Gwangju, Gyeonggi

Not to be confused with Gwangju, the South Korean metropolitan city, or Guangzhou (廣州), which is written with the same Chinese characters.

Gwangju^[a] (Korean: 광주; pronounced [kwaŋ.dʑu]) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, a suburb southeast of Seoul.

Gwangju 광주시
Municipal City
Korean transcription(s)
• Hangul	광주시
• Hanja	廣州市[1]
• Revised Romanization	Gwangju-si
• McCune–Reischauer	Kwangju-si
Flag Emblem of Gwangju
Location in South Korea
Country	South Korea
Region	Gyeonggi Province (Sudogwon)
Administrative divisions	2 eup, 10 dong, 4 myeon
Government
• mayor	Sehwan Bang (방세환)
Area
• Total	430.99 km2 (166.41 sq mi)
Population  (September 2024[2])
• Total	396,055
• Density	920/km2 (2,400/sq mi)
• Dialect	Seoul

History

Bunwon-ri in Gwangju took an important role of ceramic production during the Kingdom of Joseon. There had official kilns and produced superb quality of white porcelains for use at the royal court and to export to China.^[4]

In 1962, 4 myeons (townships) including 5 ris (villages) were incorporated to Seoul.^[5]

In 1973, 6 ris were separated and became a part of Seongnam city. In 1979, Gwangju-myeon was elevated to an eup. Gwangju county became a city in 2001.^[6]

Festival

Gwangju Toechon Tomato Festival - Gwangju City, Gyeonggi Province has been holding a festival since 2003 to promote the city's pollution-free tomatoes and sell them to consumers.

Traditional markets

• Gyeongan Market

Climate

Gwangju has a monsoon-influenced humid continental climate (Köppen: Dwa) with cold, dry winters and hot, rainy summers.

Climate data for Gwangju, Gyeonggi (1993–2020 normals)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	2.2 (36.0)	5.4 (41.7)	11.7 (53.1)	18.6 (65.5)	23.9 (75.0)	27.8 (82.0)	29.2 (84.6)	30.2 (86.4)	26.0 (78.8)	20.0 (68.0)	11.9 (53.4)	3.9 (39.0)	17.6 (63.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−3.3 (26.1)	−0.4 (31.3)	5.3 (41.5)	11.8 (53.2)	17.2 (63.0)	21.8 (71.2)	24.7 (76.5)	25.2 (77.4)	20.2 (68.4)	13.3 (55.9)	6.1 (43.0)	−1.4 (29.5)	11.7 (53.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−8.2 (17.2)	−5.7 (21.7)	−0.5 (31.1)	5.5 (41.9)	11.2 (52.2)	16.8 (62.2)	21.2 (70.2)	21.6 (70.9)	16.0 (60.8)	8.2 (46.8)	1.0 (33.8)	−6.1 (21.0)	6.8 (44.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	16.6 (0.65)	25.0 (0.98)	35.5 (1.40)	67.5 (2.66)	91.4 (3.60)	118.1 (4.65)	374.4 (14.74)	317.6 (12.50)	140.5 (5.53)	55.9 (2.20)	45.8 (1.80)	19.8 (0.78)	1,308.1 (51.50)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm)	3.4	3.5	5.3	6.8	6.6	7.6	12.9	13.0	7.5	5.2	6.8	4.8	83.4
Source: Korea Meteorological Administration[7]

Notable people

• Ahn Sun-ju (1987), professional golfer
• Choi Soo-young (1990), singer and actress, member of Girls' Generation.
• Lee Hong-gi (1990), singer and actor
• Lee Hye-ri (1994), singer and actress
• Julio Ko (1970), kayaker and educator
• Yoon Shi-yoon (1986), actor and variety entertainer
• Lee Ju-yeon (1998), member of boy group The Boyz

International relations

Sister cities

• Zibo, Shandong, China

Friendship cities

• Faku County, Liaoning, China
• Dornogovi Province, Mongolia
• Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia

See also

• Joseon white porcelain
• Korean pottery and porcelain
• List of cities in South Korea
• Geography of South Korea

Notes

1. In the 19th century, Gwangju was sometimes spelled Koang-tsiou.^[3]