Gwangju

Gwangju
광주시
Metropolitan City
Gwangju Metropolitan City
  transcription(s)
  Hangul 광주
  Hanja
  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
ISO 3166 code KR-29
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[lower-alpha 1] (Korean pronunciation: [kwaŋ.dʑu]) 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.[5]

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 a head of 'Shingunbu'(new military force), 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 hundreds of civilians and several policemen / soldiers were dead. After civilian rule was reinstated, a national cemetery was established honouring the victims of the incident.[6]

In 1986, Gwangju separated from Jeollanam-do to become a Directly Governed City (Jikhalsi), and then became a Metropolitan City (Gwangyeoksi) in 1995.[7]

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

Arts, culture, automobiles, food and democracy are some of the keywords that can represent Gwangju.

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)[8]

  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.[8] 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;[9]

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, extremes 1938–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 18.8
(65.8)
21.1
(70)
26.8
(80.2)
29.1
(84.4)
33.9
(93)
36.7
(98.1)
38.5
(101.3)
37.7
(99.9)
34.4
(93.9)
31.1
(88)
27.1
(80.8)
19.7
(67.5)
38.5
(101.3)
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)
Record low °C (°F) −19.4
(−2.9)
−17.7
(0.1)
−10.7
(12.7)
−4.5
(23.9)
1.4
(34.5)
7.2
(45)
14.9
(58.8)
12.6
(54.7)
5.6
(42.1)
−2.7
(27.1)
−7.2
(19)
−13.7
(7.3)
−19.4
(−2.9)
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 snowy days 11.1 7.1 2.8 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.5 8.1 31.0
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
Percent possible sunshine 51.1 53.4 51.8 54.3 51.3 39.0 32.9 41.4 46.3 58.5 52.7 51.1 48.0
Source: Korea Meteorological Administration[10][11][12] (percent sunshine and snowy days)[13]

Education

Chonnam National University, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Gwangju Education University are public universities in Gwangju.

Honam Univ, Gwangju University, Gwangshin 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, 1 science high school (Gwangju science academy), 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 Gwangju Songjeong Station. Gwangju Songjeong station connects to the Gwangju Subway and local bus system. Now the Songjeong station is mainly used.

Gwangju has an extensive system of public buses that traverse the city.[14] Bus stops and buses themselves contain stop information in Korean and in English. Local buses, but not the subway or KTX, connect to the intercity Gwangju Bus Terminal known as U-Square.[15]

Gwangju public transport fares can be paid with cash, some Korean bank cards, or via reloadable public transport cards, or small accessories attachable to phones or keychains, such as Hanpay, T-Money, and CashBee which are available at convenience stores.[16] A small discount is provided when using non-cash fare.[16] Reduced fares are available for youth (13 to 18) and children (7 to 12).[16] As of August 1, 2016 Gwangju transportation fares, in KRW, are:[17]

Adult Adult Youth Youth Child Child
Cash Non-cash (Card) Cash Non-cash (Card) Cash Non-cash (Card)
Regular Buses 1,400 1,250 1,000 800 500 400
Express Buses 1,800 1,700 1,500 1,350 1,000 850

Transfers can be made for free between local bus routes and the subway when using non-cash fare, provided that the user taps off when changing between modes of transportation, is going in the same direction, and, in the case of bus-to-bus transfers, is taking a bus with a different route number.[16][18] Free transfers between buses can be taken within one hour of tapping off; transfers from bus to subway must occur within half an hour.[19]

Most local taxis accept local and foreign cards in addition to cash and public transportation cards such as Hanpay.[20]

Gwangju is also served by the Gwangju Airport.

Tourism

Sport and culture

Gwangju Sangmu Gymnasium

Cityscape

This picture was taken from a hill overlooking Gwangju

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Gwangju is twinned with:[27]

Partnerships and Cooperations

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

See also

About Gwangju
General lists

Notes

  1. In the 19th century, Gwangju was also known in English sources as Tsien-tsiou.[4]

References

Citations

  1. "Welcome". Gwangju Metropolitan City.
  2. 1 2 "Global city GDP 2014". Brookings Institution. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  3. EB (1878), p. 390.
  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)" (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  10. "기후자료 극값(최대값) 전체년도 일최고기온 (℃) 최고순위, 광주(156)" (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  11. "기후자료 극값(최대값) 전체년도 일최저기온 (℃) 최고순위, 광주(156)" (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  12. "Climatological Normals of Korea" (PDF). Korea Meteorological Administration. 2011. p. 499 and 649. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  13. "광주광역시 버스정보". bus.gjcity.net. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  14. "U-Square (Gwangju Bus Terminal) (유스퀘어(광주종합버스터미널)) | Official Korea Tourism Organization". english.visitkorea.or.kr. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "광주광역시 버스정보". bus.gjcity.net. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  16. "광주광역시 버스정보". bus.gjcity.net. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  17. "Gwangju Guide : Bus". Gwangju Guide. June 11, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  18. "쿄통카드/요금안내 광역대중교통확승제FAQ - Q.5".
  19. "Living in Gwangju : Transport". Gwangju Guide. Gwangju International Center. January 8, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2016.
  20. "Asia Culture Center". www.acc.go.kr. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  21. "Asia Culture Center". www.acc.go.kr. Retrieved 2016-07-29.
  22. (in Korean) K-League news 4강 역사를 쓴 그곳, 광주 월드컵 경기장 Dream stadium of K-League
  23. KOFICE 3rd Asia Song Festival 22 September 2006. Retrieved 2011-10-12
  24. "2016 광주 ACE Fair". www.acefair.or.kr. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  25. "Korea National Park". english.knps.or.kr. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  26. Gwangju Sister Cities
  27. Sister Cities Program. Sainternationalrelations.org. Retrieved on 2011-12-11.
  28. "Guangzhou Sister Cities[via WaybackMachine.com]". Guangzhou Foreign Affairs Office. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 2013-07-21.
  29. http://www.pemkomedan.go.id/news_detail.php?id=106 MEDAN MENJALIN HUBUNGAN KOTA KEMBAR KEEMPAT Retrieved September 10, 2013 Archived 23 April 2007
  30. 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.

Bibliography

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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