Current Time in Gunpo, South Korea

Gunpo is a city in Gyeonggi Province in northwestern South Korea, lying about twenty five kilometres south of Seoul within the capital's continuous metropolitan area. It occupies a small territory pressed between the neighbouring cities of Anyang, Uiwang and Ansan, and its southern edge climbs into the wooded slopes of Suri Mountain. The climate is typically Korean, with cold dry winters, hot humid summers and a short rainy season in midsummer.

Around two hundred and seventy thousand people live in Gunpo. Most commute to Seoul or to the industrial and technology centres of southern Gyeonggi, and the city functions as a residential community with its own commercial core, light industry and logistics facilities.

Modern Gunpo was created in 1989 when the area was separated from Siheung County, but the decisive event in its development was the construction of Sanbon New Town at the beginning of the 1990s. Sanbon was one of the first generation of planned satellite cities built to relieve the severe housing shortage in Seoul, and it introduced a carefully organised pattern of apartment complexes, pedestrian streets, schools, parks and a central commercial district linked directly to the subway. The result is a compact and orderly city that is often cited as a successful example of Korean new town planning.

Suri Mountain is the city's great natural asset. Its ridges, reservoirs and temple sites are threaded with well maintained hiking trails, and the granite outcrop known as Byeongpungbawi and the Suri Peak offer views over the whole southern part of the capital region. In spring the roads and paths around the mountain and along the Sanbon streams become one of the best known cherry blossom destinations in Gyeonggi, and the Gunpo cherry blossom festival draws large crowds each April, with lantern lit avenues and street performances.

Other attractions include the streams that have been restored as linear parks with walkways and small waterfalls, the Gunpo Cultural and Arts Centre with its concert and exhibition programme, the municipal sports complexes and swimming pools, and the traditional markets of Sanbon where street food, vegetables and household goods are sold. The Anyangcheon cycle path connects the city to a network of riverside routes reaching all the way into Seoul.

Transport is a particular strength. Line 4 of the Seoul metropolitan subway runs through Sanbon and Suri Mountain stations, Line 1 serves the Gunpo and Dangjeong stations on the western side, and both provide direct services into central Seoul in under an hour. Expressways and a dense bus network complete the picture, and Gimpo and Incheon airports are within reach.

Hansei University is based in Gunpo, and the city's students also attend the many universities of Anyang, Suwon and Seoul, all a short journey away.

Daily life reflects the comfortable routines of Korean suburban living, with apartment communities, private academies, cafés, sports clubs and a strong tradition of hiking at weekends.

Gunpo is important as a well planned residential city in the Seoul capital region and is popular each spring for its cherry blossoms and its mountain trails.