Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Sudogwon, South Korea

🇰🇷 Gwangmyeong is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It borders Seoul to the east, north and north-east, Anyang to the south-east, Siheung to the south-west, and Bucheon to the north-east. Gwangmyeong is home to one of the world's largest IKEA stores at 59,000 square meters (640,000 square feet), along with a large Costco store and a Lotte Premium Outlet.

History Gwangmyeong City area was part of the old (or original) Siheung County as with Yeongdeungpo, Guro, and Geumcheon areas. It belonged to West (서면, seo-myeon) and South townships (남면, nam-myeon) of original Siheung County. In 1914, the two townships were merged into West township of "expanded" Siheung County.

In 1963, the northern part of Gwangmyeong (at that time, the northern part of West Township in Siheung County) area was merged into an expanded Seoul (i.e. districts for urban planning in Seoul. 서울시 도시계획구역 seo-ul-si do-si-gae-hoeg-gu-yeog) as with Gwacheon (at that time Gwacheon was a township in Siheung County) and Sindo township of Goyang County (now parts of Goyang City which borders Seoul). The neighbourhood of Gwangmyeong (Gwangmyeong-dong) and Cheolsan (Cheolsan-dong) were developed as a residence zone next to Seoul and it was provisionally planned to be administratively merged with Seoul Metropolitan City. In 1974, Gwangmyeong-ri and Cheolsan-ri became a part of the county branch of Gwangmyeong (광명출장소 gwang-myeong-chul-jang-so) and in 1979 southern part of Gwangmyeong area became Soha town (소하읍 so-ha-eub). In 1981, the annexation to Seoul foundered as Seoul's unexpected rapid growth greatly concerned government officials. Consequently, the county branch of Gwangmyeong and Soha town merged and formed a new city of Gwangmyeong, instead of being annexed to Guro-gu, Seoul.

In the 1980s and the early 1990s, many apartment complexes were built in Cheolsan-dong and Haan-dong. The population increased up to 300,000. In 1995, the Seoul-Gwangmyeong boundary was readjusted, in which a tiny part of Cheolsan-dong was merged into the newly created Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. In 2004, Gwangmyeong Station was open, and in 2010, apartment complexes in Soha-dong were built up.

Districts There are 18 administrative districts (dong in Korean language) in Gwangmyeong. Specifically, these are: Gwangmyeong Dong (from 1-7; Gwangmyeong 6-dong is also known as Okgil dong), Cheolsan Dong (4 dongs), Ha-an Dong (4 dongs), Soha Dong (2 dongs; The southern part of Soha 2-dong is also known as Iljik dong), and Hak-on dong (Gahak-dong and No-onsa dong). In 1995, a tiny section of Gwangmyeong was ceded to Seoul's newly created Geumcheon-gu.

Education There are nine high schools, ten middle schools, and 21 elementary schools in Gwangmyeong. Prior to 2013, middle school students who wished to go to high school had to take the entrance exam. Gwangmyeong-buk High School and Jinseong High School are traditionally well known for higher standards of students' academic ability.

Libraries • Gwangmyeong Central Library (광명 중앙도서관 gwang-myeong-jung-ahng-do-seo-gwan) • Cheolsan Library (철산 도서관 cheol-san-do-seo-gwan) • HaAn Library (하안 도서관 ha-an-do-seo-gwan) • Chunghyeon Library (충현 도서관 chung-hyeon-do-seo-gwan) • Soha Library (소하도서관 so-ha-do-seo-gwan) • Cheolsandong Library (철산동 연서 도서관 cheol-san-dong-yeon-seo-do-seo-gwan) Completed in June 2020

Residential areas Since Gwangmyeong is a commuter town bordering Seoul, it's mostly a residential area. The north-western part of Gwangmyeong, namely Gwangmyeong-dong, is mostly composed of low-storeyed detached houses, while the eastern part, namely Cheolsan-dong and Haan-dong, consists of high-storeyed apartment complexes. Throughout the late 2000s, old public low-storeyed apartment complexes (저층 주공아파트 jeo-cheng ju-gong-ah-pa-teu) in Cheolsan-dong were rebuilt into private high-storeyed apartment complexes (고층 민간아파트 go-cheng min-gan-ah-pa-teu). In 2010, some parts of Soha-dong was developed to newly built public apartment complexes.

Economy: Retail Gwangmyeong is home to one of the world's largest IKEA stores, with the second largest store located in Goyang, and a large Lotte Premium Outlet that is connected to the IKEA. The city is also home to a large Costco warehouse which also serves as the headquarters of Costco Korea. A large Korean-style traditional market, Gwangmyeong Market, is located in the Gwangmyeong crossroads with Gwangmyeongsageori Station. Modern shopping malls are in Cheolsan Station, Haan crossroads, and Soha-dong (E-mart and Costco). Gwangmyeong residents can also use shopping malls (Lotte Mart and Homeplus) in nearby Guro-gu and Geumcheon-gu. Clothes outlets are located in nearby Gasan-dong in Seoul.

Medical services A local general hospital, Gwangmyeong Sungae Hospital is in Cheolsan-dong and it is recently affiliated with Medical School of Kwandong University. There are two university hospitals. One is Korea University Medical Center at Guro (구로고대병원 gu-ro-go-dae-byeong-weon) that is located in nearby Guro-dong, Seoul and other one is Chung-ang University Hospital at Gwangmyeong (중앙대학교광명병원 joong-ahng-dae-hak-gyo-gwang-myeong-byeong-weon) that is located near Gwangmyeong station A public medical centre is in southernmost Haan-dong. Many private clinics are located along with business areas in the city.

Railroads • Korail • Seoul Subway Line 1 Doksan Station Gwangmyeong Shuttle; (Geumcheon-gu, Seoul) ← Gwangmyeong • KTX; (Seoul) ← Gwangmyeong → (Southern Gyeonggi Province) • SMRT • Seoul Subway Line 7; (Gasan Digital Complex) ← Cheolsan — Gwangmyeongsageori → (Cheonwang).

Transport: Bus • Hwayeong Bus Corporation: a local bus firm in Gwangmyeong • Many Seoul buses are in business in Gwangmyeong, as their garages are located in that city.

Taxis As of 1999 (provisional)/2004 (permanent), Gwangmyeong's taxi business district was consolidated to Guro and Geumcheon, Seoul. The taxi fare is the same as that of Seoul taxis.

Attractions The tombs of Yi Sun-sin (not to be confused with the more famous admiral of the same name) and Lee Won-ik are in the city, just north of Gwangmyeong Station. Lee Won Ik's cultural relics are also on display here. The city is also home to the Gwangmyeong Velodrome, the largest domed structure in South Korea.

Gwangmyeong Cave, a former mine, now tourist attraction, is located near Gwangmyeong station.

Economy: Industry The city, though small, hosts many firms. In total, there are 630 companies employing 11,636 people.

The city was officially planned to promote small businesses. Such workers can take merits of getting fee of rent, land and even costs for investment.

Kia Motors Sohari Plant In 1973, The Kia Motors located its Sohari Plant in Soha-dong, Gwangmyeong City, becoming the country's first integrated automobile assembly plant.

As Kia's car factory nearest to Seoul, it has convenient access to labor and other resources and can conveniently provide completed goods to the Seoul metropolitan area.