city and provincial capital, South Chŏlla do (province), southwestern South Korea. It has the status of a special city (area 193 square miles 【501 square km】) under the direct control of the home minister, with administrative status equal to that of a province. An old city on the edge of the mountainous area of South Chŏlla province, it has been a centre of trade and of local administration since the time of the Three Kingdoms (about 57 BC). Modern industries, including cotton textiles, breweries, and rice mills, began with the building of a railway from Seoul in 1914. During the Korean War (1950–53) Kwangju's suburbs became a major military-training centre. From 1967, with the construction of an industrial zone centring on an automobile factory, the city developed rapidly. Developments included storage and processing facilities for agricultural products. Kwangju was the site of an armed uprising against the newly installed military government of Chun Doo Hwan in May 1980 that was suppressed with more than 140 civilian deaths.

Kwangju is a transportation junction of southwestern Korea, and it connects with Seoul in the north and Pusan to the east by air, rail, and road. Chosŏn University (1946) and several other colleges are there. The city has many historical remains, and there are old temples and tombs in the surrounding hills. Pop. (1990) 1,139,003.