# Wonju

Wonju (Korean: 원주; Korean pronunciation:) is the most populous city in Gangwon Province, South Korea, with a population of 364,860 as of 2023. The city is located approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) east of Seoul.

## History

During the time of Great Joseon, Wonju was the capital of the historic Gangwon Province, one of the Eight Provinces of Korea.

### Korean War

Wonju was the site of the first ever massacres conducted by the Republic of Korea Army against suspected communists that occurred on 30 June 1950. On 2 July of the same year, the Korean People's Army attacked Wonju before capturing it on 7 July.
Throughout the Korean War, Wonju was the site of three crucial battles.

## Geography

Wonju sits at the southwestern corner of Gangwon Province, bordering Gyeonggi Province to the west and North Chungcheong Province to the south. Within Gangwon, Wonju borders Yeongwol County to the east and Hoengseong County to the north. Unlike much of Gangwon Province, Wonju is not a mountainous area, but rather a basin along the wide plain created by the Seom River.

## Administrative divisions

Wonju is divided into 1 eup (town), 8 myeon (townships), and 16 dong (neighborhoods).
| Name | Hangul | Hanja | Population | Area (km$^2$) |
| Munmak-eup | 문막읍 | 文幕邑 | 17,659 | 104.34 |
| Socho-myeon | 소초면 | 所草面 | 8,468 | 103.08 |
| Hojeo-myeon | 호저면 | 好楮面 | 3,687 | 76.97 |
| Jijeong-myeon | 지정면 | 地正面 | 28,438 | 89.70 |
| Buron-myeon | 부론면 | 富論面 | 2,261 | 82.67 |
| Gwirea-myeon | 귀래면 | 貴來面 | 2,177 | 76.55 |
| Heungeop-myeon | 흥업면 | 興業面 | 8,627 | 59.59 |
| Panbu-myeon | 판부면 | 板富面 | 7,269 | 67.72 |
| Sillim-myeon | 신림면 | 神林面 | 3,538 | 127.41 |
| Jungang-dong | 중앙동 | 中央洞 | 2,663 | 1.90 |
| Wonin-dong | 원인동 | 園仁洞 | 5,059 | 0.48 |
| Gaeun-dong | 개운동 | 開運洞 | 12,738 | 1.05 |
| Myeongnyun il-dong | 명륜1동 | 明倫1洞 | 8,525 | 0.92 |
| Myeongnyun i-dong | 명륜2동 | 明倫2洞 | 15,515 | 0.94 |
| Dangu-dong | 단구동 | 丹邱洞 | 44,364 | 3.91 |
| Ilsan-dong | 일산동 | 一山洞 | 8,583 | 0.80 |
| Hakseong-dong | 학성동 | 鶴城洞 | 4,713 | 0.73 |
| Dangye-dong | 단계동 | 丹溪洞 | 28,990 | 4.16 |
| Usan-dong | 우산동 | 牛山洞 | 13,507 | 7.40 |
| Taejang il-dong | 태장1동 | 台壯1洞 | 10,067 | 3.04 |
| Taejang i-dong | 태장2동 | 台壯2洞 | 24,736 | 8.94 |
| Bongsan-dong | 봉산동 | 鳳山洞 | 8,059 | 7.26 |
| Haenggu-dong | 행구동 | 杏邱洞 | 7,786 | 13.44 |
| Musil-dong | 무실동 | 茂實洞 | 32,906 | 8.59 |
| BangokGwanseol-dong | 반곡관설동 | 盤谷觀雪洞 | 44,433 | 21.00 |
| Total | | | 354,768 | 872.56 |

## Transportation

* Wonju Bus Terminal [ko]
* Wonju Express Bus Terminal [ko]
* Manjong station
* Wonju station
* Seowonju station
* Wonju Airport

## Education

* Gangneung-Wonju National University
* Halla University
* Sangji University
* Yonsei University (Mirae Campus)
* Kyungdong University
There is one international school: Wonju Chinese Primary School (traditional Chinese: 原州華僑小學校; ; Korean: 원주화교소학교).
According to data released by Wonju City Hall in 2015, the number of kindergartens located in Wonju was 71.
There are 48 elementary and 22 middle schools, respectively.
In the case of high schools, there are 15 general high schools, 2 special purpose high schools, and 3 specialized high schools, a total of 20.

## Culture

A Rail Park has been built on the disused rail tracks connecting the stations of Pandae and Ganhyeon, for a total of 6.5 km (4.0 mi). The total ride journey is about 40 minutes, offering scenic views of the surrounding mountains while cycling.

### Museums

* Mureung Museum
* Yonsei University Wonju Museum
* Museum yetchaek towns
* Wonju City Museum
* Chiak Folk Museum
* Myeongjusa Chiaksan and Engraving Museum
* Toji Literature park
* Toji Cultural Center
* Hanji museum
* On Museum of the Arts
* Museum San

### Libraries

* Wonju City Library
* Taejang Library
* Jungcheon Philosophical Library
* Wonju Education and Culture Center
* Munmak Library

## Climate

The climate of Wonju is a hot-Summer, monsoon-influenced Humid continental climate (Köppen: Dwa).
Climate data for Wonju (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1971–present) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.9 (57.0) | 21.1 (70.0) | 24.5 (76.1) | 33.2 (91.8) | 34.1 (93.4) | 35.3 (95.5) | 38.0 (100.4) | 38.8 (101.8) | 34.2 (93.6) | 28.6 (83.5) | 25.5 (77.9) | 17.2 (63.0) | 38.8 (101.8) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2.4 (36.3) | 5.6 (42.1) | 11.8 (53.2) | 19.1 (66.4) | 24.4 (75.9) | 28.1 (82.6) | 29.7 (85.5) | 30.3 (86.5) | 25.9 (78.6) | 20.0 (68.0) | 12.0 (53.6) | 4.3 (39.7) | 17.8 (64.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −3.1 (26.4) | −0.3 (31.5) | 5.5 (41.9) | 12.2 (54.0) | 17.9 (64.2) | 22.4 (72.3) | 25.1 (77.2) | 25.3 (77.5) | 20.2 (68.4) | 13.3 (55.9) | 6.0 (42.8) | −1.1 (30.0) | 12.0 (53.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −8.0 (17.6) | −5.6 (21.9) | −0.3 (31.5) | 5.7 (42.3) | 11.8 (53.2) | 17.3 (63.1) | 21.4 (70.5) | 21.5 (70.7) | 15.5 (59.9) | 7.8 (46.0) | 1.0 (33.8) | −5.7 (21.7) | 6.9 (44.4) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −27.6 (−17.7) | −23.7 (−10.7) | −13.8 (7.2) | −6.7 (19.9) | 0.9 (33.6) | 5.5 (41.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 9.8 (49.6) | 2.0 (35.6) | −6.9 (19.6) | −15.1 (4.8) | −26.8 (−16.2) | −27.6 (−17.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 18.0 (0.71) | 28.5 (1.12) | 43.8 (1.72) | 73.0 (2.87) | 86.1 (3.39) | 136.7 (5.38) | 357.8 (14.09) | 289.8 (11.41) | 147.0 (5.79) | 52.7 (2.07) | 42.1 (1.66) | 23.5 (0.93) | 1,299 (51.14) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 6.7 | 6.2 | 8.1 | 8.9 | 8.9 | 10.1 | 16.6 | 14.9 | 9.2 | 6.0 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 111.7 |
| Average snowy days | 8.2 | 6.6 | 3.9 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 6.2 | 27.1 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 64.0 | 60.5 | 57.9 | 56.4 | 61.3 | 67.1 | 76.3 | 75.8 | 73.3 | 71.1 | 68.6 | 66.8 | 66.6 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 162.5 | 164.5 | 189.5 | 199.7 | 217.2 | 186.2 | 132.4 | 153.7 | 166.2 | 188.4 | 148.7 | 154.2 | 2,063.2 |
| Percent possible sunshine | 52.8 | 54.1 | 51.1 | 54.0 | 50.3 | 44.1 | 32.8 | 40.2 | 46.8 | 53.6 | 48.7 | 51.2 | 47.7 |
| Source: Korea Meteorological Administration (snow and percent sunshine 1981–2010) ||||||||||||||

## Sports

Wonju is home city of the Wonju DB Promy, playing in the Korean Basketball League. Their home arena is Wonju Gymnasium, which is located in Myeongnyun il-dong, Wonju. The team has won the Championship three times (2002–03, 2004–05, and 2007–08).

## Sister cities

* Roanoke, Virginia, United States
* Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
* Yantai, Shandong, China
* Hefei, Anhui, China
* Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan
* Belfast, Northern Ireland

## Notable people from Wonju

* Kim Seon-dong (김선동), South Korean politician and Secretary-General of the United Future Party (UFP)
* Jee Yong-ju (지용주), South Korean amateur boxer
* Kim Jae-woong (김재웅), South Korean football midfielder
* Kim Ji-woong (김지웅), South Korean actor and singer
* Jang Mi-ran (장미란), South Korean weightlifter
* Yoon Jin-hee (윤진희), South Korean weightlifter
* Heechul (Real Name: Kim Hee-chul, 김희철), singer-songwriter, dancer, model, actor, speaker, MC and K-pop idol, member of K-pop boy group Super Junior, member of the project groups Universe Cowards
* Kim Do-yeon (김도연), actress and former member of disbanded K-pop girl group project I.O.I, K-pop girl group Weki Meki's lead vocalist and visual
* Yoon Ji-sung, South Korean singer and actor, former member of disbanded K-pop boy group project Wanna One
* Sojung (Real Name: Lee So-jung, 이소정), singer, dancer, model and K-pop idol, member of K-pop girlgroup Ladies' Code
* Joo Won Ahn (안주원), South Korean ballet dancer
* Ahn Young-mi (안영미), South Korean comedian and member of K-pop girl group Celeb Five
* Choi Kyu-hah (최규하), South Korean politician and former President of South Korea
* Chai-Sik Chung (정채식), Korean-American social ethicist and sociologist of religion
* Ham Deok-ju (함덕주), South Korean professional baseball pitcher (Doosan Bears, Korea Baseball Organization)
* Han Dong-jin (한동진), South Korean footballer (Jeju United FC, K League 2)
* Shin Yu-na (유나), member of K-pop girl group ITZY
* Park Sungho (박성호), member of K-pop boy group BoyNextDoor