Gwangju

This article is about Gwangju Metropolitan City. For the smaller city of the same name in Hangul and English near Seoul, see Gwangju, Gyeonggi. For one of its sister cities which has similar name in China, see Guangzhou.
Gwangju
광주시
Metropolitan City
Gwangju Metropolitan City
  transcription(s)
 • Hangul 광주광역시
 • Hanja 光州廣域市
 • Revised Romanization Gwangju-gwangyeoksi
 • McCune-Reischauer Kwangju-kwangyŏksi

Downtown Gwangju from city hall

Flag
Slogan of Gwangju

Map of South Korea with Gwangju highlighted
Country  South Korea
Region Honam
Districts 5
Government
 • Mayor Yoon Jang-hyeon[1]
Area
 • Total 501.24 km2 (193.53 sq mi)
Population (October, 2014[2])
 • Total 1,477,780
 • Density 2,900/km2 (7,600/sq mi)
 • Dialect Jeolla
Flower Royal Azalea
Tree Ginkgo
Bird Dove
GDP US$ 36.7 billion [3]
GDP per capita US$ 24,520 [3]
Website gwangju.go.kr

Gwangju (Korean pronunciation: [kwaŋdʑu]) is the sixth largest city in South Korea. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office moved to the southern village of Namak in Muan County in 2005.

Gwang (광, Chinese letter: 光) means "light" and Ju (주, Chinese letter: 州) means "province." Areas of scenery along the outskirts of the city gave birth to gasa, a form of Korean classical poetry. Located in the center of the agricultural Jeolla region, the city is also famous for its rich and diverse cuisine.

History

The city was established in 57 BC. It was one of the administrative centres of Baekje during the Three Kingdoms Period.[4]

In 1929, during the period of Japanese rule, a confrontation between Korean and Japanese students in the city turned into a regional demonstration, which culminated in one of the major nationwide uprisings against Japanese rule during the colonial period.

Modern industry was established in Gwangju with the construction of a railway to Seoul. Some of the industries that took hold include cotton textiles, rice mills and breweries. Construction of a designated industrial zone in 1967 encouraged growth in industry, especially in the sectors linked to the automobile industry.

In May 1980, peaceful demonstrations took place in Gwangju against the newly installed military government of Chun Doo-hwan. The demonstrations were suppressed by military forces, including elite units of the Special Operations Command. The situation escalated after a violent crackdown, resulting in the Gwangju Uprising, where the civilians raided armories and armed themselves. By the time that the uprising was suppressed, many hundred civilians and several policemen / soldiers were dead. After civilian rule was reinstated, a national cemetery was established honouring the victims of the incident.[5]

In 1986, Gwangju separated from Jeollanam-do to become a Directly Governed City (Jikhalsi), and then became a Metropolitan City (Gwangyeoksi) in 1995.[6]

Gwangju is the main campaign capital of the liberal Democratic United Party, and its predecessors.

Administrative divisions

Gwangju is divided into 5 districts ("Gu").

Map Name Korean Hanja
Districts
Buk District 북구 北區
Dong District 동구 東區
Gwangsan District 광산구 光山區
Nam District 남구 南區
Seo District 서구 西區

Religion

Religion in Gwangju (2005)[7]

  Not religious (52.9%)
  Protestantism (19.7%)
  Buddhism (14.4%)
  Catholicism (13%)

According to the census of 2005, of the people of Gwangju 32.7% follow Christianity (19.7% Protestantism and 13% Catholicism) and 14.4% follow Buddhism.[7] 52.9% of the population is mostly not religious or follow Muism and other indigenous religions.

Population

The population model of Gwangju is as follows;[8]

YearPopulation 
1960  409,283
1966  532,235
1970  622,755
1975  737,283
1980  856,545
19851,042,508
19901,139,003
19951,257,636
20001,352,797
20051,417,716
20101,475,745

Climate

Climate data for Gwangju (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 5.3
(41.5)		 7.8
(46)		 13.0
(55.4)		 19.6
(67.3)		 24.3
(75.7)		 27.5
(81.5)		 29.6
(85.3)		 30.7
(87.3)		 26.9
(80.4)		 21.8
(71.2)		 14.6
(58.3)		 8.1
(46.6)		 19.1
(66.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.6
(33.1)		 2.5
(36.5)		 7.0
(44.6)		 13.2
(55.8)		 18.3
(64.9)		 22.4
(72.3)		 25.6
(78.1)		 26.2
(79.2)		 21.9
(71.4)		 15.8
(60.4)		 9.1
(48.4)		 3.1
(37.6)		 13.8
(56.8)
Average low °C (°F) −3.1
(26.4)		 −1.8
(28.8)		 2.1
(35.8)		 7.5
(45.5)		 13.0
(55.4)		 18.2
(64.8)		 22.5
(72.5)		 22.8
(73)		 17.8
(64)		 10.9
(51.6)		 4.5
(40.1)		 −0.9
(30.4)		 9.5
(49.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 37.1
(1.461)		 47.9
(1.886)		 60.8
(2.394)		 80.7
(3.177)		 96.6
(3.803)		 181.5
(7.146)		 308.9
(12.161)		 297.8
(11.724)		 150.5
(5.925)		 46.8
(1.843)		 48.8
(1.921)		 33.5
(1.319)		 1,391
(54.764)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 11.0 9.0 9.5 8.9 9.3 10.7 15.5 14.9 9.8 6.8 9.0 10.0 124.4
Average relative humidity (%) 67.7 65.2 62.9 61.9 66.4 72.8 80.0 78.1 74.3 68.4 68.1 68.8 69.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours 159.9 164.6 192.0 213.0 222.8 169.2 145.4 172.6 172.3 205.2 163.6 155.9 2,136.3
Source: Korea Meteorological Administration[9]

Education

Chonnam National University is a public university in Gwangju.

Honam Univ, Gwangju University, Gwangshin University, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju Education University, Gwangju Women's University, Nambu University, Chosun University, and Honam Christian University are private universities.

Gwangju Health University is a private community college offering associate degrees in humanities and social sciences, healthcare sciences, and a bachelor's degree in nursing.

Gwangju has 593 schools, consisting of 234 kindergartens, 145 elementary schools, 84 middle schools, 65 high schools, 7 junior colleges, 9 universities, 38 graduate schools, and 11 others (as of 1 May 2009) with a total of 406,669 students, or 28.5% of the total city population. The average number of students per household is 0.8.

Transportation

The city is served by the Gwangju Subway. An extension was completed in April 2008 with another due for completion in 2012. There are two KTX (high-speed rail) stations in the city: Gwangju Station and Songjeong-ri Station. Songjeong-ri is connected to Gwangju Subway but not Gwangju Station.

It is also served by the Gwangju Airport.

Tourism

Sport and culture

Gwangju Sangmu Gymnasium

Cityscape

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Gwangju is twinned with:[14]

Partnerships and Cooperations

Other forms of partnership and city friendship similar to the twin city programmes exist:

See also

About Gwangju
General lists

References

  1. ↑ "Welcome". Gwangju Metropolitan City.
  2. ↑
  3. 1 2 "Global city GDP 2014". Brookings Institution. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "The History of Gwangju".
  5. ↑ "May 18th Democratic Uprising".
  6. ↑ "The History of Gwangju".
  7. 1 2 2005 Census - Religion Results
  8. ↑ National Statistical Office of South Korea
  9. ↑ "평년값자료(1981–2010) 광주(156)". Korea Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
  10. ↑ (Korean) K-League news 4강 역사를 쓴 그곳, 광주 월드컵 경기장 Dream stadium of K-League
  11. ↑ KOFICE 3rd Asia Song Festival 22 September 2006. Retrieved 2011-10-12
  12. ↑ "2016 광주 ACE Fair". www.acefair.or.kr. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  13. ↑ "Korea National Park". english.knps.or.kr. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  14. ↑ Gwangju Sister Cities
  15. ↑ Sister Cities Program. Sainternationalrelations.org. Retrieved on 2011-12-11.
  16. ↑ "Guangzhou Sister Cities[via WaybackMachine.com]". Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  17. ↑ http://www.pemkomedan.go.id/news_detail.php?id=106 MEDAN MENJALIN HUBUNGAN KOTA KEMBAR KEEMPAT Retrieved September 10, 2013 Archived 23 April 2007
  18. ↑ Pessotto, Lorenzo. "International Affairs - Twinnings and Agreements". International Affairs Service in cooperation with Servizio Telematico Pubblico. City of Torino. Archived from the original on 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2013-08-06.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gwangju.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Gwangju.

Coordinates: 35°10′N 126°55′E / 35.167°N 126.917°E / 35.167; 126.917

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