Abstract
The central of Ulsan was formed and has been developed in alluvial plains the Riverfront of Taehwa River and Dongcheon River Fortresses including Gyebyeonseong of the late Silla, Chisoseong of the Goryeo, Ulsan Gyeonsangjwabyeongyeongseong, Ulsaneupseong, Ulsanwaeseong and Yeompoyeongseong as well as Gugangseowon and Old Ulsanhyanggyo and other facilities well display such fact. In the southern areas of Taehwa River, Byeokpajeong of Samsan, Buddhist temples and pavilion architectures used to be located. In its upstream areas, Eonyangeupseong, Eonyanghyanggo, Banguseowon and Daegokcheon Petroglyph exist as well. As such, the Riverfront of Taehwa River are a central space where the civilization of Ulsan has grown and developed, and are regarded as a core scenic asset of Ulsan. However, the look and nature of Taehwa River changed significantly due to Ulsan irrigation project and the construction of modern bridges such as Ulsangyo and Ulsan railway bridge during the period of Japanese occupation. The old look of the area started to be ruined by water contaminations and developments of waterfront lands that resulted from the development of Ulsan Industrial Center in 1962. The water quality of Taehwa River has been improved as a result of allotting a huge budget and administrative powers before and after 1997, the year when Ulsan was elevated to a metropolitan city. However, the surrounding views around Taehwa River changed greatly due to various urban development projects including apartment complex constructions. This is because the development of the Riverfront started from a land utilization project, in which the construction of apartment complexes was included in the initial phase; as a result, the areas were changed to be private scenic assets for those apartments. Aware of such issue, this study aims to identify major scenic elements that were present in the period before such developments in the river's surrounding areas from literature and geography materials; and to reveal how various urban development projects that have been performed from the period of Japanese occupation have changed the scenic elements of Riverfront of Taehwa River. The purpose of this study is to identify qualitative and quantitative changes in scenic elements of the Riverfront of Taehwa River as well as the characteristics of the resulting changes in the surrounding scenery.