Hwamyeong is a region in Buk-gu, northern

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, ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. It is situated along the east bank of the

Nakdong River The Nakdonggang River or Nakdonggang () is the longest river in South Korea, and passes through major cities such as Daegu and Busan. It takes its name from its role as the eastern border of the Gaya confederacy during Korea's Three Kingdoms Er ...

, and since 2003 has been divided into three '' dong'', Hwamyeong 1, 2, and 3-dong. The total area of the three ''dong'' is approximately . It was designed to serve as a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many ...

for Busan, and was home to about 99,000 people as of February 2020.

Name

There are many different theories regarding the origination of the name Hwamyeong. The most reliable theory is that Mt. Geumjeong, the mountain surrounding Hwamyeong, was once called Mt. Hwa, or Hwasan. This names derives from the mountain being described as an ideal or bright place, and since the Chinese letter for ideal is pronounced 'myeong' in Korean, the name Hwamyeong thus refers to an "ideal bright place." Another theory is that the district's original name was ''Hwe-Bulgi'', which means 'bright sun' or 'red sun'. The literal translation of Hwamyeong, as it is currently spelled, is 'brightly shining,' and is derived from Chinese characters. This name was first attached to the region in 1914, during the period of Japanese rule. At that time, it was known as Hwamyeong-ri, a subdivision of Gupo-myeon. In 1963, it became a ''dong'' under the administration of

Busanjin-gu Busanjin District is a '' gu'' in central Busan, South Korea. It has an area of 29.7 km², and a population of about 410,000. The name is sometimes abbreviated locally as "Jin-gu". Busanjin-gu is home to a major shopping, entertainment, a ...

. In 1978, it was transferred to Buk-gu, of which it remained a unitary part until its division in 2003.

Transportation

Hwamyeong station lies on the

Gyeongbu Line The Gyeongbu Line (''Gyeongbuseon'') is a railway line in South Korea and is considered to be the most important and one of the oldest ones in the country. It was constructed in 1905, connecting Seoul with Busan via Suwon, Daejeon, and Daegu ...

, and is served by several

Mugunghwa-ho The Mugunghwa-ho is a class of train operated by Korail, main railway operator of South Korea. Mugunghwa trains are Korail's slowest tier of trains stopping at a number of towns and villages, and operating over a number of lines that are not se ...

and

Tonggeun The Commuter Train (previously called Tongil-ho) is a class of short-run commuter trains operated by Korail, the national railroad of South Korea. They typically operate once or twice daily in each direction, along a few tens of kilometers of t ...

trains daily. There are two subway station in Hwamyeong-dong, which are named Hwamyeong station(Busan Metro) and Sujeong station(Busan Metro).

Hwamyeong is also served by Busan city bus lines 15, 59, 111, 111-1, 121, 126, 300, and 1009,

Yangsan Yangsan () is a city in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, South Korea. It borders Ulsan to the northeast, Gijang-gun and Geumjeong-gu in Busan to the southeast, Gimhae to the southwest, and Miryang to the northwest. City Hall is located in Nambu-dong, ...

city bus 21, 23, and 23-1, and Busan town shuttle (마을버스) Gyeumjung 1, Bookgu 3, Bookgu 7, and Bookgu 7-2.

Tourism

Hwamyeong ecology park is located near Hwamyeong Station. It has walking trails, baseball parks, soccer fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, an in-line skating rink, and many other amenities for the public to enjoy. At the southern end of the park, there is natural lotus habitat along with an adjacent aqua sports center and outdoor pool, which is open to the public during the Summer. Hwamyeong arboretum can be found along the banks of the Daechun stream, which traverses Hwamyeong-dong. It has over 200,000 varieties of plants for visitors to observe, and is conveniently located adjacent to the Geumjeongsan hiking trail network. Visitors can look up where certain plants are located using the electronic plant dictionary provided on the website.
The Busan Fishing Village Folk Museum is located right in front of Hwamyeong station. It presents exhibitions detailing the fishing activity of Busan folk villages through the ages, traditional fishing technologies, historic sites, and folklore. The museum also has experiential learning programs for children to help them to understand life before Hwamyeong's rapid development and modernization. The Hwamyeong Rose Park is right next to the Busan Fishing Village Folk Museum. It is a botanical park divided into 49 sections containing different rose species, and is especially popular during May and June, when the roses are in bloom. A basketball court, a football field, and a multipurpose sports field can also be found within the park.

School

* Hwamyeong highschool * Korea Communications University * Myungjin Elementary School *Yongsu Elementary School *Geumgok High school *Geummyeng Middle school

External links

Hwamyeong 1-dong Office, in KoreanHwamyeong 2-dong Office, in KoreanHwamyeong 3-dong Office, in Korean
{{coord missing, South Korea Buk District, Busan Neighbourhoods in Busan