Hwaseong () 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 has the largest area of farmland of any city or county in

Seoul Subway Line 1 Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a rapid transit and commuter rail line which links central Seoul, South Korea to Soyosan Station in the northeast, Incheon in the southwest, and Sinchang (Soonchunhyang Univ.) ...

passes through Hwaseong, stopping at

Byeongjeom Station Byeongjeom Station is a station on Line 1 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. It is the only train station serving the city of Hwaseong. It is the southern terminal station for approximately half of the subway trains on this line who then carry on ...

. Suin Bundang Line also passes through Hwaseong, stopping at Eocheon Station.

Hwaseong Fortress Hwaseong Fortress or Suwon Hwaseong is a fortification surrounding the centre of Suwon, the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do, in South Korea. It was built from 1794 to 1796 by King Jeongjo of the Joseon dynasty to house and honour the remains of ...

is located in nearby

Suwon Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...

History

During the time of the early

Three Kingdoms of Korea Samhan or the Three Kingdoms of Korea () refers to the three kingdoms of Goguryeo (고구려, 高句麗), Baekje (백제, 百濟), and Silla (신라, 新羅). Goguryeo was later known as Goryeo (고려, 高麗), from which the modern name ''Kor ...

, parts of modern-day Hwaseong was controlled by the state of Wonyang (), a small statelet that was part of 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 ...

. In 1949, when

was split from the rest of Suwon County, the remaining area of Suwon County was renamed to Hwaseong County, after

in Suwon. On January 1, 1989, the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

Osan Osan () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, approximately south of Seoul. The population of the city is around 200,000. The local economy is supported by a mix of agricultural and industrial enterprises. It is famous for one of the lar ...

was promoted to a city, splitting from Hwaseong County. On March 21, 2001, Hwaseong County would also be promoted to the status of city.

Universal Studios

On November 27, 2007 the city was chosen as the site for the future

Universal Studios South Korea Universal Studios South Korea (USSK; 유니버설 스튜디오 코리아) was a proposed Universal Studios theme park in the vicinity of Hwaseong, South Korea. Originally scheduled to open in 2020, a bid for the project was won by a Universal St ...

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

. Originally set to open in 2016, it would have been the world's largest Universal Studios theme park, being larger than all the other four combined. The US$3.1 billion park is expected to create at least 58,000 new jobs. In 2014, the project was put on hold. The plan was restarted in 2015, and K-Water (Korean Water Resources Corporation) was chosen as a business partner. Universal Studios South Korea is no longer under development as of 2020.

Climate

Hwaseong 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 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 ...

: ''Dwa''), but can be considered a borderline

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° ...

(

: ''Cwa'') using the isotherm. The city is located in the western area of the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. The temperatures in winter are low along the coast since it is located in the lower plains and close to 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 ...

(West Sea), where the water is shallow. Climate Additionally, Siberian air flows directly into the western flatlands of the Korean peninsula, making several areas colder. Gungpyeong Port (9521509283).jpg, Gungpyeong Port

Demographics

Hwaseong is populated by 49% male South Korean citizens, 46% female South Korean citizens, and 5% foreign residents. With 236,241 homes, there are on average 2.8 people per registered place of residence in the city. With the exceptions of Byeongjeom 2-dong, Dongtan 2-dong and Dongtan 3-dong, there is a larger number of males than females in every division of the city. Administrative divisions Hwaseong has 4 towns (eup), 9 townships (myeon) and 13 neighborhoods (dong). Each eup and myeon is further divided into villages (ri). In October 2014, Namyang-dong was downgraded to an eup- the first case in South Korea. Hwaseong's name comes from

, built by

King Jeongjo Jeongjo of Joseon (28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), personal name Yi San (Korean: 이산; Hanja: 李祘), sometimes called Jeongjo the Great (Korean: 정조대왕; Hanja: 正祖大王), was the 22nd monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. ...

. The most populous areas of Hwaseong are Namyang (to the west), Hyangnam and Bongdam (central), and Dongtan to the east. Dongtan has had an SRT high speed rail station since December 2017. The

Seohae 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 ...

runs through western Hwaseong, while the

Gyeongbu Expressway The Gyeongbu Expressway ( ko, 경부고속도로; ''Gyeongbu Gosokdoro'') ( Asian Highway Network ) is the second oldest and most heavily travelled expressway in South Korea, connecting Seoul to Suwon, Daejeon, Gumi, Daegu, Gyeongju, Ulsan and ...

runs through the east of the city..

Local products

Many special products are sold in the Hwaseong area that are different from other regions of

Gyeonggi-do 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 ...

. There are many facilities that grow products ranging from honey melons to

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

s. Additionally, meat and dairy products are also available.

Hangwa ''Hangwa'' () is a general term for traditional Korean confections. With ''tteok'' (rice cakes), ''hangwa'' forms the sweet food category in Korean cuisine. Common ingredients of ''hangwa'' include grain flour, fruits and roots, sweet ingredien ...

is also made by local companies as a specialty.

Sports

Hwaseong is home to the V-League women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

team

Hwaseong IBK Altos Hwaseong IBK Altos ( ko, 화성 IBK 기업은행 알토스) is a South Korean women's professional volleyball team founded in 2011. In the 2012−13 V-League season, just one year after the team was founded, the club won both the regular season ...

and the

K3 League The K3 League is the third tier of South Korean football league system, which was created from the rebranding of the Korea National League (2003–2019) and the former K3 League (2007–2019) into K3 League and K4 League in 2020. 16 teams are ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team

Hwaseong FC Hwaseong FC (Korean: 화성 FC) is a South Korean semi-professional football club based in Hwaseong, South Korea. They currently play in the K3 League, the third tier of the South Korean football club. History Founding The club was founded on 2 ...

, which is based at

Hwaseong Sports Town Hwaseong Sports Town ( ko, 화성종합경기타운) is a group of sports facilities in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi, South Korea. The complex consists of the Hwaseong Stadium and Hwaseong Indoor Arena. Facilities Hwaseong Stadium The Hwaseong Stadiu ...

. This sports complex hosted football and basketball matches in the

2014 Asian Games The 2014 Asian Games ( ko, 2014년 아시아 경기대회/2014년 아시안 게임, Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheon sip-sa nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the 17th Asian Games ( ko, 제17회 아시아 경기대회/제17회 ...

, while the shooting events were held elsewhere in Hwaseong.

Notable companies

U-JIN Tech Corp. U-JIN Tech Corp. is a South Korean manufacturer of friction welding machines and automated manufacturing cells. History U-JIN Tech Corp. was founded in February 2009. It stablished its own R&D center within the Korea Industrial Technology Ass ...

friction welding Friction welding (FRW) is a solid-state welding process that generates heat through mechanical friction between workpieces in relative motion to one another, with the addition of a lateral force called "upset" to plastically displace and fuse the m ...

machines

Notable people

* Cha Bum-kun, South Korean football player *

Cho Yong-pil Cho Yong-pil (; born March 21, 1950) is a South Korean singer who is considered one of the most influential figures in Korean popular music. He debuted as a member of the rock band Atkins in 1968 and made his solo debut with the hit single "Co ...

, South Korean pop singer *

Lee Yong-jin Lee Yong-jin (; born on November 28, 1985) is a South Korean comedian and singer. He is most known for his work on the tvN sketch comedy show Comedy Big League. Lee owns a famous sashimi restaurant, under the name "960", in Sokcho Sokcho ( k ...

, South Korean comedian * Seo Soo-jin, South Korean singer/dancer, member of

(G)I-dle (G)I-dle (), stylized in all caps, is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of five members: Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua. Originally a sextet, Soojin left the lineup on August 14, 202 ...

Yoon Jeonghan Seventeen (; stylized in all caps or as SVT) is a South Korean boy band formed by Pledis Entertainment. The group consists of thirteen members: S.Coups, Jeonghan, Joshua, Wen Junhui, Jun, Hoshi (South Korean singer), Hoshi, Wonwoo, Woozi, DK, Mi ...

, member of k-pop group SEVENTEEN

Sister cities

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard I ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada *

Weihai Weihai (), formerly called Weihaiwei (), is a prefecture-level city and major seaport in easternmost Shandong province. It borders Yantai to the west and the Yellow Sea to the east, and is the closest Chinese city to South Korea. Weihai's popula ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

, China * Wujiang District,

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

, China *

Phú Thọ Province In chemistry, pH (), historically denoting "potential of hydrogen" (or "power of hydrogen"), is a scale used to specify the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Acidic solutions (solutions with higher concentrations of ions) are ...

, Vietnam

References

External links

City government website

City Council website
{{Authority control Cities in Gyeonggi Province Hwaseong, Gyeonggibr>음성자이 센트럴시티