Ansan (

Hangeul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's Revised Romanization of Korean, standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system f ...

: , ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. It lies southwest of

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

and is part of the

Seoul National Capital Area The Seoul Capital Area (SCA), Sudogwon (, ) or Gyeonggi region (), is the metropolitan area of Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province, located in north-west South Korea. Its population of 26 million (as of 2020) is ranked as the fifth largest met ...

. It is connected to Seoul by rail via

Seoul Subway Line 4 Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 4 (dubbed ''The Blue Line'') of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a long line crossing from the southwest to the northeast across the Seoul National Capital Area. The central section in Seoul City is operated by Se ...

. It is situated on the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour terms ...

coast and some islands lie within its jurisdiction. The largest and best-known of these is

Daebu Island Daebu Island ( ko, 대부도, Daebudo) is an island in the Yellow Sea, within the municipal borders of Ansan city, Gyeonggi province. It has a population of roughly 7,114 people and an area of 41.98 km². Due to rising mudflats, the island ...

. Several higher learning institutions are located in Ansan. They include

Ansan University Ansan University () is a 3,4-year university located in Ansan City, Gyeonggi province, South Korea. It hosts a student body of about four thousand, and offers programs in fields including nursing, physiotherapy, early childhood education, and ...

Shin Ansan University Ansan College of Technology (also called Ansan Technical College) is a private technical college in Ansan City, which lies south of Seoul in Gyeonggi province. It offers degree programs in social science (including English), tourism, physical ...

Seoul Institute of the Arts Seoul Institute of the Arts is a prominent educational institution specializing in the Arts located in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The school has nurtured many graduates who are actively working in art related fields within Korea as w ...

, and the ERICA campus of

Hanyang University Hanyang University (Korean: 한양대학교) is a private research university in South Korea. The main campus is located in Seoul and its satellite campus, the Education Research Industry Cluster (ERICA campus), is in Ansan. ''Hanyang'' (한양, ...

. The

Korea Transportation Safety Authority The Korea Transportation Safety Authority (KOTSA, ko, 교통안전공단 - 交通安全公團) is a transportation safety authority of the government of South Korea. It is headquartered in Gimcheon-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do. See also * The Korea Tr ...

, a government agency, has also been headquartered in Ansan since June 3, 2002.Home page

. Retrieved on June 9, 2009. With its high number of foreign workers, Wongokbon-dong has been designated as a multicultural area. In 2021, Ansan was selected as the largest residential area for foreigners and it is seeking designation as a special multicultural city. Street play festival is held every year in Ansan.

History

Ancient Era

The first humans in Ansan were in the

New Stone Age The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

, and many

shell middens A midden (also kitchen midden or shell heap) is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofac ...

and prehistoric remains were found at

Oido Oido () is an island on the West Coast region of South Korea's Gyeonggi Province (also known as Gyeonggi-do). It is an area of Siheung stretching from north to south with low hills under . Oido has shell mounds throughout the whole area, with ...

, Sihwaho, Chojidong and

Daebudo Daebu Island ( ko, 대부도, Daebudo) is an island in the Yellow Sea, within the municipal borders of Ansan city, Gyeonggi province. It has a population of roughly 7,114 people and an area of 41.98 km². Due to rising mudflats, the island ...

. In the Seonbu-dong and Wolpi-dong area, over 10 stone

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

tombs could be found. Also in 1995,

Old Stone Age The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tool ...

relics were found while constructing the

Seohaean Expressway The Seohaean Expressway (Korean: 서해안 고속도로; Seohaean Gosok Doro), meaning "West Coast Expressway", is a freeway in South Korea, connecting Mokpo to Gunsan, Dangjin, and Seoul. It is numbered 15. The entire length from Seoul to ...

. Most dolmens in Ansan are north

, but the

in Seonbu-dong is table-shaped and another table-shaped tomb was found in Hakon-dong,

Gwangmyeong Gwangmyeong (; Korean: 광명시) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It borders Seoul to the east, north and northeast, Anyang to the southeast, Siheung to the southwest, and Bucheon to the northeast. Gwangmyeong is home to one of the ...

. There are many ancient relics found in the city.

Three Kingdoms and Goryeo Era

Not much evidence or antiquities survive from the Proto-Three Kingdoms and

Samhan Samhan, or Three Han, is the collective name of the Byeonhan, Jinhan, and Mahan confederacies that emerged in the first century BC during the Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea, or Samhan, period. Located in the central and southern regions of t ...

periods are in Ansan and nearby areas. The

Mahan confederacy Mahan () was a loose confederacy of statelets that existed from around the 1st century BC to 5th century AD in the southern Korean peninsula in the Chungcheong and Jeolla provinces. Gina Lee Barnes, 《State Formation in Korea: Historical and A ...

Chen Shou Chen Shou (; 233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo (), was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer who lived during the Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. Chen Shou is most known for his most celebrated work, the ''Records of the ...

Records of the Three Kingdoms The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...

preserves writings about the

chiefdom A chiefdom is a form of hierarchical political organization in non-industrial societies usually based on kinship, and in which formal leadership is monopolized by the legitimate senior members of select families or 'houses'. These elites form a ...

state. Ansan was in communion with

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

but very little has been saved. In the Later Three Kingdoms era, the Ansan area was owned by

Taebong Taebong (; ) was a state established by Gung Ye () on the Korean Peninsula in 901 during the Later Three Kingdoms. Name The state's initial name was Goryeo, after the official name of Goguryeo, a previous state in Manchuria and the northern K ...

(also known as Hugoguryeo, "Later

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

") in

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

Hyogong's 4th year (AD 900). After then,

Gung Ye Gung Ye ( – 24 July 918, r. July 901 – 24 July 918) was the king of the short-lived state of Taebong (901–918), one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea. Although he was a member of the Silla royal family, he became a victim of the power st ...

, who was the ruler of

, was overthrown by

Wang Geon Taejo of Goryeo (31 January 877 – 4 July 943), also known as Taejo Wang Geon (; ), was the founder of the Goryeo dynasty, which ruled Korea from the 10th to the 14th century. Taejo ruled from 918 to 943, achieving unification of the Later Three ...

, and the Ansan area was turned over to

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

, founded by Wang Geon. First, the

Ganggu-gun was changed to Ansan-gun but the state of the military was preserved.

Joseon Era

Ansan belonged to Gyeonggijwa-do (left

Gyeonggi province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

) in the

Joseon dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

. Taejo's 5th year (AD 1396), Ansan-eoso (meaning Ansan fishery) that is now under the direct control of a detached building of Saongwon (the Department of foods and meals in the Joseon dynasty) was set up. After Gyeonggijwa-do and Gyeonggiwo-do (right

) were unified in Teajong's 2nd year (AD 1402), Ansan was still called Ansan. Under Teajong's 13th (1413), the whole country was detached into eight

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Modern Era

Until 1914, Ansan City and the southern part of today's

Siheung Siheung ( ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. The city has a population of 511,807 people, where 508,646 are residents out of 218,846 households as of August 2021. Siheung acquired its curren ...

city consisted of Ansan County. In 1914, Ansan County was annexed to Siheung County. This region produced high-quality salt from ancient times and valuable marine products. Ansan was then a fishing village. In 1986, several towns of Hwaseong county became incorporated, representing the beginning of Ansan as a city. With currently over 700,000 residents, Ansan now has two distinct and separate districts: Danwon, which has 12 dongs as of 2009, and Sangnok, with 13.

Geography

Ansan is located in the southwest of

and is situated on the coast of the

(locally called ''West Sea''), at . Portions of various Yellow Sea islands lie within its jurisdiction. The largest and best-known of these is

, also known as "Daebudo". Ansancheon1

Located at the south of the city (but within its jurisdiction) are islands of

and

Pungdo Pung Island ( ko, 풍도, Pungdo) is a small populated island on the Yellow Sea, located in within the municipal borders of Ansan city, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, about 74 km South West of Seoul, the country's capital town, and 24 km s ...

. On land, the city boundaries is marked by the town of

Gunpo Gunpo (군포; ), formerly romanized as Kunp'o, is a small city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province, located south of Seoul in the Seoul National Capital Area. It borders Anyang to the north, Uiwang to the east, and Ansan to the south and west, and ...

to the east of Ansan,

Anyang Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. It had a ...

to north-east,

to the north and Hwaseong to the south.

Climate

Ansan has a monsoon-influenced

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...