Guri (; ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

, South Korea. It is located immediately to the east of

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, in the heart of the Capital Metropolitan Area. The Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty are located in the city. The hill of

Achasan Achasan () is a hill that sits between the counties of Gwangjin District and Guri in South Korea. It has an elevation of . There is an extensive system of trails on the Achasan and Yongsan mountains with numerous entrances. People often hike fr ...

is also located here, site of the

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

-era Achasanseong and numerous hiking trails. It also has pleasant walking paths along Wang-suk-cheon, a small creek separating Guri from

Namyangju Namyangju (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. To the east is Gapyeong County, to the west is Guri, and to the north is Pocheon. Namyangju was originally a southern part of Yangju-gun, but was separated into Namyangju-gun in April ...

. The traditional town market in Doldari (Guri's downtown around what used to be a "stone bridge") provides a cheap alternative to department stores. Guri first became a separate city in 1986. Previously, it had been considered part of Yangju from antiquity until 1980, and part of

from 1980 to 1986. The name "Guri" was first used in 1914, at which time it was a '' myeon'' in Yangju.

Location

It lies east-northern area of Gyeonggi province. The mountain of

is to the west and the city of

to east. The whole area is . In fact, Guri used to be bigger but some of the townships were incorporated into

and other cities surrounding Guri.

Topography

The Gwangju mountains are around the north-western area of Guri. They are usually higher than 1000 meters, but to the exact west, there are lower hills. Wamgsil Stream and the Han River flow into city and it has about seventeen tributaries.

Climate

Guri 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 cold ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

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

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

: ''Cwa'') using the isotherm.

Transportation

Guri is connected to

via two rail lines (

Gyeongui–Jungang Line The Gyeongui–Jungang Line is a commuter rail service of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system, operating on trackage from the Gyeongui Line (opened on July 1, 2009) and the Jungang Line (opened on December 16, 2005). Frequent service is pr ...

via Guri station,

Gyeongchun Line The Gyeongchun Line is a regional rail line between Seoul and Chuncheon, South Korea, operated by Korail. Its name is derived from Gyeong (, meaning the capital, Seoul) and ''Chuncheon''. It was completely reconstructed in the 2000s. Service on i ...

via Galmae station), as well as numerous city transit and intercity buses. In 2024, the extension of

Seoul Subway Line 8 Seoul Subway Line 8 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway was built from 1990 to 1999 and mainly serves the southeastern parts of Seoul and Seongnam. The first section from Jamsil to Moran opened in 1996, and the second section from Moran to Amsa was ...

opened for service, bringing additional subway service to Guri.

Notable people from Guri

* BoA - singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress, she is known as the "Queen of K-pop." * Xiumin – singer, rapper, dancer, model, actor, MC and member of (

EXO Exo (; stylized in all caps) is a South Korean-Chinese boy band based in Seoul formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. The group consists of nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay Zhang, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen (singer), Chen, Chanyeol, ...

, EXO-M and

EXO-CBX Exo-CBX () is the first sub-unit of South Korean–Chinese boy band Exo, consists of three members: Xiumin, Baekhyun, and Chen. They debuted on October 31, 2016 with the extended play (EP) '' Hey Mama!''. History 2016: Formation, debut with ...

) *

Jang Dong-woo Jang Dong-woo (; born November 22, 1990), commonly known as Dongwoo, is a South Korean singer, rapper, and dancer. He is the rapper of South Korean boy band Infinite and its sub-unit Infinite H. Biography Jang Dong-woo was born in Guri, Gye ...

– singer, rapper, dancer, model, songwriter, producer, actor and MC ( Infinite and Infinite H) * Gong Myung – actor and singer (

5urprise 5urprise (; pronounced surprise), was the first ever South Korean actor group and consists of five actors: Yoo Il, Seo Kang-joon, Gong Myung, Kang Tae-oh and Lee Tae-hwan. History 5urprise was launched by talent agency Fantagio in Septemb ...

) * Choi Yoo-jung – singer, rapper, dancer, songwriter and actress ( Weki Meki) * Jihyo – singer, dancer and MC (

Twice Twice (; Japanese language, Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn romanization, Hepburn: ''Tuwaisu''; commonly stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon ...

) *

Doyoung Kim Dong-young (; born February 1, 1996), known professionally as Doyoung (), is a South Korean singer, actor, and host. He is a member of the South Korean boy band NCT (group), NCT through the sub-units NCT 127 and NCT DoJaeJung. Doyoung wa ...

- singer, dancer and MC ( NCT, NCT U and

NCT 127 NCT 127 () is the first fixed and second overall sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT (group), NCT, formed and managed by SM Entertainment. They originally debuted on July 7, 2016, with their debut extended play ''NCT 127 (EP), NCT#127'', ...

)

Sister cities

Calamba, Laguna Calamba, officially the City of Calamba (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a popu ...

, Philippines *

Carrollton, Texas Carrollton is a city in Dallas County, Texas, Dallas, Denton County, Texas, Denton, and Collin County, Texas, Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 133,434, making it the ...

, United States

References

Notes

External links

City government website

City Council website
{{Authority control Cities in Gyeonggi Province