All Topics  
Gwangju

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Gwangju
 
 
  Topics Gwangju Topic Home

Gwangju Metropolitan City is the sixth largest city in South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
. It is a designated metropolitan city
Special cities of Korea

In North Korea and South Korea, Special Cities, Metropolitan Cities, and Directly Governed Cities are cities that have a status equivalent to that of Provinces of Korea ....
 under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province
Provinces of Korea

This article describes the historical evolution of Korea's provinces . For detailed information on current administrative divisions, please see Administrative divisions of North Korea and Administrative divisions of South Korea....
 until the provincial office moved to the southern village of Namak in Muan County
Muan County

Muan County is a Administrative divisions of South Korea in Jeollanam-do Provinces of Korea , South Korea. In 2005, Muan County became the capital of Jeollanam-do following the transfer of the provincial office from its previous location, Gwangju to the village of Namak, South Korea in Muan....
 in 2005.

Gwang (?, hanja ?) means "light" and Ju (?, hanja ?) means "province."

city was established in 57 BC, and has been a major political and economic centre of Korea ever since.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Gwangju'
Start a new discussion about 'Gwangju'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Gwangju Metropolitan City is the sixth largest city in South Korea
South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea , ), often referred to as Korea and the "names of Korea#Revival of the names", is a Semi-presidential system republic in East Asia, located in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula....
. It is a designated metropolitan city
Special cities of Korea

In North Korea and South Korea, Special Cities, Metropolitan Cities, and Directly Governed Cities are cities that have a status equivalent to that of Provinces of Korea ....
 under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province
Provinces of Korea

This article describes the historical evolution of Korea's provinces . For detailed information on current administrative divisions, please see Administrative divisions of North Korea and Administrative divisions of South Korea....
 until the provincial office moved to the southern village of Namak in Muan County
Muan County

Muan County is a Administrative divisions of South Korea in Jeollanam-do Provinces of Korea , South Korea. In 2005, Muan County became the capital of Jeollanam-do following the transfer of the provincial office from its previous location, Gwangju to the village of Namak, South Korea in Muan....
 in 2005.

Gwang (?, hanja ?) means "light" and Ju (?, hanja ?) means "province."

History

The city was established in 57 BC, and has been a major political and economic centre of Korea ever since. It was one of the administrative centres of Baekje
Baekje

Baekje , or Paekche , was a kingdom located in southwest Korea. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla....
 during the Three Kingdoms Period
Three Kingdoms of Korea

The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean empire of Goguryeo, and kingdom of Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium CE....
.

Modern industry was established in Gwangju with the construction of a railway to Seoul
Seoul

Seoul is the Capital and largest city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, It is one of the world's List of cities proper by population.The Seoul National Capital Area - which includes the major port city of Incheon and satellite towns in Gyeonggi-do, has 24.5 million inhabitants and is the world's second largest List of me...
. Some of the industries that took hold includes cotton textiles, rice mills and breweries. Construction of a designated industrial zone in 1967 encouraged marked growth in industry, especially in the sectors linked to the automobile industry.

In 1929, during the period of Japanese rule
Korea under Japanese rule

Korea was under Japanese rule as part of the Imperial Japan during the first half of the 20th century, until the surrender of Japan in 1945. Korea was occupied and declared a Japanese protectorate in 1905 , and officially annexation in 1910 through an Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty....
, 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.

In May 1980, civil demonstrations took place in Gwangju against the newly installed military government of Chun Doo-hwan
Chun Doo-hwan

Chun Doo-hwan was former ROK Army general and the President of South Korea of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Chun was sentenced to death in 1996 for authorizing the Gwangju massacre, but later pardoned by President Kim Young-sam on the advice of then President-elect Kim Dae-jung, whom Chun himself had sentenced to death some 20 years earlier...
. The demonstrations were suppressed by military forces, including elite units of the Special Operations Command. Most commentators agree that the suppression was characterized by its egregious brutality, including several incidents where military forces fired automatic weapons into crowds of unarmed demonstrators. Gwangju is sometimes called "the shrine of Korean democracy" because of this incident, which is known today as the Gwangju Democratization Movement. After civilian rule was reinstated, a national cemetery was established honoring the victims of the incident.

Administrative divisions


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

Name Hangul
Hangul

Hangul is the native alphabet of the Korean language, as distinguished from the logogram Sino-Korean vocabulary hanja system. It was created in the mid-fifteenth century, and is now the official writing system of both North Korea and South Korea, being co-official in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture of China....
 Hanja
Hanja

Hanja is the Korean language name for Chinese characters. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese language and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation....
Buk-gu ?? ??
Dong-gu
Dong-gu, Gwangju

Dong-gu is a district, similar to a ward , situated in the city of Gwangju, South Korea. Mt. Mudeung is a famous landmark in the district. Modern art is displayed at the Street of Art, which was the first one of its kind in South Korea....
 		 ?? ??
Gwangsan-gu
Gwangsan-gu

Gwangsan-gu is a district, similar to a ward , situated in the city of Gwangju, South Korea. The total population of the district, as of September 2004, is 295,294, and the population density of the district is 1,085 per 1 km2....
 		 ??? ???
Nam-gu ?? ??
Seo-gu ?? ??


Amenities

Areas of exquisite scenery along the outskirts of the city gave birth to gasa, a form of Korean classical poetry. Located in the heart of the agricultural Jeolla
Jeolla

Jeolla was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Jeolla was located in the southwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Jeonju....
 region, the city is also famous for its rich and diverse cuisine.

Transportation

Gwangju has one subway line
Gwangju Subway Line 1

Gwangju Subway Line 1 is a subway line in Gwangju, a metropolitan city in southwestern South Korea. It began operations in 2004, making Gwangju the fifth South Korean city with a Rapid transit....
. An extension to the line was completed in April 2008. There are also two KTX (high speed rail) stations in the city: Gwangju Station
Gwangju Station

Gwangju Station is on South Korea high-speed KTX railway network, 353km south of Yongsan Station....
 and Songjeong-ri Station
Songjeong-ri Station

Songjeong-ri Station is a station in Gwangju, South Korea. It is on the national high-speed KTX railway network, 341km south of Yongsan Station....
. Songjeong-ri
Songjeong-ri Station

Songjeong-ri Station is a station in Gwangju, South Korea. It is on the national high-speed KTX railway network, 341km south of Yongsan Station....
 has been connected to the subway network; however, no connection exists to Gwangju Station.

Gwangju Airport
Gwangju Airport

Gwangju Airport is an airport in the city of Gwangju, South Korea and is managed by the Korea Airports Corporation. This airport is planned to close when Muan International Airport becomes more established....
 and Muan International Airport
Muan International Airport

Muan International Airport Revised Romanization of Korean; Muan Gukje Gonghang, McCune-Reischauer; Muan Kukche Konghang) is an airport in Muan County, Jeollanam-do....
 serve Gwangju.

Education

Chonnam National University
Chonnam National University

Chonnam National University is generally regarded as one of 4 key major national universities of South Korea together with Seoul National University in Seoul, Pusan National University in Pusan, and Kyungpook National University in Daegu....
, Chosun University
Chosun University

Chosun University is one of the oldest and most prestigious private universities in South Korea. Its campus is situated in Gwangju metropolitan city, in southwestern South Korea....
, Honam University and Gwangju University are the major educational institutions in the city, with several other universities and colleges also located in the region.

  • Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
    Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology

    Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology , formerly known as the Kwangju Institute of Science and Technology , is a leading research oriented institute of Korea located in Gwangju, South Korea....


Sister cities

  • Guangzhou
    Guangzhou

    'Guangzhou' is the Capital and a sub-provincial city of Guangdong Province of China in the northern and southern China part of the People's Republic of China....
    , China
    China

    China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
  • San Antonio
    San Antonio, Texas

    San Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the List of United States cities by population. Located in , the city is a cultural and geographical gateway into the ....
    , United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
     
  • Sendai, Japan
    Japan

    Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
     
  • Tainan City, Taiwan
    Taiwan

    Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
  • Medan
    Medan

    Medan is the capital of the province of North Sumatra, Indonesia. Located in the northern part of the province along the coast, Medan is the third largest city in Indonesia....
    , Indonesia
    Indonesia

    The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
     


See also

  • Gwangju Biennale
    Gwangju Biennale

    The Gwangju Biennale, which started in September 1995 in the city of Gwangju in the South Jeolla province of South Korea, was Asia's first contemporary art biennale....
  • Gwangju National Museum
    Gwangju National Museum

    Gwangju National Museum is a national museum located in Gwangju, South Korea....
  • List of Korea-related topics
    List of Korea-related topics

    This is a list of articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. For help on how to use this list, see the #Introduction below....
  • List of cities in South Korea


External links