Pyeongtaek

Pyeongtaek
Municipal City
Panoramic view of Pyeongtaek
Panoramic view of Pyeongtaek
Flag of Pyeongtaek
Flag
Official logo of Pyeongtaek
Logo
Location in South Korea
Location in South Korea
CountrySouth Korea
RegionGyeonggi Province (Sudogwon)
Administrative divisions4 eup, 5 myeon, 13 dong
Area
 • Total
452.31 km2 (174.64 sq mi)
Population
 (2026)
 • Total
667,780
 • Density1,476/km2 (3,820/sq mi)
 • Dialect
Gyeonggi
Demonym(s)평택시민 (Pyeongtaek-simin), Pyeongtaeker
Korean name
Hangul
평택시
Hanja
平澤市
RRPyeongtaek-si
MRP'yŏngt'aek-si

Pyeongtaek (Korean: 평택; Korean pronunciation: [pʰjʌŋ.tʰɛk̚]) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Located in the southwestern part of the province, Pyeongtaek was founded as a union of two districts in 1940. It was elevated to city status in 1986 and is home to a South Korean naval base and a large concentration of United States troops. The South Korean government plans to transform Pyeongtaek into an international economic hub to coincide with the move of United States Forces Korea (USFK) to Pyeongtaek. During the Korean War, it was the site of the Battle of Pyongtaek, an early battle between U.S. and North Korean forces. It is also the location of Pyeongtaek University.

History

- Administrative Districts at the Time - North-myeon, Seotan-myeon, Songtan-myeon, Godeok-myeon, Byeongnam-myeon, Cheongbuk-myeon, Pohseong-myeon, Hyeondeok-myeon, Oseong-myeon, Buyong-myeon, Seo-myeon

Military base

Osan Air Base is located in Songtan, a district in Pyeongtaek.

The South Korean and U.S. governments came to an agreement[when?] to enlarge Camp Humphreys—a U.S. Army installation outside Anjeong-ri, a community in Pyeongtaek—and move the majority of U.S. forces stationed in and north of Seoul to Camp Humphreys. Invoking eminent domain, the government obtained the surrounding land for the base expansion. This resulted in the community's third displacement from their land since the Japanese occupation during World War II.

The move initially included the headquarters of the ROK/US Combined Forces Command, which has operational control of South Korean, U.S., and U.N. combined forces during wartime. In March 2007, South Korean defense minister Kim Jang-soo and U.S. defense secretary Robert Gates agreed to dissolve the ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command on April 17, 2012. This allowed South Korean forces to have wartime control of their military during a military confrontation with North Korea. The ROK/US agreement allowed the U.S. military to move to one centralized location away from the congestion of Seoul and its surrounding areas. This relocation agreement returned two-thirds of the land used by the U.S. military back to the South Korean government. By 2008, the U.S. military consolidated 41 installations down to 10 under the relocation agreement. USFK's only jail facility in South Korea is at Camp Humphreys.

South African War Memorial

The Korean War Monument of the South African Air Force was opened on 29 September 1975 by the South Korea Ministry of National Defense in memory of the 37 South African Air Force members who served during the Korean War.

Education

Climate

Pyeongtaek has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dwa) but can be considered a borderline humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) using the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm.

With its low average elevation, Pyeongtaek has the warmest January average temperature in Gyeonggi Province at -4.5°C and the hottest average temperature in August at 26.4°C. The annual average precipitation is 1,100 millimeters with an average of 283.4 millimeters in July and 207.3 millimeters in August, the lowest in the province. This is due to the relatively low occurrence of orographic rainfall compared to other regions.

Climate data for Pyeongtaek (1993–2020 normals)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 2.7
(36.9)		 5.8
(42.4)		 11.8
(53.2)		 18.7
(65.7)		 24.5
(76.1)		 28.3
(82.9)		 30.2
(86.4)		 31.1
(88.0)		 27.0
(80.6)		 21.0
(69.8)		 12.7
(54.9)		 4.8
(40.6)		 18.2
(64.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −2.0
(28.4)		 0.7
(33.3)		 5.9
(42.6)		 12.5
(54.5)		 18.4
(65.1)		 22.8
(73.0)		 25.7
(78.3)		 26.2
(79.2)		 21.6
(70.9)		 14.9
(58.8)		 7.6
(45.7)		 0.3
(32.5)		 12.9
(55.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −6.7
(19.9)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 0.3
(32.5)		 6.3
(43.3)		 12.8
(55.0)		 18.3
(64.9)		 22.2
(72.0)		 22.6
(72.7)		 17.1
(62.8)		 9.3
(48.7)		 2.2
(36.0)		 −4.5
(23.9)		 8.0
(46.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 17.5
(0.69)		 25.0
(0.98)		 33.1
(1.30)		 65.8
(2.59)		 77.6
(3.06)		 109.5
(4.31)		 300.6
(11.83)		 257.1
(10.12)		 139.4
(5.49)		 53.6
(2.11)		 44.3
(1.74)		 20.8
(0.82)		 1,144.3
(45.05)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 3.9 4.0 5.3 6.6 6.8 7.0 12.6 11.5 7.7 5.4 7.5 5.6 83.9
Source: Korea Meteorological Administration

Notable people

Notes

  1. ^ U.S. Move Is Spurring Evictions In S. Korea (Washington Post article)
  2. ^ Massive Force Mobilized to Evict U.S. Base Protestors (Chosun Ilbo article (English))
  3. ^ Activists Are Only Using the People of Pyeontaek (Chosun Ilbo English Editorial) article
  4. ^ More Violence Looms in Planned Rally at U.S. Base Site
  5. ^ U.S. base expansion in Korea sparks protests (Socialism and Liberation) article

See also

References

  1. ↑ Decree No. 98, Local System Reform (Lunar May 26, 1895)
  2. ↑ Decree No. 36, Local System and Administrative Reforms (August 4, 1896)
  3. ↑ Governor-General's Order No. 111 (December 29, 1913)
  4. ↑ Governor-General's Order No. 196 (September 27, 1938)
  5. ↑ Governor-General's Order No. 197 (September 27, 1938)
  6. ↑ Law No. 1177, Law on Establishment of Towns (November 21, 1962)
  7. ↑ Presidential Decree No. 9409, Regulations on the Establishment of 53 New Towns (April 7, 1979)
  8. ↑ Law No. 3425, Law on the Establishment of Gwangmyeong City and Other Municipalities (April 13, 1981)
  9. ↑ Presidential Decree No. 11027, Regulations on the Changes in Districts and the Installation of Townships (January 10, 1983), Article 12
  10. ↑ Law No. 3798, Law on the Establishment of 11 Cities and Adjustments to County Jurisdictions (December 28, 1985)
  11. ↑ Presidential Decree No. 14629, Regulations on the Changes in Districts (April 20, 1995)
  12. ↑ Law No. 4948, Law on the Establishment of 5 Metropolitan Cities and Districts (May 10, 1995)
  13. ↑ Municipal Ordinance No. 197 (April 19, 1996)
  14. ↑ Municipal Ordinance No. 353 (October 1, 1998)
  15. ↑ Municipal Ordinance No. 585 (November 5, 2002)
  16. ↑ Municipal Ordinance No. 814 (December 29, 2006)
  17. ↑ "Eviction village: A farmer's tale". 27 February 2007 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
  18. ↑ Changes to Wartime OPCON: Challenges for the ROK Archived 2007-10-11 at the Wayback Machine, Chosun
  19. ↑ http://www.bucksvoice.net/bkva/assets/documents/south-africa-dec-2014 Archived 2017-04-25 at the Wayback Machine SOUTH AFRICAN KOREAN WAR VETERANS ASSOCIATION
  20. ↑ "South African Embassy, Seoul". www.southafrica-embassy.or.kr.
  21. ↑ "Pyeongtaek International Christian School." International School Information (Government of South Korea). Retrieved on March 30, 2016.
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ "Climatological Normals of Korea (1991 ~ 2020)" (PDF) (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023.

36°59′32″N 127°06′46″E / 36.992236°N 127.112821°E / 36.992236; 127.112821