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Entertainment > Theme Park
Asia > Korea, South > Gyeonggi-do > Yongin
Introduction
Gyeonggi-do (Korean pronunciation: [kjʌŋ.ɡi.do]) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, Gyeonggi means "the area surrounding capital". Thus Gyeonggi-do can be translated as "province surrounding Seoul". 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 population of 25.6 million—amounting to over half of the entire population of South Korea.
History
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 King Taejo of Goryeo (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 of Joseon 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 effected, 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.
Culture
Historical landmarks
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
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.
Geography
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% of Korea’s territory, 10,171 square kilometres (3,927 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
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
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.
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