Coordinates: 37°30′N 127°15′E / 37.5°N 127.25°E / 37.5; 127.25

Gyeonggi Province
—  Province  —
Korean transcription(s)
• Hangul	경기도
• Hanja	京畿道
• Revised Romanization	Gyeonggi-do
Official logo of Gyeonggi Province Logo
Country	South Korea
Region	Sudogwon
Capital	Suwon
Subdivisions	27 cities; 4 counties
Government
• Governor	Kim Moon-soo
Area
• Total	10,183 km2 (3,932 sq mi)
Area rank	5th
Population (2011)
• Total	11,920,340
• Rank	1st
• Density	1,119/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Metropolitan Symbols
• Flower	Forsythia
• Tree	Gingko
• Bird	Dove
Dialect	Seoul
Website	gg.go.kr (English)

Gyeonggi-do (Korean pronunciation: [kjʌŋ.ɡi.do]) is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946. Incheon—South Korea's third largest city—is located on the coast of the province, but has been similarly administered as a provincial-level metropolitan city since 1981. The three administrations between them cover 11,730 km², with a combined (census) population in 2005 of 22,766,850—amounting to over 48% of the entire population of South Korea.

History[link]

Headquarters of the provincial governor, Joseon Dynasty

Gyeonggi Province has been a politically important area ever since 18 B.C., when Korea was divided into three nations during the Period of the Three Kingdoms. Ever since King Onjo, the founder of Baekje (one of the three kingdoms), founded the government in Wirye Castle of Hanam, the Han River valley was absorbed into Goguryeo in the mid-fifth century, and became Silla's territory in the year 553 (the 14th year of King Jinheung). Afterward, the current location of Gyeonggi Province, one of the nine states of Unified Silla (nation unifying the three kingdoms), was called Hansanju.

The Gyeonggi region started to rise as the central region of Goryeo Dynasty as the Emperor Taejo (dynasty following Unified Silla) set up the capital in Gaesong. Since 1018 (the 9th year of Goryeo’s King Hyeonjong), this area has been officially called "Gyeonggi."

During the Joseon Dynasty, which was founded after the Goryeo Dynasty, King Taejo set the capital in Hanyang, while restructuring Gyeonggi's area to include Gwangju, Suwon, Yeoju, and Anseong, along with the southeast region. Since the period of King Taejong and Sejong the Great, the Gyeonggi region has become very similar to the current administrative area of Gyeonggi Province.

In 1895, the 23-Bu system, which reorganized administrative areas at that time, was put in effect, and the Gyeonggi region was divided into Hanseong (Hanseong-Bu; 한성부; 漢城府), Incheon (Incheon-Bu; 인천부; 仁川府), Chungju (Chungju-Bu; 충주부; 忠州府), Gongju (Gongju-Bu; 공주부; 公州府), and Gaesong (Gaesong-Bu; 개성부; 開城府).

During the Japanese colonial period, Hanseong-bu was incorporated into Gyeonggi Province. On October 1, 1910, it was renamed Gyeongseong-bu and a provincial government was placed in Gyeongseong-bu according to the reorganization of administrative districts.

After liberation and the foundation of two Korean governments, Gyeonggi Province and its capital Seoul were separated, with partial regions of Gyeonggi Province being incorporated into Seoul thereafter. Additionally, Gaesong became North Korean territory, the only city to change control after the countries were divided at the 38th parallel, which is now part of North Korea's North Hwanghae province.

In 1967, the seat of the Gyeonggi provincial government was transferred from Seoul to Suwon. After Incheon separated from Gyeonggi Province in 1981, Gyeonggi regions such as Ongjin and Ganghwa were incorporated into Incheon in 1995.

Geography[link]

Gyeonggi Province is the western central region of the Korean Peninsula, which is vertically situated in Northeast Asia, and is located between east longitude of 126 and 127, and north latitude of 36 and 38. Its dimension is 10.2% of Korea’s territory, 10,131 square kilometres (3,912 sq mi). It is in contact with 86 kilometres (53 mi) of cease-fire line to the north, 413 kilometres (257 mi) of coastline to the west, Gangwon Province to the east, North Chungcheong Province and South Chungcheong Province to the south, and has Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, situated in its center. The location of its provincial government is Suwon, but some of its government buildings are situated in Uijeongbu for the administrative conveniences of the northern region.

Climate[link]

The climate of Gyeonggi Province is the continental climate, which has a severe differentiation of temperature between summer and winter, and has distinctions of four seasons. Spring is warm, summer is hot and humid, autumn is cool, and winter is cold and snowy. The annual average temperature is between 11–13 °C (52–55 °F), where the temperature in the mountainous areas to the northeast is lower and the coastal areas to the southwest is higher. For January’s average temperature, the Gyeonggi Bay is −4 °C (25 °F), the Namhangang (River) Basin is -4 – -6 °C (25–21 °F), and the Bukhangang (River) and Imjingang Basins are -6 – -8 °C (21–18 °F). It becomes colder and higher in temperature differentiation from coastal to inland areas. Summer has a lower local differentiation compared to winter, and since the inland areas are hotter than the Gyeonggi Bay area, the hottest area is Pyeongtaek, making the average temperature of August 26.5 °C (79.7 °F).

The annual average precipitation is around 1,100 millimetres (43 in), with a lot of rainfall. It is rainy in summer and dry during winter. The northeastern inland areas of Bukhangang and the upper stream of Imjingang has a precipitation of 1,300–1,400 millimetres (51–55 in), whereas the coastal area has only 900 millimetres (35 in) of precipitation.

Nature and national parks[link]

The topography of Gyeonggi Province is divided into southern and northern areas by the Han River, which flows from east to west. The area north to the Han River is mainly mountainous, while the southern area is mainly plain.

The configuration of Gyeonggi Province is represented by Dong-go-seo-jeo (high in the east and low in the west), where the Gwangju Mountain Range and the Charyeong Mountain Range spreads from the east and drops in elevation in the west. The fields of Gimpo, Gyeonggi, and Pyeongtaek extend to the west.

Gyeonggi Province boasts beautiful nature stocked with rivers, lakes, mountains, and seas. Its representative rivers are the Hangang, Imjingang, and Anseongcheon (Stream), which flow into the Yellow Sea, with Gyeonggi Plain, Yeonbaek Plain and Anseong Plain forming a fertile field area around the rivers. The Gwangju Mountain Range and the Charyeong Mountain Range stretch toward China in Gyeonggi Province. Most of the mountains that rise above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft), such as Myeongjisan (1,267 metres (4,157 ft)), Gukmangbong (1,168 metres (3,832 ft)) and Yongmunsan (1,157 metres (3,796 ft)), are included in the Gwangju Mountain Range. It has a developed granite area which, due to the granite’s exfoliation effect, makes it full of strangely shaped cliffs and deep valleys. The Charyeong Mountain Range forms the boundary between Gyeonggi Province and North Chungcheong Province, but is a relatively low-altitude hilly area.

For National Parks within Gyeonggi Province, there is Bukhansan National Park located in Uijeongbu. For Provincial Parks, there are the Chukryeongsan Natural Recreation Area, Namhan-sanseong Provincial Park, Gapyeong Yeoninsan Provincial Park, and Mulhyanggi Arboretum. Besides the listed, the scenery of well-known mountains including Soyosan of Dongducheon City, Yongmunsan of Yangpyeong-gun, and Gwanaksan of Anyang•Gwacheon Cities, along with Hangang and Imjingang are the famous tourism sites of Gyeonggi Province.

Population[link]

Gyeonggi Province has shown a rapid increase in population due to the modernization and urbanization of the Republic of Korea. Its population has increased from 2,748,765 in 1960 to 3,296,950 in 1970, 4,933,862 in 1980, 6,619,629 in 1992, 8,982,298 in 2000 and 12,071,884 in 2010. In 2010 there were 4,527,282 households, with an average of 3 people per family. There were 6,112,339 males and 5,959,545 females. The population density was 1119 people/km², almost double the national average of 486 people/km².

Excluding the two metropolitan cities (Seoul and Incheon), the most heavily populated area as of 2010 is Suwon (1,104,681) followed by Seongnam (996,524), Goyang (962,297), Yongin (891,708), Bucheon (890,875) and Ansan (753,862). The lowest populated area in 2010 was Yeoncheon (45,973) followed by Gapyeong (59,916) and Gwacheon (72,595).

Economy[link]

As the backbone of Seoul in the means of manufacturing complex, Gyeonggi Province is evenly developed in various industries such as heavy industry (electronics, machine, heavy and chemical industry, steel), light industry (textile), and farm, livestock and fisheries industry. Due to the influence of recent high wages, the weight of various manufacturing industries has decreased in Korea’s economy. Gyeonggi Province is also making efforts in many ways to improve and modernize the conventional industry structure. Gyeonggi Province is unsparingly investing in the promotion of service industries related to soft competitive power such as state-of-the-art IT industry, designing, conventions and tourism, along with its great leap as a commercial hub in Northeast Asia using the Pyeongtaek Harbor. Besides this, it is famous for its special local products such as Icheon rice and Icheon/Gwangju ceramics. Also, the manufacturing base of global IT industries that represent Korea, such as Suwon Samsung Semi-conductor, Paju LG LCD Complex, and Icheon Hynix are located in Gyeonggi Province. Yeolmae Food also has its headquarters here.

Administrative area[link]

Gyeonggi Province, as of May 7, 2008, consists of 27 cities (special: 7, normal: 20) and four counties. This is because many counties were elevated to city status owing to the influence of Seoul’s new town development plan. Special cities are especially concentrated in the southern area of Gyeonggi Province.

Listed below is each entity's name in English, hangul and hanja.

Map	#	Name	Hangul	Hanja	Population (2010)
	— City —
	1	Suwon	수원	水原	1,071,913
	2	Seongnam	성남	城南	949,964
	3	Goyang	고양	高陽	905,076
	4	Yongin	용인	龍仁	856,765
	5	Bucheon	부천	富川	853,039
	6	Ansan	안산	安山	728,775
	7	Anyang	안양	安養	602,122
	8	Namyangju	남양주	南楊州	529,898
	9	Hwaseong	화성	華城	488,758
	10	Uijeongbu	의정부	議政府	417,412
	11	Siheung	시흥	始興	407,090
	12	Pyeongtaek	평택	平澤	388,508
	13	Gwangmyeong	광명	光明	329,010
	14	Paju	파주	坡州	328,128
	15	Gunpo	군포	軍浦	278,083
	16	Gwangju	광주	廣州	228,747
	17	Gimpo	김포	金浦	224,350
	18	Icheon	이천	利川	195,175
	19	Yangju	양주	楊州	187,911
	20	Guri	구리	九里	185,550
	21	Osan	오산	烏山	183,890
	22	Anseong	안성	安城	179,782
	23	Uiwang	의왕	義王	144,501
	24	Pocheon	포천	抱川	140,997
	25	Hanam	하남	河南	138,829
	26	Dongducheon	동두천	東豆川	91,828
	27	Gwacheon	과천	果川	66,704
	— County —
	28	Yeoju County	여주군	驪州郡	101,203
	29	Yangpyeong County	양평군	楊平郡	82,802
	30	Gapyeong County	가평군	加平郡	50,879
	31	Yeoncheon County	연천군	漣川郡	41,770

Transportation[link]

Gyeonggi Province is extremely well developed in international aerial transportation. It is nearby Incheon International Airport, said to be the gateway to Korea, with the 2nd international airport of Gimpo International Airport situated within Gyeonggi Province. The area is cut through by the Gyeongin Line, Korea’s first railroad, and the Gyeongin Expressway, Korea’s first expressway. It is in close relation with the Metropolis of Seoul, making it well-developed in transportation. The road pavement rate is at an average of 86.5%. The subway cuts through the Metropolis of Seoul so that the subway’s National Railroad Line #1 is connected to Cheonan past Gyeonggi Province to the southwest, and Dongducheon to the north. Line #3 is connected to Goyang to the north, while #4 is connected to Gwacheon and Ansan to the southwest, #7 is connected to Uijeongbu to the north and Gwangmyeong to the south, #8 is extended to Seongnam to the south, and finally the Bundang line is connected from Suseo to Bojeong, Yongin, making subway transportation within the metropolitan area extremely convenient. The usage of sea transportation utilizing Pyeongtaek Harbor is high, and this is due to the fact that nearby regions including Seoul are playing an important role as the door to trade and commerce along with imports and exports.

Education[link]

Gyeonggi Province is focusing proportions of its investments into education to foster talented people suitable for the global era. It is currently promoting campus transfer of reputable universities into Gyeonggi Province, while driving forth additional foundations of special purpose high schools for high-quality education. It has also founded and is operating the largest domestic scale of Paju English Community, along with Ansan and Yangpyeong English Villages for English education.

• Universities within Gyeonggi Province:

National:

Korea National Police University, Hankyong National University

Private:

Kangnam University, Kyonggi University, Kyungwon University, Kyung Hee University, Dankook University, Daejin University, Luther University, Myongji University (science departments campus), Seoul Theological University, Seoul Jangsin University and Theological Seminary, Sungkyul University, Suwon Catholic University, Suwon Science College, Shingyeong University, Asia United Theological University, Ajou University, Anyang University, Yongin University, Chung-Ang University (Anseong Campus), Calvin University, Pyongtaek University, College of Medicine Pochon CHA University, Korea Polytechnic University, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Korea Aerospace University, Hanbuk University, Hansei University, Hanshin University, Hanyang University, Hyupsung University

• Colleges within Gyeonggi Province

Ansan College

Culture[link]

Historical landmarks[link]

Gyeonggi Province has long been a capital area, leaving many historic relics and ruins. For royal tombs (called reung), there are Donggureung of Guri, and Gwangreung, Hongreung and Yureung of Namyangju. For castles (called seong), there are Suwon Hwaseong, which is designated as the World Cultural Heritage, Namwonsanseong, Haengjusanseong, and Ganghwasanseong. For Buddhist temples, there are many aged temples within Gyeonggi Province where one can experience ‘temple stay’, besides Ganghwa Pusoksa Muryangsujeon, the oldest wooden building in Korea. You can view folk culture in the Korean Folk Village in Yongin, and the scene of Korea’s division at Panmunjeom in Paju.

Performance arts[link]

Gyeonggi Province is investing a lot of money at a provincial level so that people do not have to go to Seoul to enjoy a high-class cultural life. There are various performances at Gyeonggi Arts Center in Suwon as well as at Gyeonggi Korean Traditional Music Center in Yongin. Gyeonggi Provincial Museum in Yongin, Nam June Paik Art Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Museum of Art in Ansan, and the Ceramics Museum in Gwangju are some of the facilities that are currently run by the province. There are also sightseeing opportunities at Jangheung Art Park, Publication Art Complex at Heyri, Paju, and the Icheon Ceramics Exposition.

Sports[link]

The 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup matches were held in Suwon World Cup Stadium. As for the professional soccer teams with Gyeonggi Province as their home ground, there are the Suwon Samsung Bluewings and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. Also, there is the professional basketball team of Guri Kdb Life Winnus, sponsored by Kdb Life Insurance.

Korea's foremost thoroughbred horse racing track Seoul Race Park is located in Gwacheon.

Sailing is a high profile sport in Gyeonggi. Gyeonggi-do's location on the bank of the river Han makes it an ideal venue for the sport which is host to the prestigious Korea Match Cup event which is a part of the World Match Racing Tour. The event draws the world's best sailing teams to Gyeonggi in a gladiatorial battle of nerve and skill on the water. The identical supplied (KM-36) boats are raced two at a time in an on the water dogfight which tests the sailors and skippers to the limits of their physical abilities. Points accrued count towards the World Match Race Tour and a place in the final event, with the overall winner taking the title ISAF World Match Racing Tour Champion. Match racing is an ideal sport for spectators in Gyeonggi. Racing in such close proximity to the river bank provides excellent heart of the action views for the audience. Highlights of the event can be seen on KBS World television and via the official World Match Racing Tour website.

Domestic sports clubs[link]

Football[link]

• K-League (2)
  • Suwon Samsung Bluewings
  • Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma

• National League (4)
  • Suwon City
  • Yongin City
  • Goyang Kookmin Bank
  • Ansan H

• Challengers League (7)
  • Bucheon FC 1995
  • Goyang Citizen
  • Icheon Citizen
  • Namyangju United
  • FC Pocheon
  • Yangju Citizen
  • Paju Citizen

• WK-League (2)
  • Suwon FMC
  • Goyang Daekyo Noonnoppi Kangaroos

Basketball[link]

• KBL (2)
  • Anyang Korea Ginseng Corporation
  • Goyang Orions

• WKBL (3)
  • Yongin Samsung Life Bichumi
  • Ansan Shinhan Bank S-Birds
  • Guri KDB Life Winnus

Volleyball[link]

• V-League Men (2)
  • Suwon KEPCO 45
  • Sangmu Shinhyup

• V-League Women (3)
  • Suwon Hyundai Engineering & Construction Hillstate
  • Seongnam Korea Expressway Corporation High-pass Zenith
  • Hwaseong IBK Altos

Ice Hockey[link]

• Asia League (1)
  • Anyang Halla

Former sports clubs[link]

Football[link]

• Anyang LG Cheetahs (1996-2003, Anyang → Seoul)
• Bucheon SK (1996-2005, Bucheon → Jeju)
• Bucheon FMC Best (2010, Dissolved)

Basketball[link]

• Suwon Samsung Thunders (1997-2001, Suwon → Seoul)
• Bucheon Shinsegae Coolcat (2006-2012, Dissolved)

Tourism[link]

Entertainment[link]

• Everland theme park located in Yongin-si
• Korean Folk Village in Yongin-si
• Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) Dramia located at Cheoin-gu in Yongin-si; is the filming location of historical dramas such as The Moon Embracing the Sun, Jumong, Queen Seondeok and Dong Yi. Viewing tours are available, which includes traditional folk games, historical court dress and archery.^[1]

• Hallyu Wood theme park, which is based on the ‘Korean Fever’, is under construction in Goyang
• Seoul Grand Park in Gwacheon, which has the Korea’s National Museum of Contemporary Art and a zoo * ski and golf resorts
• Icheon Hot Spring

Gourmet[link]

Gyeonggi Province has long been famous for its Icheon rice, Yangpyeong Korean beef, Suwon cow ribs and Korean court cuisine, and marine delicacies made of fresh marine products from the west coast.

Festival[link]

Sister provinces[link]

• Gauteng Province
• North Holland
• Taipei
• Moscow
• State of Mexico
• Virginia
• Utah
• Florida
• Ha Tay
• North East Assembly
• Västmanlands County
• Catalunya Autonomous Community
• South Sulawesi
• Kanagawa Prefecture
• Guangdong Province
• Shandong Province
• Liaoning Province
• Kampot
• British Columbia
• Alto Parana Department
• Queensland
• Islamabad

References[link]

External Links[link]

South Korea portal

• Gyeonggi Provincial Office - Korean
• Gyeonggi Provincial Office - English
• Gyeonggi Provincial Office Blog - English
• Invest in Gyeonggi Province - English
• Gyeonggi Tourism Guide - English
• DMZ - English
• KINTEX - English

v t e Gyeonggi Suwon (capital) Cities Ansan Danwon-gu Sangnok-gu Anseong Anyang Dongan-gu Manan-gu Bucheon Ojeong-gu Sosa-gu Wonmi-gu Dongducheon Gimpo Goyang Deogyang-gu Ilsandong-gu Ilsanseo-gu Gunpo Guri Gwacheon Gwangju Gwangmyeong Hanam Hwaseong Icheon Namyangju Osan Paju Pocheon Pyeongtaek Seongnam Bundang-gu Jungwon-gu Sujeong-gu Siheung Suwon Gwonseon-gu Jangan-gu Paldal-gu Yeongtong-gu Uijeongbu Uiwang Yangju Yongin Cheoin-gu Giheung-gu Suji-gu Counties Gapyeong Yangpyeong Yeoju Yeoncheon

v t e Regions and administrative divisions of South Korea Regions Capital area Gwandong Yeongdong Yeongseo Hoseo Honam Jeju Yeongnam Southeastern MIR Provinces North Chungcheong South Chungcheong Gangwon Gyeonggi North Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang North Jeolla South Jeolla Special self-governing province Jeju Special city Seoul Special autonomous city Sejong Metropolitan cities Busan Daegu Daejeon Gwangju Incheon Ulsan