South Korea's steel hub of Pohang turns to EV materials and tourism

South Korea's southeastern costal hub of Pohang at North Gyeongsang Province has built up a world-class steel industry over decades, famous for POSCO, one of the world's largest steel companies. Now it's turning to new materials, particularly in the areas of battery materials, artificial graphite anode and biomaterials, and maritime tourism, aiming to become the country's battery capital.

Compared with big cities like Seoul and Busan, Pohang has the land advantages which EV battery companies need. In recent years, Pohang has put billions of dollars in investments and government incentives for next-generation industries such as secondary batteries, hydrogen, AI, and digital technologies. POSCO Future M now operates a synthetic graphite factory within a manufacturing campus in Pohang. South Korea's EcoPro Materials, a cathode supplier for global battery makers, and Ibiden Graphite Korea, Japanese artificial graphite anode manufacturer Ibiden's subsidiary in Pohang, have geared up for the battery material value chain competition. 

Facing the U.S. tariff pressures on steel, Pohang is also accelerating its economic diversification and attracting foreign investments in tourism and exhibition, since the port city has one of country's largest seafood markets, the fun yet terrifying Space Walk at Hwanho Park, the famous Homigot Sunrise Square and nice beaches. 

Pohang has drafted the development plan of a complex marine leisure tourism city, as it has been selected for the country's contest for the "Complex Marine Leisure Tourism City Project." The contest was promoted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, is a large-scale national project to attract new private investment in areas equipped with marine leisure tourism infrastructure to foster representative marine tourism bases.

Atop the hills of Hwanho Park, the Space Walk boasts a curvaceous steel frame and an undulating staircase trail that winds in loops above ground. Search up "things to do in Pohang" and Homigot Sunrise Square is top of the list. At the Homigot Sunrise Plaza, travelers can catch the first sunrise of the year on mainland Korea.