Osan () 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
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 largest markets in South Korea,
Osan Market, which has been in continuous operation since 1792. The city was the scene of the
first battle between the US and North Korea during the
Korean War in 1950; there is a statue and museum dedicated to UN forces on the outskirts of the city.
The
United States Air Force base named after the city,
Osan Air Base, is not actually located in the city, but is instead south, in the
Songtan district (formerly a separate city) of
Pyeongtaek.
Osan Station is a large subway station located in the heart of Osan. It is part of the
Seoul Subway Line 1 and the
KTX
Korea Train eXpress (), often known as KTX (), is South Korea's high-speed rail system, operated by Korail. Construction began on the high-speed line from Seoul to Busan in 1992. KTX services were launched on April 1, 2004.
From Seoul Station the ...
. There is a bus terminal next to the subway station and many buses stop in front of the subway station.
Name
Osan came to be called by its current name in 1914, at the time of a general reorganization of local governments under
Japanese rule. At that time it became Osan-myeon, part of
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 ...
. This name in turn was taken from that of a local stream, the
Osancheon. However, prior to the Japanese occupation, the name had been rendered in
hanja as 鰲山, meaning "
soft-shelled turtle mountain." Because of the complexity of the 鰲 ("o") character, and because
crows were abundant in the area, the Japanese changed the name to 烏山, meaning "crow mountain school."
Statistics
* based on the data created in dec 2011
Administrative districts
The administrative districts of Osan City consists of six administrative districts and 24 legal districts. Osan City has a population of 228,111 and 97,348 households as of the end of June 2020.
Climate
Osan has a
humid continental climate (
Köppen: ''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° ...
(
Köppen: ''Cwa'') using the isotherm.
Sister cities
*
Hidaka,
Saitama, Japan
*
Ürümqi,
Xinjiang, China
*
Killeen,
Texas, U.S.
*
Miami,
Florida, U.S.
*
Qazvin, Iran
Economy
Kyochon, a fried chicken chain, has its head office in Osan.
Contact
" Kyochon. Retrieved on November 3, 2009.
See also
* List of cities in South Korea
* Geography of South Korea
South Korea is located in East Asia, on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula located out from the far east of the Asian landmass. The only country with a land border to South Korea is North Korea, lying to the north with of the border ...
References
*
External links
City government website
City Council website
{{Authority control
Cities in Gyeonggi Province