Gunsan (), also romanized as Kunsan, 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 ...
in
North Jeolla Province
North Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollabuk-do''), also known as Jeonbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Jeolla has a population of 1,869,711 (2015) and has a geographic area of 8,067 km2 (3,115 sq mi) located in the Honam region in the southwes ...
,
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 is on the south bank of the
Geum River
The Geumgang River is located in South Korea. It is a major river that originates in Jangsu-eup, North Jeolla Province. It flows northward through North Jeolla and North Chungcheong Provinces and then changes direction in the vicinity of Greater ...
just upstream from its exit into 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 ter ...
. It has emerged as a high-tech manufacturing industrial city and an international trade seaport that is approximately southwest of Seoul on the midwest coast of the Korean Peninsula.
Kunsan Air Base
Kunsan K-8 Air Base is a United States Air Force base located at Gunsan Airport, on the west coast of the South Korean peninsula bordered by the Yellow Sea. It is located in the town of Gunsan (also romanized as Kunsan), about south of Seoul.
...
operated by the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
is in the city. To encourage investment, a free trade zone has been declared in the area.
Notable residents of Gunsan include actress
Lee Eun-ju
Lee Eun-ju (December 22, 1980 – February 22, 2005) was a South Korean actress. She was the star of hit films including ''Taegukgi'' and ''The Scarlet Letter''. She died by suicide at age 24.
Life and career
Born in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, Sou ...
, comedian
Park Myeong-su
Park Myung-soo (born August 27, 1970) is a South Korean DJ, comedian, MC, singer, and songwriter who debuted on television in 1993, appearing on MBC. He co-hosted the top-rated comic variety programme '' Infinite Challenge'' and also hosted ...
, and
Teen Top
Teen Top () is a South Korean boy band formed by TOP Media in 2010. The group is composed of five members: C.A.P, Chunji, Niel, Ricky and Changjo. Originally a six-piece group with L.Joe, the former member had filed for contract termination in ...
member L.Joe.
History
![Kunsan air base with F-16s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Kunsan_air_base_with_F-16s.jpg)
Gunsan was a small fishing village on the banks of the Geum River, near where the river spills into the Yellow Sea. It sits on the fertile western ''Honam'' plain where much rice is harvested. Gunsan became a port in the late 19th century largely due to pressure from the Japanese on the Koreans to ship rice to Japan. In 1899, Gunsan Port officially opened up to international trade. Gunsan City was largely settled by Japanese during the period of the Japanese occupation. The old (now demolished) City Hall and the Customs House are of Japanese construction. After liberation from the Japanese in 1945, Gunsan began to grow slowly.
The
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
of the 1950s left the Gunsan area relatively unscathed. The initial drive south by the Communist North Koreans pushed the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
and South Korean forces toward
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
so quickly that Gunsan was spared from protracted fighting.
Nevertheless, a battalion of
Korean Marines, entrenched in the hills above Gunsan Port, withheld overwhelming communist forces. Their bravery created extra time for the evacuation of the town and port. The action is commemorated with a monument on the ridgeline where the heaviest fighting occurred. ()
The drive north by the United Nations forces occurred so rapidly that there was little direct confrontation in the area. After the cessation of hostilities, the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
occupied nearby Kunsan Air Base, which has affected Gunsan City.
Kunsan Air Base
Kunsan K-8 Air Base is a United States Air Force base located at Gunsan Airport, on the west coast of the South Korean peninsula bordered by the Yellow Sea. It is located in the town of Gunsan (also romanized as Kunsan), about south of Seoul.
...
was originally constructed, under Japanese direction, by reclaiming mudflats starting in around 1923. Kunsan Air Base has hosted a variety of USAF combat aircraft. The proximity of US service members to Gunsan City has provided some economic growth to Gunsan City, but the base's influence has waned since the 1990s as a result of a more powerful and diversified Korean economy. The downtown shopping districts that catered to US troops have transformed into areas that are indistinguishable from surrounding areas that serve Korean shoppers. Only a few remaining stores hint at the area's previous manifestation as an American shopping district. The small Okku-Silver Town (or more popularly America Town) caters to US troops. About from the main gate of Kunsan Air Base, America Town hosts bars, dance clubs, restaurants, and souvenir shops.
Economy
Today, Gunsan's economy thrives on fishing, agriculture and heavy industry west of the city in the reclaimed area known as the Industrial Zone.
GM Korea
GM Korea Company ( ko, 한국지엠주식회사) is the South Korean subsidiary of multinational corporation General Motors. GMK is also the third largest automobile manufacturer in South Korea. GM Korea's roots go back to the former Daewoo Motors ...
operated an factory here that assembled the
Chevrolet Aveo
The Chevrolet Aveo ( ) is a subcompact car (B-segment) marketed by General Motors since 2002. Originally marketed as the Daewoo Kalos, takeover of Daewoo Motors by General Motors (GM) also saw the car being marketed under seven brands (Chevrolet, ...
worldwide and as the
Holden Barina
The Holden Barina is a subcompact automobile sold between 1985 and 2018 by Holden in Australasia. Each of the six generations have been badge-engineered versions of various General Motors vehicles, namely Suzuki Cultus, Opel Corsa, and Daewoo K ...
in Australia and New Zealand until 2018. Near the port, the
Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle
Tata Daewoo (officially Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Company) is a commercial vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors. It is the second-largest heavy commercial vehi ...
factory produces Daewoo trucks for the domestic and export markets. In the domestic market vehicles are sold under Daewoo brand; the
Tata brand name is used for export due to the dilution of the
Daewoo
Daewoo ( ; Hangul: , Hanja: , ; literally "great universe" and a portmanteau of "dae" meaning great, and the given name of founder and chairman Kim Woo-choong) also known as the Daewoo Group, was a major South Korean chaebol (type of conglomerat ...
brand.
It is a major port, especially for rice shipments, and is a commercial center for the rice grown in the Geum basin. Rice processing and shipbuilding are important industries, and paper, lumber, rubber, and plastic are also produced. Originally a poor fishing village, Gunsan gained importance with the development of its port, which was opened to foreign trade in 1899. The Japanese, who ruled Korea from 1905 to 1945, further developed the city and port.
Just south of Gunsan is the newly opened
Saemangum Seawall
The Saemangeum Seawall, located on the southwest coast of the Korean peninsula, is the world's longest man-made dyke, measuring . It runs between two headlands, and separates the Yellow Sea and the former Saemangeum estuary.
In 1991, the South ...
, the longest
dyke in the world.
Culture
Tourist attractions
![Dongguktemple](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Dongguktemple.jpg)
The
Gunsan Islands consist of 16 inhabited islands and 47 uninhabited islands. Gogunsangundo Islands constitutes Shinsido Island, Munyeodo Island, Bangchukdo Island, and Maldo Island, and Seonyudo Island is the center of the islands. A passenger ship to Seonyudo Island operates on average 6-8 times a day.
''Eunpa,'' meaning "Silver Wave" (because of its feature of shining water under sunshine), was originally a reservoir for agriculture but designated as a National Tourist Place in 1985. In spring, a 1-km cherry blossom tunnel is formed from the entrance to the facility compound. In summer, people can enjoy wind surfing and boating in the acacia fragrance. In fall, people can enjoy walking along a promenade stretching from the meeting square at the entrance while picking up chestnuts. It is not only known as a local representation of Gunsan, but also as the nation's tourist place with a mixture of Mulbit (Water and Light) Bridge 370 m long and 3 m wide. A music fountain operates 8 times, 20 minutes per round. It was selected as one of the 100 Big Noted Tourists in Korea in the 'Creating a Good Place to Live' local resources contest.
In 1990, a river mouth bank was constructed at the mouth of Geum Rivers, which was the gateway of
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 ...
. It is spotlighted as the largest migrant bird colony in Korea with reed forests. It has become nationally famous because of the grand sight of many uncommon migratory birds such as Baikal teals, wild ducks, mallards, wild geese, herring gulls, black head gulls, black head Kentish plovers, etc., and approximately 500,000 winter migrant birds of 40 types visit between mid-October and March. A 360-degree observatory offers detailed and close-up views of migrant birds of the Geumgang River area, and the Bird Watching Gallery is the best vantage point in all of Korea to view migratory birds.
Wolmyeong Park is in the middle of Gunsan city. During spring, colorful cherry blossoms and camellia flowers are in full bloom, while the foliage attracts visitors during fall. On the mountain top, both Geumgang (river) and West sea are visible.
Japanese style houses in Sinheung-Dong are traditional houses of Japanese style, which was constructed by Hiroth, a Japanese fabric dealer of large scale during the colonial era. It has a great architectural value as the roof, finishing touch of outer wall, and inner garden are kept as they were when it was first constructed. It is also a place of filming the movies, such as ''The Son of the General'' and ''Ttajja''.
Dongguksa is the only temple left in Korea which was built in Japanese style. Plain eaves and many windows of the outer wall of the main temple are the characteristics of Japanese temples.
Jinpo Marine Park is a theme park that displays retired military equipment (13 types, 16 equipment) of the armed forces, such as Korean naval vessels, at the inner harbor of the historical site of Jinpo battle, recorded to be the first naval battle with guns of warships in the world.
Saemanguem New Year's Festival is hosted on the first day (January 1) of every year at Saemangeum seawall, the longest seawall in the world. Through events, such as sharing rice cake soup, writing new wishes, and releasing balloons of hopes, this day provides an opportunity to plan the new year with family, make wishes, and feel the mystique and deep sensation of nature.
Festival
*Saemanguem New Year's Festival
*Kunsan Time Travel Festival
Museum
*
Gunsan Modern History Museum
Gunsan (), also romanized as Kunsan, is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-tech manufacturing industrial city and an int ...
Park
Eunpa River Parkincludes music fountain and bike ways.
* Children's Transportation Park
*
Wolmyeong Park
Climate
Gunsan has a
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 climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
''Dfa'') using the 0 °C isotherm, and a cooler version of a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(''Cfa'') using the -3 °C isotherm.
Food
Gunsan is well known for sliced raw fish, or ''
hoe''. In addition to the renowned Gunsan Seafood Hotjip right on the water is the old port area, a new hae center is being constructed to the east of the city, by the Geum River dam/bridge. Gunsan also has a first-class
seafood market
A fish market is a marketplace for selling fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish markets, a type of wet m ...
. Right on the water front, this newer enclosed market has many fresh and frozen fish, crabs and shellfish; salted fish and shrimp and dried fish. On the upper level are a variety of
sushi
is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...
restaurants. Gunsan also has a Mexican/American restaurant located near the Yest Mall shopping area.
Lee Sung Dang is the oldest bakery in Korea. It has been in business in the same location since 1945. Its menu include danpatppang (bread filled with red bean paste) and yachaeppang (vegetable bread).
Education
Primary and secondary schools
There are 154 primary education schools with approximately 39,539 students in attendance. There are a total of four secondary education institutions located in Gunsan.
There are two international schools. One international primary school, the Lighthouse International School and the Overseas Chinese Primary School in Gunsan. (; ).
Lighthouse International School (LIS) is designed to meet the educational and spiritual needs of the English-speaking business, military, and diplomatic community. The school includes students from several English-speaking nations and ranges from kindergarten to 12th grade. The LIS qualifies for NDSP government funding for command sponsored families.
Universities
*
Kunsan National University
*
Howon University
Howon University is a private four-year comprehensive university located in Gunsan, South Korea. It is renowned for its high employment rate for its graduates.
History
Established in 1977 as Gunsan Industrial College, it was elevated to a unive ...
*
Sohae College
Sohae Satellite Launching Station (, also known as Tongch'ang-dong Space Launch Center and Pongdong-ri) is a rocket launching site in Tongch'ang-ri, Cholsan, Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, North Korea. The base is located among hills clos ...
*
Kunsan College of Nursing
Gunsan (), also romanized as Kunsan, is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-tech manufacturing industrial city and an i ...
Shopping
Gunsan E-mart, the 31st E-mart branch and the third in the Jeonbuk Area, has an area of 16,200 pyong (5.35 ha) and a shopping area of 4,000 pyong (1.32 ha) with parking facilities capable of holding 1,100 vehicles. It is a four-story building (one basement included), which is the biggest E-mart in Korea.
Gunsan Lotte Mart—with a total sales area of 13,686m²—is the biggest discount shopping mall in Gunsan with an indoor parking lot from the fourth to seventh floor which provides shopping convenience.
Gunsan Oldam Public Market is the first modern mart-like traditional market of Korea, with 90 years of history. There are a lot of foods which are inexpensive, along with a lot of attractions, such as a forge of old days.
Transportation
![Gunsanstation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Gunsanstation.jpg)
The modes of transportation in Gunsan are Intra-City Bus, Inter-City Bus, Express Bus and Railroad. There are roundtrip airplane flights from Gunsan to Jeju Island and passenger liner ferries to Shidao, China.
Gunsan is served by frequent railway service on the
Gunsan Line
The Gunsan Hwamul (Cargo) Line is an abandoned cargo railway line serving North Jeolla Province in South Korea. Before January 1, 2008, this line was called Gunsan Line which connected the major railway junction of Iksan (on the Honam Line) t ...
from
Iksan
Iksan ( ko, 익산; ) is a city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, (commonly transliterated as Jeollabuk-do or Chollabuk-do) South Korea.
The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (), but merged with Iksan ...
. It is connected to 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 ...
.
Twin towns – sister cities
Gunsan is
twinned with:
*
Tacoma, United States (1979)
*
Yantai
Yantai, formerly known as Chefoo, is a coastal prefecture-level city on the Shandong Peninsula in northeastern Shandong province of People's Republic of China. Lying on the southern coast of the Bohai Strait, Yantai borders Qingdao on the ...
, China (1994)
*
Pimpri-Chinchwad (Pune), India (2004)
*
Jamshedpur, India (2004)
*
Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
, Canada (2005)
Notable people from Gunsan
*
Oh Ji-hwan (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 오지환),
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 ...
n
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
,
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
player and player for the
LG Twins
LG Corporation (or LG Group) (), formerly Lucky-Goldstar from 1983 to 1995 (Korean: ''Leokki Geumseong''; ), is a South Korean multinational conglomerate founded by Koo In-hwoi and managed by successive generations of his family. It is t ...
in the
Korea Baseball Organization
The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...
.
*
Lee Seo-won
Lee Seo-won (; born February 17, 1997) is a former South Korean actor.
Career
Lee debuted in JTBC television series ' in 2015. He initially garnered attention for his portrayal of a college student and Suzy's younger brother in the melodrama ...
(
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 이서원),
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 ...
n former actor.
*
Kim Soo-mi
Kim Soo-mi (born Kim Young-ok on September 3, 1949) is a South Korean actress. She has had a prolific career in film and television. Kim debuted in a talent contest in 1970, then shot to fame in ''Country Diaries''. The landmark TV series aired f ...
(Real Name: ''Kim Young-ok'',
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 김영옥),
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 ...
n actress.
*
Song Sae-byeok
Song Sae-byeok (born December 25, 1979) is a South Korean actor. After gaining attention as a supporting actor in '' The Servant'' (2010), Song played the leading roles in the comedies '' Meet the In-Laws'' (2011) and ''The Suck Up Project: Mr. ...
(
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 송새벽),
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 ...
n actor.
*
Byung Hun (formerly known as L.Joe, Real Name: ''Lee Byung-hun'',
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 이병헌), singer, rapper, dancer, actor, model,
MC and
K-pop idol, former member of
K-pop boyband Teen Top
Teen Top () is a South Korean boy band formed by TOP Media in 2010. The group is composed of five members: C.A.P, Chunji, Niel, Ricky and Changjo. Originally a six-piece group with L.Joe, the former member had filed for contract termination in ...
.
* Yechan (Real Name: ''Kim Ye-chan'',
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 김예찬), singer, dancer and
K-pop idol, member of
K-pop girlgroup PinkFantasy.
* Johyun (Real Name: ''Shin Ji-won'',
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 신지원), singer, rapper, dancer, actress and
K-pop idol, member of
K-pop girlgroup
Berry Good
Berry Good () was a South Korean girl group formed by Asia Bridge Entertainment in 2014. The group's final line-up consisted of Johyun and Sehyung with former members being Subin, Iera, Nayeon, Daye, Taeha, Seoyul and Gowoon. They released their ...
.
* ChaeA (formerly known as Cherry, Real Name: ''Kim Chae-young'',
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 김채영), singer, rapper, dancer and
K-pop idol, member of
K-pop girlgroup
REDSQUARE and former member of
K-pop girlgroup
Good Day
*
Catherine Seulki Kang
Catherine Seulki Kang (born 25 September 1987) is a South Korean-born naturalized Central African taekwondo practitioner. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Women's 49 kg event. On 8 August, she was defeated in the preliminary rou ...
, South Korean-born naturalized Central African taekwondo practitioner, 2012 Olympics
See also
*
List of cities in South Korea
The largest cities of South Korea have an autonomous status equivalent to that of provinces. Seoul, the largest city and capital, is classified as a ''teukbyeolsi'' ( Special City), while the next six-largest cities are classified as ''gwangye ...
*
Geography of South Korea
*
Honam
References
*
*
*
Gunsan City website
*
*
*
*
*
Gunsan passenger ship terminal
External links
City government home pageCity government home page
{{Authority control
Gunsan,
Cities in North Jeolla Province
Port cities and towns in South Korea