Early years: before Ulsan (1983–1989) The club was founded on 6 December 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, with tiger as its mascot (horangi means tiger in Korean). Their original franchise area was
Incheon and
Gyeonggi Province. They joined the professional
K League from
1984 season. While they finished their debut season as 3rd place, the team's striker
Baek Jong-chul became the
K League Top Scorer, scoring 16 goals in 28 matches. They won their first professional trophy in 1986, winning the
Professional Football Championship, which is the origin of
Korean League Cup. From the
1987 season, the club moved their franchise from
Incheon and
Gyeonggi Province to
Gangwon Province. In the
1988 season, they finished the season as the runners-up in the league.
Move to Ulsan and rise to power (1990–1999) Beginning in the
1990 season, the club moved their franchise to
Ulsan, where the headquarters of several branches of owner company
Hyundai are located at, from
Gangwon Province. Former
South Korea's striker
Cha Bum-kun took the managerial position in the
1991 season, leading the club to the runners-up position in the league in his debut season. However, he failed to win any trophy and was replaced by
Ko Jae-wook after the
1994 season. Under Ko Jae-wook, Ulsan won their second Korean League Cup trophy in
1995, which was his debut season as Ulsan manager. Ulsan won their first ever league title in
1996, beating
Suwon Samsung Bluewings 3–2 on aggregate in the
championship playoffs. The club then entered a long dry-spell in terms of league trophies, although they won their third Korean League Cup trophy in
1998, beating
Bucheon SK 2–1 on aggregate in the finals.
Two Kims era (2000–2013) at
Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium Failure to add a major title for years did affect the team negatively. After the exodus of key players like
Kim Hyun-seok and a terrible start in the
2000, manager Ko Jae-wook resigned in the middle of the season.
Kim Jung-nam era: Gangsters of Asia (2000–2008) Ulsan appointed
Kim Jung-nam, who had formerly managed South Korea, as their next manager. They finished as runners-up in
2002 and
2003, and started to emerge as a strong force. In 2005, with the return of two key players,
Yoo Sang-chul and
Lee Chun-soo, they qualified for the
championship playoffs. In the play-off semi-final, they beat
Seongnam Ilhwa 2–1, and in the final, they beat
Incheon United 6–3 on aggregate, with a hat-trick from Lee Chun-Soo in the first leg. They became the league champions for the second time in their history. The club also went on to win the
A3 Champions Cup in
2006, in which they participated as K League champions. Although they lost their first match in the competition against
JEF United Ichihara Chiba 3–2, they beat
Dalian Shide 4–0 and
Gamba Osaka 6–0 to clinch the trophy. Lee Chun-soo became the competition's top scorer, scoring six goals in three matches. They repeated the merciless attacks in the
AFC Champions League that season, beating
Al-Shabab 6–0 in the first leg of the quarter-finals. These overwhelming attacks they showed in the season gave Ulsan the nickname "Gangsters of Asia". Ulsan won the
2007 Korean League Cup, beating
FC Seoul 2–1 in the final on 27 June 2007. In 2008, the team changed their official name from Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i to Ulsan Hyundai FC.
Kim Ho-kon era: Iron Mace Football (2009–2013) Manager Kim Jung-nam stepped down after the 2008 season.
Kim Ho-kon, who had managed the South Korea
under-23 team that reached the quarter-finals in the
2004 Summer Olympics was appointed as Ulsan's next manager. Kim Ho-kon did not enjoy Ulsan fans' full support for his first few seasons at the club, mainly because of his defensive tactical style and unsatisfying outcomes. The 2011 season was a dramatic changeover; Ulsan won their fifth Korean League Cup, beating
Busan IPark 3–2 in the final. Ulsan also finished the season as runners-up in the K League that season. Their unique style of having many players pushing forward in counterattacks earned them the nickname "Iron mace football". In 2012, the club won the
AFC Champions League, defeating
Al-Ahli 3–0 in the final on 10 November. In the run up to the final, Ulsan went on an unbeaten run throughout the twelve games of the competition, winning nine consecutive games and scoring 27 goals in the process.
Downfall of the club (2014–2016) Ulsan Hyundai went trophyless for three years after both
Cho Min-kook and
Yoon Jong-hwan failed to guide the club to any major honours.
Return of the golden generation (2017–2024) On 21 November 2016, Ulsan Hyundai hired
Kim Do-hoon as their manager. He restored the club status back by guiding the club to the
2017 Korean FA Cup final and winning it 2–1 on aggregate against Busan IPark, the club's first trophy in five years. Three years later, Kim also led Ulsan Hyundai to victory in the
2020 AFC Champions League, defeating Iranian club
Persepolis 2–1 in the final.
Júnior Negrão scored a brace to secure the club's second AFC Champions League trophy, subsequently qualifying for the
2020 FIFA Club World Cup, where Ulsan finished sixth. For the 2021 season, Ulsan Hyundai signed former South Korea international player
Hong Myung-bo as their manager. He guided the club to consecutive league titles in the
2022 and
2023 seasons. The 2022 title was won in dramatic fashion, as Ulsan defeated rivals
Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, the winners of the previous five K League 1 seasons, with two goals scored by Hungarian international
Martin Ádám in injury time. It was Ulsan's first league title since 2005. In December 2023, Ulsan Hyundai changed its name to Ulsan HD and unveiled a new emblem ahead of the
2024 season. The "HD" comes from the club parent company '
HD Hyundai', which was renamed from Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings in December 2022. In April 2024, the team qualified for the expanded
2025 FIFA Club World Cup by defeating
Yokohama F. Marinos at home in the first leg of the semi-final of the
2023–24 AFC Champions League. With the departure of Hong Myung-bo to guide the South Korea national team, Ulsan HD hired former
Malaysia national team head coach
Kim Pan-gon on 28 July 2024. He successfully guided the team to a third consecutive championship title in 2024, thereby establishing a
dynasty.
A new era (2025–present) Although Ulsan managed to win three national titles and a continental championship over five seasons, the aging of the club's key players became apparent through poor performances on the pitch. The club lost its first five league stage games in the newly rebranded
2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite, and was eliminated from the tournament after a 2–1 loss to Thai side
Buriram United in February. The team failed to perform better at the start of the
2025 K League 1 season, sitting seventh in the league table with only 29 points exactly halfway through the season after 19 games. Ulsan entered the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup as the sole South Korean representative but failed to advance past the group stage. Despite notable performances by
Um Won-sang,
Lee Jin-hyun, and goalkeeper
Jo Hyeon-woo, the club fell 1–0 to South African side
Mamelodi Sundowns, 4–2 to Brazilian side
Fluminense, and 1–0 to German side
Borussia Dortmund. Although Ulsan failed to record a win, they still managed to earn US$9.55 million from participating in the tournament, a record prize sum for the club. Ulsan's continued poor performances, which included an eleven-game winless streak, led to Kim Pan-gon's sacking in August 2025. The club then appointed former South Korea national team manager
Shin Tae-yong to the helm in a bid to rebuild, but he was sacked after just two months after the club was assured of finishing in the bottom half of the league. After the season, in which Ulsan avoided relegation on the last day, the club appointed club legend Kim Hyun-seok as their new manager. == Stadium ==