Gwangyang () 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
South Jeolla
South Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollanam-do''; ), also known as Jeonnam, is a province of South Korea. South Jeolla has a population of 1,902,324 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Honam region at the southwestern tip of the Korean ...
Province,
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 ...
. Gwangyang city is the home of
POSCO's Gwangyang Steel Works, the largest facility of its kind in the world.
The city is also home to
K League Classic
The K League 1 (Hangul: K리그1) is the men's top professional football division of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs.
History
The South Korean professional football league was founded in 1 ...
football side
Jeonnam Dragons
The Jeonnam Dragons (Korean: 전남 드래곤즈) are a South Korean professional football club based in the city of Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. The Dragons play thei ...
.
Gwangyang is at the centre of development for the
Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone
Gwangyang () is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Gwangyang city is the home of POSCO's Gwangyang Steel Works, the largest facility of its kind in the world.
The city is also home to K League Classic football side Jeonnam Dragons.
Gw ...
(GFEZ), the third-largest among the six
free economic zone
Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which co ...
s of South Korea, covering 92.7 square kilometers. The Free Economic Zone focus on port container handling, steel production, shipbuilding as well as leisure facilities. The area has become a mega business hub, exploiting its accessibility to China.
Famous people from Gwangyang include
National Intelligence Service head
Kim Seung-kew
Kim Seung-kew (also Kim Seung-gyu; born July 20, 1944 in Gwangyang, Korea) is a South Korean politician, lawyer and jurist who had served as the Minister of Justice from July 2004 to July 2005, and became the Director of the National Intellig ...
.
To the north of the city is the county of Gurye, to the east along the Seomjin River is the county of Hadong in Gyeongsangnam-do, and to the south is the Gwangyang Bay.
Mountains in the city include Baegunsan (백운산, 1,217m), to the south is Gayasan (가야산, 497m) and Gubonghwasan (구봉화산, 473m). Baegunsan is the second-highest mountain in Jeollanam-do with the exception of Jirisan (지리산, 1,915 m).
The average yearly temperature is , the average in January is , and the average in July is . The average yearly precipitation is
As of October 14, 2007 plans are being set up and a referendum is being planned for a merging of the cities of
Yeosu
Yeosu (; ''Yeosu-si''), historically also Yosu, and known to the Japanese as Reisui during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule, is a city located on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula in South Jeolla Province, South Korea and ...
,
Suncheon
Suncheon () (''Suncheon-si'') is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is a scenic agricultural and industrial city of around 250,000 people near Suncheon Bay. It is located in the southeastern corner of Jeollanam-do, just over an hour ...
and Gwangyang into a new metropolitan city, taking advantage of the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone, Yeosu's Expo 2012 bid and port facilities, Suncheon's educational institutes and Gwangyang's POSCO plan
Climate
Symbols
* Tree : Gorosoe
* Bird : Sea gull
* Flower : Camellia
Gwangyang Steel Works
The
steel mill, Steel Works in Gwangyang is
POSCO's second mill in the country after the mill in
Pohang
Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wa ...
. The mill boasts having the largest
steel
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...
plant in the world, the most modern technology, and the best facilities for steel
manufacturing
Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...
. It presently produces coil used for making
bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
s, iron structures,
car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
s, refrigerators, and more. Its production capacity averages about 18 million tons per year. This plant is also a
tourist destination
A tourist attraction is a place of interest that Tourism, tourists visit, typically for its inherent or an exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement.
Types
Places of ...
for many people, attracting more than 300,000 people from around the globe.
Location
Gwangyang is a strategically important city situated in the southern center of the Korean peninsula. For these geopolitical reasons, Gwangyang is a city which functions as an axis for the balanced development of the country covering South Jeolla area with western parts of
Mokpo
Mokpo (; ''Mokpo-si'') is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, located at the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula, close to Yudal mountain. Mokpo has frequent high-speed train services to Seoul, and is the terminus for a number of fe ...
and
Muan
Muan County (''Muan-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province (''Jeollanam-do''), South Korea. In 2005, Muan County became the capital of ''Jeollanam-do'' following the transfer of the provincial office from its previous location, Gwangju to th ...
.
Places of interest
Gwangyang is home to many unique natural and cultural sites as well as many different festivals during the four seasons.
Points of interest include:
# The Baegun mountains
# Maehwa Village
# Yudang Park
# The Natural Resort Park.
The festivals include:
# The Baegun Mountain Medicinal Water Festival
# The Maehwa Culture Festival
# The Jeoneo Fish Festival
Festival
Gwangyang is famous for its beautiful apricot trees. In Korean, Ume flower is called maehwa(매화) and it has been honored for its early blooming. Because of its characteristic, the Gwangyang Maehwa Festival is the earliest opened festival in the whole
Jeollanam-do
South Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollanam-do''; ), also known as Jeonnam, is a province of South Korea. South Jeolla has a population of 1,902,324 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Honam region at the southwestern tip of the Korean ...
area.
Other festivals in Gwangyang are the Baegunsan Mountain Gorosoe Festival, Seomjingang Culture Festival and the Gwangyang Sutbulgui Festival.
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Gwangyang is
twinned with:
See also
*
Hwanggeum-dong, Gwangyang
*
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 ...
References
External links
Gwangyang City government home page (in Korean)Gwangyang City government home page (in English)
{{coord, 34, 56, N, 127, 41, E, display=title, region:KR-46_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Cities in South Jeolla Province
Port cities and towns in South Korea