Kyunggi

Gyeonggi (Gyeonggi-do; 경기도; 京畿道) is a province in the northwest of South Korea. Gyeonggi is bounded on the east by Gangwon Province, on the south by North and South Chungcheong Provinces, and on the west by the Yellow Sea. To the north lies Kaesŏng Industrial Region in North Korea, which before 1953 was the North Korean portion of Gyeonggi Province.

The national capital Seoul lies in the heart of the province, but was separated in 1946 as a special city.

As the industrial hinterland of Seoul, agriculture in the province has largely given way to industry. This was forced by the construction of highways in the 1960s. Many cities have become satellite cities of Seoul, including: Anyang, Bucheon, Seongnam, and Euijeongbu. Dominant areas of industry include shipbuilding, steel manufacturing and plate-glass production.

Incheon serves as Seoul's seaport and has Seoul's main international airport, Incheon International Airport. Before the opening of Incheon Airport in 2001, Gimpo Airport in the city of Gimpo handled all of Seoul's international traffic. Gimpo Airport now is a domestic airport.

Fishing is still important.

Area: 10,867 square kilometres

Population: 6,160,000 (1990, estimate).

Referenced By