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Today on the Korean Atlas and History. South Korean Specific Cities.

Changwon.

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Changwon is the capital city of the province of South Gyeong-Sang. It is

located on the southeastern coast of South Korea, and has a population of 1 million,

seventy-thousand, making it the 9th most populous city in South Korea.

Changwon is bordered by Ma-San bay to the south. The cities of Busan and

Gim-Hae lie to the east, Mir-Yang to the northeast, and Jin-ju to the west.

Changwon’s history begins as far back as the bronze age. Bronze age dolmen

sites have been found there, as well as ruins dating from the iron age, including

Bang-Ye-Dong monuments, Dolmens, holy mounds, and lower molar sites.

In 209 AD, the area was named Gul-Ja-Gun (goon) and was a province of the

Silla Kingdom. Later, in 739 AD, under unified Silla’s reign, the area was renamed Ui-

an-gun (goon), and then late to ui-Chang-Hyeon under Goryeo. In 1408, in the

Joseon period under the rule of King Tae-Jong, the city was first called Changwon. In

1895, it was reorganized by King Go-Jong into 23 divisions, and split into

ChangWon-gun (goon) and Ung-Cheon-gun (goon). In 1908, Ungcheon-gun (goon)

merged with nearby Jin-Hae-gun (goon), and became Masan-bu. Over time,

Changwon and Masan separated.

In 1970, the Masan Free Export Zone was opened to encourage foreign

business to move into the area. In 1974, it was selected to be the provincial capital

as well as an industrial and residential center. The Changwon Industrial Complex was

built in the south of the city. It modeled itself after the city of Canberra, in Australia.

ChangWon was designed to be South Korea’s emergency backup capital city.

This can be most easily seen in the construction of Changwon Dae-Lo, a long

straight road that is 15.27 kilometers in length. The road was constructed to serve as

an airplane runway in a state of emergency. Underground walkways serve as bomb

shelters, and buildings are numbered for efficient use in evacuation.

In 1985, the 충혼탑, or Korean War Monument, was constructed in the Ui-

Chang-gu area of Changwon. It is a 47 meter high monument “dedicated to the

1,142 soldiers from Gyeong-Sang-nam province that died in the Korean War.”

On July 1, 2010, Changwon combined with its neighboring cities of Masan

and Jin-Hae to create Unified Changwon city, with a population of over 1 million.

The city is located on the Nakdong river delta, looking out onto Masan Bay. It is

surrounded by mountains, including Mt. Bul-Mo, Mr. Jeong-Byeong, and Mt. Jang-
Bok. The city area includes several small islands in Masan Bay. It has 5 adminstrative

districts divided into 54 neighborhoods.

Because of the development process in the 60s and 70s for Changwon to be

an emergency backup capital city, the city is bisected by Changwon Dae-Lo, the

road built to be used as a possible runway. To the south of Changwon Dae-Lo are

factories, while to the north lie residential areas. The central part of greater

Changwon is the Sang-Nam neighborhood. It has a large nightlife area called the

Sang-Nam Commercial District. The area encompasses bars, hotels, business bars,

Norae-Bangs or Karaoke rooms, and restaurants. On days of the month that end in

4 or 9, the Sang-nam markets are open and bustling for business. Vendors sell fresh

seafood, vegetables, and other groceries as well as clothing and pottery.

Just west of Sang-Nam is the “old town.” The old town has more night life

and less restaurants, and this is the area most frequented by English speaking

expats.

Since the 1970s, Changwon has seen rapid growth, primarily due to the

Changwon Industrial Complex. The complex employs 82,000 people and leads the

chemical, industrial, and heave machinery sectors of the South Korean economy.

Changwon is also the home to several government offices and a large naval base,

which is in the Jin-Hae district. Changwon’s gross regional domestic product is

higher than that of Gwangju and Daejeon. It earned 29 billion dollars through

exports in 2008, more than Busan, Gwangju, Daejeon, or Daegu.

Changwon has six main post-secondary intuitions for higher education:

Changwon National University, Kyung-Nam University, Masan University, Korea Naval

Academy, Chan Shin College, and Changwon Polytechnic College. Changwon also

has two special purpose high schools: Changwon Science High School and

Changwon Mechanical Technical High School. Including these two schools, the city

has 46 high schools, 63 middle schools, and 105 elementary schools.

Changwon’s city displays a socioeconomic and health inequality divide

between the vibrant, modern west side, and the older east side. The city, however,

has taken several initiatives to promote better health, including a bike-sharing

system, “the development of walking trails in apartment complex areas, a new health

center in the east side, and the installation of defibrillators in public areas.

Changwon included more natural space than many other cities in Korea, as it

was a planned city. In this respect, it has dozens of parks, gardens, trails, and plazas,

as well as being home to several beaches. Some well known parks include: Jin-Hae

dream park, an ecological resurve; Ju-Nam-Jeo-Su-Ji, a reservoir and bird sanctuary;

House of Changwon, a Hanoak village and education center; and Changwon Marine

Park on Dote-Seom Island. The city is also home to Changwon KBS, a television and

radio broadcaster. Changwon KBS hosts the K-Pop World festival each year. In
addition to the K-Pop World festival, Changwon is home to numerous other festivals

throughout the year. The festival is usually held in late October.

The Changwon Food Culture Festival and National Indigenous Food Cooking

Contest is held on the third Saturday of October. As in the name, it is a cooking

contest as well as a food festival, where you can taste a variety of different dishes.

Also in October is the Changwon National Folk Bullfighting Festival. During

the festival, entrants are determined by draw. Bulls lock horns and fight one another,

with a winner declared based upon a specific set of rules in the contest. Lately, this

sport has come under heavy criticism in Korea, and it may not exist much longer.

October is also the time when the Royal Azaleas tend to come into bloom.

The Jil-lye-san-seong Fortress Royal Azalea Festival is a flower viewing event held

every year when they come into bloom. You can see the azaleas on Bi-eum

mountain.

Sometime between late October and early November, the chrysanthemum

comes into bloom, and the Masan Ga-go-pa Chrysanthemum Festival has been held

since 200 to promote them. The festival features a song contest, an essay contest,

and a poetry recitation contest.

The JinHae Goon-Hang-Je Festival is a yearly 10 day event that begins on

April 1st. It features fireworks, concerts, a parade, and performances by International

Military Bands & Honor Guard. But, most people just come to the festival to see the

cherry blossoms.

Later April, the Warty Sea Squirt Festival is held. The festival is held to

celebrate the stalked sea squirt, or the Warty Sea Squirt. Called the Mi-deo-deok in

Korean, the Styela clava or Warty Sea Squirt is a solitary animal that is native to the

pacific coasts of Asia. Koreans celebrate by eating them and watching a fireworks

show.

After Chuseok, in the fall, locals gather on a mountain and perform an ancient

harvest ceremony. Collectively known as the Changwon Namsan Sang-Bong-Je

Festival, people sing, dance, and drink in the spirit of the way their ancestors

celebrated Chuseok.

Every other year, the city hosts the Changwon Sculpture Biennial. The festival

honors the late Moon Shin, a Korean painter and sculptor who constructed an art

center in Masan. The festival is usually held in September. The festival is a

celebration sculptures, and it is now beginning to create a new concept of sculpture.

The city of Changwon has a four professional sports teams. The Changwon LG

Sakers represent Changwon basketball; the NC Dinos represent Changwon baseball,

and the Changwon City FC and Gyeong-Nam FC both represent Changwon soccer.
 Per capita, Changwon has one of the largest foreign populations in South

Korea, mostly because of the Masan Free Trade Zone. Two foreign residents have

created the website Changwonderful as a source for those travelling and moving to

the city. The Changwoner, a podcast with over 50 episdodes, focues on the city. We

recommend you listen to it after this podcast!

The slogan of the city is Bright Changwon. The city flower is the cherry

blossom and the city tree is the pine tree. The city bird is the black-tailed gull. The

official city mascot is PI-U-Mi, a childlike figure with a blooming flower on its head.

If you ever visit Changwon, make sure to check out Jin-Hae Dream Road. The

road includes a 10 kilometer hiking trail that connects the An-Min rest area to the

meeting plaze of Wi-Gal-lim road. The road is surrounded by various kinds of trees

ranching from peach and bamboo to cherry trees.

Thank You for listening to this episode of the Korean Atlas and History. Most

of today’s information was taken from the 나무 Wiki and Wikipedia. All of our

episodes can be found and downloaded from koreanatlasandhistory.com.