<p>Based on analyses of data from a firm-level survey, this research explores industrial symbiosis-related activity and the green-oriented evolution of petrochemical firms in the Ulsan-Mipo National Industrial Complex in South Korea deploying an Evolutionary Economic Geography framework inclusive of institutional considerations. Impetus for the study stems from a comparative dearth of research related to industrial symbiosis and Korea, the importance of green growth to Korea going forward, and a lack of EEG-based work on this topic and industry. Findings reveal that the green evolution of the petrochemical firms in the UMNIC can be characterized by path-creation, diversification, and dependence, rather than by one all-encompassing trajectory. While lock-in is a concern, new knowledge from external sources, working in tandem with in-house R&amp;D, is found to be a trigger for green path development. Supplier and public servant-centered, rather than customer-centered, public administration services are the most serious impediment to green evolution in the UMNIC. Spatially, industrial symbiosis is conducted in the form of production-related relationships within the same region, but insofar as relationships with other regions, it comes in the form of administrative relationships.</p>