Gwangyang (; ) 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 ...

South Jeolla Province South Jeolla Province (), formerly South Chŏlla Province, also known as Jeonnam (), is a province in the Honam, Honam region, South Korea, and the Provinces of Korea, southernmost province in mainland Korea. South Jeolla borders the provinces of ...

, South Korea. Gwangyang is the home of

POSCO POSCO (formerly Pohang Iron and Steel Company) is a South Korean steel manufacturer headquartered in Pohang, South Korea. It had an output of of crude steel in 2015, making it the List of steel producers, world's sixth-largest steelmaker by thi ...

'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 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

football side

Jeonnam Dragons The Jeonnam Dragons () 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 their home matches at the G ...

. Gwangyang is at the centre of development for the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (GFEZ), the third-largest among the six

free economic zone A free-trade zone (FTZ) is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be imported, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re- exported under specific customs regulation and generally not subjec ...

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 (born July 20, 1944), also spelled Kim Seung-gyu, 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 Intelligence Servic ...

. 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, formerly romanized as Yosu, is a coastal city located on the southern shore of South Korea. With a population of 268,823, Yeosu is the second largest city in South Jeolla Province. In 1998, the Old Yeosu City, Yeocheon City and Yeocheon C ...

Suncheon Suncheon (; ) is the largest city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, with a population of 280,719 as of 2022. It is located in the southeast of the province and is a scenic agricultural and industrial city, known for tourist attractions, suc ...

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

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 (; ), formerly spelled Po-Hang, is the largest city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, with a List of cities in South Korea, population of 499,363 as of 2022, bordering the Sea of Japan, East Sea to the east, Yeongcheon to the w ...

. The mill boasts having the largest

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

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 the secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer ...

. It presently produces coil used for making

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

s, iron structures,

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

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 tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited natural or cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, offering leisure and amusement. Types Places of natural beau ...

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 (; ) is the List of cities in South Korea, third largest and most densely populated 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 ...

and

Muan Muan County () is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. In 2005, Muan County became the capital of South Jeolla following the transfer of the provincial office from its previous location in Gwangju to the village of Namak in Muan. Mu ...

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 * Gwangyang Cultural Center The festivals include: * The Baegun Mountain Medicinal Water Festival * The Maehwa Culture Festival * The Jeoneo Fish Festival File:Gwangyang Cultural Center, in South Jeolla Province, South Korea 03.jpg, Gwangyang Cultural Center File:Gwangyang-eup office.JPG, Gwangyang-eup office File:광양 옥룡사 동백나무 숲 오솔길2 (촬영년도 2015년).jpg, Okryongsa Camellia Forest File:Gwangyang Station 20160815 145452.jpg, Gwangyang Station File:Gwangyang City Hall.JPG, Gwangyang City Hall File:Gwangyangstadium4.jpg, Gwangyang Stadium File:Gwangyang Maehwa Festival in Spring - 4403554076.jpg, The Maehwa Culture Festival File:02 컨부두 배후부지 서측.jpg

Festival

Gwangyang is famous for its beautiful apricot trees. In Korean, the ume flower is called ''maehwa'' () 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

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:

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