Gwangju

Gwangju 광주광역시
Metropolitan City
Gwangju Metropolitan City 광주광역시
Above: Badhoe Pojangmacha Street Restaurant, Geumnamo Shopping district Middle: Panorama view of resident area of Gwangsan District Bottom: Gwangju Folk Museum, Democracy Bell in Denman Estate Park (All items are left to right)
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Coordinates: 35°09′55″N 126°50′55″E / 35.16528°N 126.84861°E / 35.16528; 126.84861
Country	Republic of Korea
Region	Honam
Districts	5
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Mayor	Kang Gi-jung (Democratic)
• Body	Gwangju Metropolitan Council
Area
• Total	501.24 km2 (193.53 sq mi)
Population  (September 2024[1])
• Total	1,411,357
• Density	2,800/km2 (7,300/sq mi)
• Dialect	Jeolla
GDP [2]
• Total	KR₩ 45 trillion US$ 36 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Korea Standard Time)
Area code	+82-61
ISO 3166 code	KR-29
Flower	Royal Azalea
Tree	Ginkgo
Bird	Dove
Website	Official website (English)

Gwangju (Korean: 광주; Korean: [kwaŋ.dʑu] ^ⓘ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office moved to the southern village of Namak in Muan County in 2005 because Gwangju was promoted to a metropolitan city and was independent of South Jeolla Province.

Its name is composed of the words gwang (Korean: 광; Hanja: 光) meaning "light" and ju (주; 州) meaning "province". Gwangju was historically recorded as Muju (무주; 武州), in which "Silla merged all of the land to establish the provinces of Gwangju, Ungju, Jeonju, Muju and various counties, plus the southern boundary of Goguryeo and the ancient territories of Silla" in the Samguk sagi.^[3] In the heart of the agricultural Jeolla region, the city is also famous for its rich and diverse cuisine.