Wonju

This article is about the Korean city. For the garment, see Wonju (Bhutan).

Wonju
원주시
Municipal City
Korean transcription(s)
 • Hangul원주시
 • Hanja原州市
 • Revised RomanizationWonju-si
 • McCune–ReischauerWŏnju-si
From the left: Gangwon Gamyeong, Wonju City Hall, Korail Class 8000, Yongsomak Catholic Church, Wonju station, Imsil County, Jeongeup
Flag of Wonju
Flag
Official logo of Wonju
Emblem of Wonju
Location in South Korea
Location in South Korea
Coordinates: 37°20′30″N 127°55′15″E / 37.34167°N 127.92083°E / 37.34167; 127.92083
Country South Korea
RegionGwandong
Administrative divisions1 eup, 8 myeon, 16 dong
Government
[1]
 • MayorWon Gang-su (원강수)
Area
 • Total
867.30 km2 (334.87 sq mi)
Population
 (September 2024[2])
 • Total
362,017
 • Density421/km2 (1,090/sq mi)
 • Dialect
Gangwon
Area code+82-33-7xx
ISO 3166 codeKR-42

Wonju[a] (Korean: 원주; Korean pronunciation: [wʌn.dʑu]) is the most populous city in Gangwon Province, South Korea, with a population of 364,860 as of 2023. The city is located approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of Seoul.

History

See also: Joseon

During the time of Great Joseon, Wonju was the capital of the historic Gangwon Province, one of the Eight Provinces of Korea.

Korean War

See also: Korean War and Bodo League massacre

Wonju was the site of the first ever massacres conducted by the Republic of Korea Army against suspected communists that occurred on 30 June 1950. On 2 July of the same year, the Korean People's Army attacked Wonju before capturing it on 7 July.[4][5][6][unreliable source?][7][8]

Throughout the Korean War, Wonju was the site of three crucial battles.

Geography

Wonju sits at the southwestern corner of Gangwon Province, bordering Gyeonggi Province to the west and North Chungcheong Province to the south. Within Gangwon, Wonju borders Yeongwol County to the east and Hoengseong County to the north. Unlike much of Gangwon Province, Wonju is not a mountainous area, but rather a basin along the wide plain created by the Seom River.

Administrative divisions

Wonju is divided into 1 eup (town), 8 myeon (townships), and 16 dong (neighborhoods).[9]

Name Hangul Hanja Population Area (km2)
Munmak-eup 문막읍 文幕邑 17,659 104.34
Socho-myeon 소초면 所草面 8,468 103.08
Hojeo-myeon 호저면 好楮面 3,687 76.97
Jijeong-myeon 지정면 地正面 28,438 89.70
Buron-myeon 부론면 富論面 2,261 82.67
Gwirea-myeon 귀래면 貴來面 2,177 76.55
Heungeop-myeon 흥업면 興業面 8,627 59.59
Panbu-myeon 판부면 板富面 7,269 67.72
Sillim-myeon 신림면 神林面 3,538 127.41
Jungang-dong 중앙동 中央洞 2,663 1.90
Wonin-dong 원인동 園仁洞 5,059 0.48
Gaeun-dong 개운동 開運洞 12,738 1.05
Myeongnyun il-dong 명륜1동 明倫1洞 8,525 0.92
Myeongnyun i-dong 명륜2동 明倫2洞 15,515 0.94
Dangu-dong 단구동 丹邱洞 44,364 3.91
Ilsan-dong 일산동 一山洞 8,583 0.80
Hakseong-dong 학성동 鶴城洞 4,713 0.73
Dangye-dong 단계동 丹溪洞 28,990 4.16
Usan-dong 우산동 牛山洞 13,507 7.40
Taejang il-dong 태장1동 台壯1洞 10,067 3.04
Taejang i-dong 태장2동 台壯2洞 24,736 8.94
Bongsan-dong 봉산동 鳳山洞 8,059 7.26
Haenggu-dong 행구동 杏邱洞 7,786 13.44
Musil-dong 무실동 茂實洞 32,906 8.59
BangokGwanseol-dong 반곡관설동 盤谷觀雪洞 44,433 21.00
Total 354,768 872.56

Transportation

Jungang line Wonju station

Education

There is one international school: Wonju Chinese Primary School (traditional Chinese: 原州華僑小學校; ; Korean: 원주화교소학교).[17]

According to data released by Wonju City Hall in 2015, the number of kindergartens located in Wonju was 71.

There are 48 elementary and 22 middle schools, respectively.

In the case of high schools, there are 15 general high schools, 2 special purpose high schools, and 3 specialized high schools, a total of 20.[18]

Culture

A Rail Park has been built on the disused rail tracks connecting the stations of Pandae and Ganhyeon, for a total of 6.5 km (4.0 mi). The total ride journey is about 40 minutes, offering scenic views of the surrounding mountains while cycling.[19]

Section of the Wonju Rail Park

Museums

  • Mureung Museum
  • Yonsei University Wonju Museum
  • Museum yetchaek towns
  • Wonju City Museum
  • Chiak Folk Museum
  • Myeongjusa Chiaksan and Engraving Museum
  • Toji Literature park
  • Toji Cultural Center
  • Hanji museum
  • On Museum of the Arts
  • Museum San

Libraries[20]

  • Wonju City Library
  • Taejang Library
  • Jungcheon Philosophical Library
  • Wonju Education and Culture Center
  • Munmak Library

Climate

The climate of Wonju is a hot-Summer, monsoon-influenced Humid continental climate (Köppen: Dwa).[21]

Climate data for Wonju (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.9
(57.0) 		21.1
(70.0) 		24.5
(76.1) 		33.2
(91.8) 		34.1
(93.4) 		35.3
(95.5) 		38.0
(100.4) 		38.8
(101.8) 		34.2
(93.6) 		28.6
(83.5) 		25.5
(77.9) 		17.2
(63.0) 		38.8
(101.8)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 2.4
(36.3) 		5.6
(42.1) 		11.8
(53.2) 		19.1
(66.4) 		24.4
(75.9) 		28.1
(82.6) 		29.7
(85.5) 		30.3
(86.5) 		25.9
(78.6) 		20.0
(68.0) 		12.0
(53.6) 		4.3
(39.7) 		17.8
(64.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3.1
(26.4) 		−0.3
(31.5) 		5.5
(41.9) 		12.2
(54.0) 		17.9
(64.2) 		22.4
(72.3) 		25.1
(77.2) 		25.3
(77.5) 		20.2
(68.4) 		13.3
(55.9) 		6.0
(42.8) 		−1.1
(30.0) 		12.0
(53.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −8.0
(17.6) 		−5.6
(21.9) 		−0.3
(31.5) 		5.7
(42.3) 		11.8
(53.2) 		17.3
(63.1) 		21.4
(70.5) 		21.5
(70.7) 		15.5
(59.9) 		7.8
(46.0) 		1.0
(33.8) 		−5.7
(21.7) 		6.9
(44.4)
Record low °C (°F) −27.6
(−17.7) 		−23.7
(−10.7) 		−13.8
(7.2) 		−6.7
(19.9) 		0.9
(33.6) 		5.5
(41.9) 		11.5
(52.7) 		9.8
(49.6) 		2.0
(35.6) 		−6.9
(19.6) 		−15.1
(4.8) 		−26.8
(−16.2) 		−27.6
(−17.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 18.0
(0.71) 		28.5
(1.12) 		43.8
(1.72) 		73.0
(2.87) 		86.1
(3.39) 		136.7
(5.38) 		357.8
(14.09) 		289.8
(11.41) 		147.0
(5.79) 		52.7
(2.07) 		42.1
(1.66) 		23.5
(0.93) 		1,299
(51.14)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 6.7 6.2 8.1 8.9 8.9 10.1 16.6 14.9 9.2 6.0 8.5 7.6 111.7
Average snowy days 8.2 6.6 3.9 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 2.0 6.2 27.1
Average relative humidity (%) 64.0 60.5 57.9 56.4 61.3 67.1 76.3 75.8 73.3 71.1 68.6 66.8 66.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 162.5 164.5 189.5 199.7 217.2 186.2 132.4 153.7 166.2 188.4 148.7 154.2 2,063.2
Percent possible sunshine 52.8 54.1 51.1 54.0 50.3 44.1 32.8 40.2 46.8 53.6 48.7 51.2 47.7
Source: Korea Meteorological Administration (snow and percent sunshine 1981–2010)[22][23][24]

Sports

Wonju is home city of the Wonju DB Promy, playing in the Korean Basketball League. Their home arena is Wonju Gymnasium, which is located in Myeongnyun il-dong, Wonju. The team has won the Championship three times (2002–03, 2004–05, and 2007–08).[25]

Sister cities

Notable people from Wonju

Notes

  1. ^ In the 19th century, Wonju was spelled Wen-tsiou.[3]

References

  1. ^ "wonju mayor". wonju City. 2024.
  2. ^ "Population statistics". Korea Ministry of the Interior and Safety. 2024.
  3. ^ EB (1878), p. 390.
  4. ^ ""原州서 사상범 180명 학살"". 강원도민일보 (in Korean). 13 July 2002. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  5. ^ 학살지 소개. coreawar.or.kr. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  6. ^ 80대 '전쟁영웅'이 고발한 이 학살을 아십니까. OhmyNews (in Korean). 21 September 2022. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  7. ^ "6·25 전쟁 - 디지털제천문화대전". Encyclopedia of Korean Local Culture. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  8. ^ "6·25전쟁 - 디지털영월문화대전". Encyclopedia of Korean Local Culture. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  9. ^ 인구는 2021년 5월 31일 기준, 면적은 2011년 통계연보 기준
  10. ^ "Welcome to Wonju City". Archived from the original on 24 November 2016.
  11. ^ "K2WebWizard" 강릉원주대학교. www.gwnu.ac.kr. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  12. ^ 한라대학교 인트로. www.halla.ac.kr. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  13. ^ 상지대학교. www.sangji.ac.kr. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  14. ^ 가비아 호스팅 서비스:웹호스팅,웹메일호스팅,쇼핑몰호스팅,단독서버,동영상호스팅. eic.yonsei.ac.kr. Archived from the original on 30 June 2014.
  15. ^ "YONSEI University". yonsei.ac.kr. Archived from the original on 10 August 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  16. ^ 경동대학교. www.kduniv.ac.kr. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  17. ^ "International School Information". www.isi.go.kr. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  18. ^ 원주시통계. stat.wonju.go.kr. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  19. ^ Nuri. "Rail Bike". www.visitkorea.com.my. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  20. ^ 원주시통계. stat.wonju.go.kr. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  21. ^ "Wonju climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Wonju weather averages - Climate-Data.org". en.climate-data.org. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Climatological Normals of Korea (1991 ~ 2020)" (PDF) (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  23. ^ 순위값 - 구역별조회 (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  24. ^ "Climatological Normals of Korea" (PDF). Korea Meteorological Administration. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  25. ^ Wonju Dongbu Promy Basketball team, Wonju Dongbu Promy Basketball team (5 May 2016). "Wonju Dongbu Promy Basketball team". Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2016.

Bibliography

  • "Corea" , Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. VI (9th ed.), New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1878, pp. 390–394.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wonju.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Wonju.