Anyang (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. With a population of approximately 600,000, it is the 20th largest city in South Korea. It is a satellite city of Seoul and located approximately south of Seoul, and north of Suwon. It is connected to Seoul via the Seoul Subway Line 1 and Line 4. The City motto of Anyang is "Livable city, Proud citizens". City symbols are a grape mascot named 'Podong-i', Forsythia (flower), Ginkgo (tree), and eagles.
Geography Anyang is divided into two-halves for administrative purposes: the Manan District to the west and Dongan District to the east. The Manan District is an old and original downtown area centered on Anyang Station. It is dominated by a shopping area with outdoor markets, known as "ilbeonga" (first street). The Dongan District is a new, wealthy suburb of Pyeongchon. The tallest building in Anyang is the Acro Tower, which was completed in April 2007. It is a twin-tower office building in the Dongan District, across the street from Anyang City Hall. Anyang is a convenient transportation center between Seoul and other major cities across the country.
Anyang spans . Forest and fields constitute , urban development constitutes , dry fields constitute , rice paddies constitutes , and other land use constitutes . Anyang is surrounded by mountains on all four sides. These mountains are Gwanak Mountain and Samsung Mountain to the north, Suri Mountain to the southwest, and Cheongye Mountain and Morak Mountain to the other sides. There are eight streams and rivers in Anyang, with a length of .
The main river is Anyang River (one of the four main tributaries of the Han River in Seoul), which is long. It has a basin area of , fed by 21 tributaries. The center of the overall elliptical basin topography is low and flat. The river runs through the center of Anyang and is a common place for people to walk, jog, or ride bikes. The river flows through seven cities in Gyeonggi Province. This, however, has caused major issues with pollution. River banks are often covered with parking lots or athletic fields, combined with poor sewerage systems in the upper reaches of the river. As a result, the Anyang Stream Watershed Management Committee for Water Quality Improvement had been established to address some of these issues.
Between 1974 and 1977, Samduck paper and Samyoung hardboard factories poured industrial waste into the Suam and Samseong Rivers (two of the tributaries of Anyang River), causing the rivers to become toxic. This pollution was serious, and local residents dug pools to collect the industrial waste, producing a large, damp paper slab at the base of the pools. Local elder women citizens cut out the paper slabs into blocks that were sold back to Samduck; the remaining residues from the drying process were kept and used as fire fuel by the residents during winter. The "owner of Samduck recently donated his factory ground to the city as a gesture of compensation to the citizens of Anyang". In November 2008, the site reopened as a city park.
Climate Anyang has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dwa), but can be considered a borderline humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) using the isotherm. Anyang has very cold and dry in winter and hot and humid in summer. However, Anyang is cooler than Seoul in summer. The average annual temperature is 12.3 °C, while the average rainfall is 1,344 mm. Around two-thirds of Anyang's rainfall occurs during monsoon season between June and August.
History The name Anyang originates from Anyang mall which was established by Wang Geon, the first king of Goryeo. In the fourth year of Hyōgong, king of Silla (900), Wang Geon, a general of Gung Ye, was passing through Samsung Mountain to quell the rebellion in the Gumju (Siheung) and Gwaju (Gwacheon) areas. During their travels, the troops met an old Buddhist priest named Neungjung, and while listening to the priest, Wang Geon had the idea of building a temple at the location. Anyang itself is a Buddhist term signifying a heavenly land where unimaginable joy and freedom overflow.
As with most towns and cities in South Korea, Anyang has experienced tremendous urban growth during the past few decades. Anyang was severely battered by warfare during the Korean War. Ten years after it ended, the area's population was still largely rural and its landscape agricultural. It was well known for its grape growing. Anyang was given city status in 1973 and has grown to become the 15th most populated city in the country. It is also becoming a commuter city for many workers in Seoul because of its close proximity.
Modern history 1963: A ferry sank near Seoul drowning 37 children and 12 adults, the majority of whom were school children from Anyang who were returning from a picnic. 1964: Three people were killed and 100 injured in an explosion of artillery duds in an Anyang workshop. 1973: Anyang is granted city status. 1977: A flood devastates the Seoul region killing 335, including 148 in Anyang and adjacent areas. Anyang Technical College opens. 1988: On March 25, 22 female workers died after a fire broke out at the Green Hill Textile Company. 1991: Police forced their way into Anyang Prison Hospital to retrieve the body of Labour Leader Park Chang-soo who they believed had committed suicide by leaping from a window. It took nine hours to get past the 1,500 protesters who were protecting the body in the belief that he had been murdered and that the police were trying to conduct a cover-up. 1995: Former South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan was placed in Anyang Prison as he was to be indicted on charges stemming from a 1979 mutiny. 1997: Chun Doo-hwan is freed from Anyang Prison. 2001: Anyang officials tell Komachi Japan they will not accept seventeen Komachi exchange students due to distorted content of Japanese text books on the Korean War. 2007: In September, 23 Korean hostages, held captive by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan, are freed and upon their arrival are taken to Sam Anyang Hospital. Hye-jin Lee, 11, and her friend Ye-seul Woo, 8, went missing on Christmas Day in Anyang. Lee's body was found on a mountain in Suwon 77 days after the children went missing. 2013: The 12th Anyang Citizens Festival was held in Pyeongchon Central Park. This festival celebrated Anyang's 40th anniversary as a city.
Demographics
Like most cities in South Korea, the population is made up almost entirely of ethnic Koreans. In 2007, there were 624,197 South Koreans resident in Anyang (311,702 males and 312,495 females), and 6,491 non-South Koreans (3,148 males and 3,343 females). Non-South Koreans were Chinese (4,706), Vietnamese (315), Americans (283), Filipinos (168), Japanese (147), British (21), and others including Israelis (771).
Administration Administrative divisions Anyang has 2 administrative wards: Manan District (made up of three areas) - households: 100,900 Dongan District (made up of four areas) - households: 125,600
Subdivisions The city is divided into 31 further subsidiary districts ('dong') subdivisions of cities and counties in South Korea.
# Place Population(2007) Household Businesses Area(km2) # Place Population Household Businesses Area(km2)1Seoksu-1-dong18,7676,8276129.2217Bisan-1-dong28,2379,4106811.812Seoksu-2-dong29,62012,3251,9503.4318Bisan-2-dong20,0424,0486180.463Seoksu-3-dong11,1404,2834930.719Bisan-3-dong27,0189,8631,0745.564Bakdal-1-dong17,9397,5161,1740.9320Dalan-dong13,7085,8596700.445Bakdal-2-dong23,8157,5726276.921Burim-dong27,91610,4061,5410.866Anyang-1-dong18,8646,5172,5430.6722Buheung-dong20,0426,8258120.57Anyang-2-dong25,21910,4071,7652.8523Pyeongan-dong27,8048,9714740.648Anyang-3-dong19,9237,8581,0551.0224Pyeongchon-dong16,8235,4329630.829Anyang-4-dong7,2352,9971,6530.3125Gwiin-dong18,6155,4321,1510.6410Anyang-5-dong15,3886,3079790.526Gwanyang-1-dong28,94310,8081,9333.1911Anyang-6-dong19,5938,4041,7681.4727Gwanyang-2-dong17,4787,2972,1051.7912Anyang-7-dong16,9416,4751,8241.0428Sinchon-dong15,2424,7466780.6613Anyang-8-dong13,3075,4348211.0929Hogye-1-dong18,2877,4503,1761.0314Anyang-9-dong19,6617,2045756.4230Hogye-2-dong29,03110,0691,4191.4315Galsan-dong12,4154,1023850.731Hogye-3-dong25,5408,5709680.7516Beomgye-dong17,5745,9651,9510.64 *Figures based on resident registration figures made available by local government offices.
City plans In early 2010, previous Anyang mayor, Phil-woon Lee announced plans to build a 100-storey city hall. It was thought that it could house a hotel, cinemas, shopping complexes and other facilities. However, the plans garnered negative responses from both central government and local residents, as several other local governments recently built new city hall at great tax payer expense.
Other recent major redevelopment plans have taken down several buildings in Anyang, particularly the Manan Gu area's run down apartment buildings on highly valued land within walking distance of Anyang Station.
Jobs and industry Many workers from Seoul are residents in Anyang, commuting daily between Anyang and Seoul. There are 1,194 companies based in Anyang.
An area encompassing a 3 km section from Myunghak Station to Indeogwon Station to Kwanak-ro was appointed as 'Anyang Venture Valley' in November 2001 as a part of an effort to support venture companies. There are currently 6,300 people working in 238 company and venture company facilities including Anyang K-Center and Manan Venture Center, Pyongchon IT Venture Center, Kumkang Venturetel and Delta Venture Center.
Arts Anyang City Hall has a project named 'Anyang Art City 21 Project' which aims to create "a beautiful city, an art city and a well-being city by adding virtuosity to the exterior of city buildings and harmonizing the city sight with natural environment".
Anyang also has the country's only Singing Road, which is made from grooves cut into the ground, which driven over causes a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the car body. Drivers can hear the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb", and the road is intended to help motorists stay alert and awake.
Notable people Han Hee-jun (singer) Ji Chang-wook (actor) Jin (singer, member of BTS) Kim Min-gyu (singer, member of Seventeen) Kim Yeon-ji (singer) Park Jeong-hwa (singer, member of EXID) Ryu Deok-hwan (actor) Chae Soo-bin (stage/TV/film actress) Yang Se-jong (actor) Woo Do-hwan (actor) Kim Jong-kook (singer, entertainer, actor) Kim Hong-joong (rapper, member of Ateez)
Media Anyang has 17 weekly newspaper publishers, one television program provider and one general broadcaster. (pp. 504-505) The city also has 23 book publishers. (p. 506) South Korea's largest motion-picture studio is located in Anyang. In 2011 a film about Anyang won the Korean Feature Competition, at the Jeonju Intl. Film Festival. Titled "Anyang, Paradise City" and directed by Chan-Kyung Park, it is a story portraying the past and present of Anyang City "with a mix of documentary and fiction".
Education As of 2007 Anyang has 84 kindergartens (6,685 students), 40 elementary schools (48,639), 24 middle schools (29,084), 22 high schools (31,259), two junior colleges (17,638), three universities (13,634) and one school for the disabled (244). The universities include Anyang University, Sungkyul University, and Gyeongin Education University, while the colleges are Daelim College and Anyang Technical College. Gyeongin National University of Education is also nearby in the mountains.
In addition there were 1,026 private educational institutions listed in 2008 with 97,289 students in attendance. (p. 487) These are predominantly after school academies where students go to get additional study or complete homework in a variety of subject areas such as English or Maths. The main area for these institutes is 'academy street', known locally as 'hagwon ga', which is located a few kilometres directly to the south of Anyang Central Park in Dongan Gu.