Ulsan Bridge last March.

Despite it being lunchtime, there are almost no customers to be found at the restaurants.

Some restaurants have their doors locked, with no owners in sight.

With the sweltering heat these days, some restaurant owners have given up on operating during the day altogether.

Even the restaurants that are open are just as empty; one establishment barely managed to serve a single customer by the time the lunch hour ended.

The building's structure, which remains hot even with the air conditioning on, the distance to the restrooms, and a lack of attractions are cited as reasons for the lack of visitors.

[Restaurant Owner: (In the past) when they made the outside look pretty, people would come and go to hang out, but now there is nothing. I cannot even cover labor costs. (You cannot even cover labor costs?) No, I cannot.]

While 2 billion won was spent just on the construction of the facility and a total budget of 600 million won has been allocated and used this year, the results over the past four months have been dismal.

The average daily revenue of the Uzbekistan restaurant, which is directly operated by the Ulsan Facilities Management Corporation, dropped from the 80,000 won range in March to the 60,000 won range the following month.

Although it rebounded in May thanks to street performances, it fell back to the 50,000 won range last month.

Furthermore, the average daily number of orders at other restaurants has also been on a downward trend for the three months since March.

The Ulsan Metropolitan Government and the corporation plan to revitalize the area through various programs, such as linking it with festivals.

Ulsan Bridge has attempted to transform itself several times, including the installation of the Delivery Bridge, the Youth Bridge, and landscape lighting.

This time, it reopened with a focus on world food experiences, but it is turning into a white elephant in the middle of the city.

2 Billion Won Spent, Yet a White Elephant... What Happened to Ulsan Bridge (July 21, 2026, 12:00 PM News)

Reported by Bae Dae-won (UBC) | Written by Kim Da-yeon | Video by Ahn Jae-young (UBC) | Graphics by Koo Jung-eun (UBC) | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.