As I periodically do, I combed through google a bit to track down some Ulsan For You-related news. Unfortunately, outside of Korean petrochemical companies cutting production due to shrinking demand, all I could find was this painting (above) of a whale the city spent money to put on a liquid storage tankowned by Taeyoung Industries Co. Ltd. Kind of looks like a Yanni album cover.  

Apparently the city is trying to bolster its image as a “whale town.” I somehow doubt the city is looking to bolster it’s image as a whale-eating town, but  I will, by reminding people  there are 10-20 whale restaurants on the coast of the city.  Of course, all of them are serving  whale meat from whales that have, ahem, died naturally or, er, accidentally found their ways into the nets of unlucky fisherman, as per, well, nothing. There’s no law, but I guess there’s some kind of moral agreed fallacy law.

 
photo courtesy nataliebehring.com’s Flickr photostream  

But here’s some news for all you whale eatin’ folk out there — you might want to reconsider, because according to a study recently conducted of citizens in a Japanese whaling town, you might have a bunch of mercury in your body.

A new study by two Japanese universities found that residents of Taiji, a whaling town on the Pacific coast, who frequently ate the meat of pilot whale - a member of the dolphin family - have mercury levels 10 times the national average.

The hair of three tested residents contained quantities of mercury higher than 50 parts per million [ppm], a level that can lead to neurological problems.

Someone might want to tell Choe Chong-dae from The Korea Times. He loves little more than tucking into a plateful of whale meat, since it’s part of Korea’s long whaling heritage and all.