Gwangyang (Korean: 광양; Korean pronunciation: [kwaŋ.jaŋ]) is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Gwangyang city is the home of POSCO's Gwangyang Steel Works, the largest facility of its kind in the world.
The city is also home to K League Classic football side Jeonnam Dragons.
Gwangyang is at the centre of development for the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone (GFEZ), the third-largest among the six free economic zones of South Korea, covering 92.7 square kilometers. The Free Economic Zone focus on port container handling, steel production, shipbuilding as well as leisure facilities. The area has become a mega business hub, exploiting its accessibility to China.Famous people from Gwangyang include National Intelligence Service head Kim Seung-kew. To the north of the city is the county of Gurye, to the east along the Seomjin River is the county of Hadong in Gyeongsangnam-do, and to the south is the Gwangyang Bay. Mountains in the city include Baegunsan (백운산, 1,217m), to the south is Gayasan (가야산, 497m) and Gubonghwasan (구봉화산, 473m). Baegunsan is the second-highest mountain in Jeollanam-do with the exception of Jirisan (지리산, 1,915 m).
The average yearly temperature is 13.7 °C (56.7 °F), the average in January is 0.1 °C (32.2 °F), and the average in July is 27.8 °C (82.0 °F). The average yearly precipitation is 1,296 mm (51.02 in)
As of October 14, 2007, plans are being set up and a referendum is being planned for a merging of the cities of Yeosu, Suncheon and Gwangyang into a new metropolitan city, taking advantage of the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone, Yeosu's Expo 2012 bid and port facilities, Suncheon's educational institutes and Gwangyang's POSCO plant.[1]
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Gwangyang is a city of 135,000 people, and dominated by the large POSCO steel company. It hold the largest steel mill in the world, which is of interest to many tourists.
