To begin with, I would like to express my gratitude for allowing me valuable space in "Isana," an opinion bulletin on whales. I would like to ask for your generosity in reading the amateurish writing of an administrative official who has no special knowledge on whales.

  The name Ulsan immediately calls to the mind of the Koreans the image of whales. The relationship between Ulsan and whales dates back to pre-historic times more than 4,000 years ago. In the drawings engraved in the rock at Bangudae, designated as the National Treasure No. 285, we can see animals such as tigers that lived in many numbers in that period, but most attractive among them are undoubtedly the schools of whales--which number as many as 60 in the drawings.
  What surprises us most after seeing the rock engravings at Bangudae is the large number of drawings of whales. These drawings are based on precise and objective observations of whale behavior. We cannot help but admiring the fact that all of more than 10 species of whales migrating in the sea near Ulsan were drawn.
  The shape of a whale's blow differs from species to species. It is said that fin whales that spout in the V-like form of a fountain were often sighted in the waters near Ulsan's coast. Humpback whales that have unique wrinkles on the belly are expressed with several long lines on the body. Killer whales with a clear black-and-white contrast are also engraved faithfully to their markings. Especially the right whales truly resemble their actual figure with emphasis on the shape of the mouth. Also, a gray whale swimming with a calf on its back is realistic. The drawings also include sperm and other species.
  Our ancestors who left the rock engravings are said to have had remarkable technical and cultural power in the pre-historic period. Whales, once harvested, were distributed in accordance with the structure and social status within the community. Bangudae rock engravings have drawings suggesting such a practice.
  Unfortunately, the history of Ulsan, the Korean peninsula and a part of the world are now immersed in the water.
  What I mean to say is that the rock engravings of Bangudae in Ulsan are under water except for three to four months in the winter during the dry season. Furthermore, the engravings face the danger of wearing off, with their surfaces damaged severely by weathering of more than 4,000 years. Also repeated exposure to the air for three to four months every year accelerates the wearing because of congelation and melting water.

  The water which washes the rocks creeps into the crevices, further expanding them, and when the water withdraws, rocks have fissures by reduction of the pressure and dehydration. When you compare the present rock engravings with the replica manufactured in the 1970s, you will find conspicuous damage on the rocks and wearing down of the engravings, which present a really miserable sight.
  At present, many scholars are engaged in studies on how to preserve these valuable remains. As one who is in charge of Ulsan's civil administration and as a politician, I feel myself responsible for the Bangudae rock engravings being left in this status. As a measure to preserve them, I think Bangudae should be registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage. I would like to take this opportunity for support and assistance to all the people of the world concerned with whales.

  The history of whaling in Jang-seng-po in Ulsan began in the late 19th century when Pacific Whaling Co. of Russia discovered large schools of whales off this town, and leased the area near the port of Jang-seng-po as a whaling base with the aim to harvest whales by obtaining the whaling right from the Korean government.
  Later, Japan came to monopolize the whaling business after its victory in the Russo-Japan war. Jang-seng-po in Ulsan became the center of whaling from around 1915.
  When Korea became independent from Japan after World War II, the whaling company, thus far managed by the Japanese, re-started as Chosun Whaling Co., fully invested by Koreans.
  The first whale, a killer whale, was caught on April 16, 1946 by a whaling boat transformed from a wooden fishing boat. In 1966, the wooden whaling boats were replaced by steel vessels. There are records that those vessels caught an annual average of 700 whales (cf. History of Whaling in the Sea Near the Korean Peninsula by Koo-Byong Park). The town so thrived by whaling in the 1970s that one saying goes even a dog carried a 1000-won bill (now worth about ?1000) in its mouth in Jang-seng-po.
  However, since the enforcement of a commercial whaling moratorium, only two decayed whaling vessels and a deserted whale flensing station was left in Jang-seng-po, once the forefront of Korean whaling, rendering the town a desolate place.

  As I am not a whale biologist, I cannot accurately tell the number of whales living in the waters near Ulsan at this moment, but I receive reports that the number of whales has largely increased since 1986. (According to data by National Fisheries Research & Development Institute, the number of whales reported to have been taken incidentally in fisheries or stranded in the seas surrounding the Korean Peninsula in 2002 was 280 from 12 different species. )
  I am convinced that the day will certainly come when whales are landed in Jang-seng-po, although I am not sure what types of harvesting will take place, be it research whaling or whaling for the purpose of management.
  As chief of Ward Nambu of Ulsan Metropolitan City, I have a scheme to revive Jang-seng-po (which once thrived by whaling) as a new town through such efforts as construction of a whale museum, restoration of the whale flensing station, invitation of the Cetacean Research Division of National Fisheries Research & Development Institute to the town, and improvement of hygiene at the whaling station (at present many of the incidentally caught whales are processed in an unsanitary manner in the whole area of the eastern coast �E Pohang, Yeongdeok, Hupo, Samcheok, etc.
  I believe such a scheme will certainly serve for the benefit of Jang-seng-po and also for the future whaling in Korea.