The Port of Gunsan (also called Kunsan) lies on South Korea's western shores about 40 kilometers west-northwest of Jeon-ju, the Cholla-puk provincial capital. Located on the south banks of the Geum River as it enters the Yellow Sea, the Port of Gunsan is about 245 kilometers west-northwest of the Port of Busan and some 300 nautical miles east of China's Port of Qingdao. In 2005, over 277 thousand people called the Port of Gunsan home.

The Port of Gunsan has long shipped rice, and its industries historically were engaged in processing, storing, and moving rice grown in the surrounding region. In 1945, a thermoelectric plant was built in the Port of Gunsan, and new industries began to process and produce paper, lumber, and rubber. A plastics industry also began to develop. The United States Air Force maintains the Kunsan Air Base there. The Port of Gunsan is linked by rail to Iksan, and it is connected to the Seohaean Expressway. The Port of Gunsan also has a new free trade zone to encourage investment.

For many centuries, the Port of Gunsan was a small fishing village on the fertile western Honam plain, and it was well known locally as a trade port since the 15th Century. Largely in response to pressure from Japan, Koreans began to grow rice there, and the Port of Gunsan was created in the late 1800s to ship that rice via the Kunsan Inner Harbor's floating pier.

The Port of Gunsan officially opened to international trade in 1899. During the period of Japanese colonization of Korea, the Port of Gunsan was settled by many Japanese who built the old City Hall and the Customs House.

When the Port of Gunsan was liberated from the Japanese at the end of World War II in 1945, the city slowly began to grow. Fortunately, the Port of Gunsan was generally untouched by the Korean War in the 1950s. In their determined march to the south and Busan, the North Korean Communists largely bypassed the Port of Gunsan. When the United Nations forces moved quickly to the north, there was little conflict in the Port of Gunsan area.

When the Korean War ended, the United States Air Force occupied Kunsan Air Base, and the American presence has definitely affected the Port of Gunsan. The base was built under the Japanese in 1923 when mudflats were reclaimed.

During the latter half of the 20th Century, personnel from the air base contributed greatly to the Port of Gunsan economy. However, today's growing and diverse Korean economy has lessened that influence since the 1990s.

Shops that used to court US troops now blend with the businesses that serve Korean consumers. There is still an American shopping district, and a small town about five kilometers from the air base still caters to US troops.

The outer port of the Port of Gunsan was constructed between 1974 and 1995 at the same time the Gunsan Seaside Industrial Complex was being developed. The Port of Gunsan's Pier No. 1 was completed in 1979, and the port control tower at the outer port was finished in 1987. Pier 2 in the outer port was completed in 1990, and the Kun-Jang New Port was built the same year. Since 1990, Port of Gunsan has been growing as an international trade port as planned in the Kun-Jang New Port Development Plan covering the period from 1990 to 2011.

In 1994, Pier No. 3 was constructed, and Pier No. 4 (Daewoo Automobile pier) was finished in 1997. In 2000, the first section of the South Quay, with six berths, started operating, and the second section with another six berths was completed in 2003.

Today, the Port of Gunsan economy is based on agriculture, fishing, and heavy industry. The Industrial Zone is located on reclaimed land west of the city. Auto-maker Daewoo Motors has a factory in the Port of Gunsan, exporting the Chevrolet Aveo to the US and the Holden Barina to Australia and New Zealand. The Daewoo commercial factory near the Port of Gunsan produces trucks for both domestic and foreign markets.

The Port of Gunsan recently completed the new Saemangum Seawall, the world's longest dyke.

The Gunsan Regional Maritime Affairs and Port Office is the port authority for the Port of Gunsan. With a one-hundred year history, the organization's goal is to create the best logistics-centered port in Northeast Asia for the 21st Century. It will reach that goal by providing state-of-the-art facilities in the Port of Gunsan, assuring fast and affordable high-quality services, and contributing to the regional economy.

The Port of Gunsan lies in the estuary of the Keum River on South Korea's west central coast. The 11-meter deep open channel provides easy access and ample room for large ships to maneuver. The Port of Gunsan is served by over five stevedoring companies that offer complete freight-handling and load-consolidation services, and the port is connected with the hinterland and other Korean cities by a modern network of highways. The Port of Gunsan offers highly-competitive prices to assure that it plays a major role as a key gateway to China, Northeast Asia, and the world.

In 2000, some 4573 vessels entered the Port of Gunsan, including more than 1.5 ocean-going ships and over three thousand coastal ships. That year, the Port of Gunsan handled a total of 12.4 million tons of cargo, including over 6.6 million tons on ocean-going ships and more than 5.7 million tons on coastal ships.

The Port of Gunsan has seven coastal passenger liners that operate five routes connecting the Northern Cheolla Province. About 1200 passengers use these liners every day. Since 1996, an international passenger ship, the Ziyulan, operates a weekly route between the Port of Gunsan and the Port of Yantai in Chiuna. In 2000, the International Passenger Ferry transported almost 9.5 thousand passengers and carried 3370 TEUs of containerized cargo. During the same year, the seven coastal passenger ferries operating from the Port of Gunsan carried over 134.3 thousand passengers.

From June 2008 through June 2009, the Port of Gunsan handled a total of 17.9 million tons of cargo, including 12.3 million tons carried aboard ocean-going vessels and 5.6 million tons aboard coastal ships. The major cargoes carried by ocean-going ships included beverages, alcohol, and delicatessen products (3.3 million tons) and ores (1.6 million tons).

Other major cargoes on ocean-going vessels calling at the Port of Gunsan included wood (705 thousand tons), sugar (545 thousand tons), grain (459.8 thousand tons), chemical products (327.9 thousand tons), petroleum products (197.9 thousand tons), and fertilizers (141.8 thousand tons). Other ocean-borne cargoes included animal and vegetable products, milling industry products, leather and leather goods, plastic and rubber products, fish and shellfish, crude oil, and natural sand.

The main cargoes carried aboard coastal ships handled in the Port of Gunsan were petroleum products (1.7 million tons), cement (1.4 million tons), and natural sand (850.6 thousand tons). Other cargoes aboard coastal vessels included beverages, alcohol, and delicatessen products (53.2 thousand tons); anthracite (48.3 thousand tons), other

ores (38.2 thousand tons), plastic and rubber products (21.2 thousand tons), iron ore (17.4 thousand tons), chemical products (15.3 thousand tons), and petroleum and other gases (1.9 thousand tons).

The Port of Gunsan covers almost 300 hectares of water surface and contains 4.6 kilometers of piers with alongside depths from 5.5 to 11 meters. Tidal variation is 7.2 meters.

Berthing facilities in the Port of Gunsan include 3.3 kilometers of quays with berths for 13 20-thousand ton, two 10-thousand ton, and one five-thousand ton vessels. The Port of Gunsan also has three floating piers, six dolphins, and a 1.2 kilometer fishery wharf that, combined, can accommodate three eight-thousand ton vessels and 10 600-700 ton vessels.

Port of Gunsan berths have capacity to handle more than 8.6 million tons of cargo per year. The Port of Gunsan contains five warehouses covering a total of over 17.5 thousand square meters, open storage of 73 hectares, and capacity to store more than 1.5 million tons of cargo. For storage of cargo, there are five warehouses(17,527 ㎡) behind pier No. 1 and pier No. 3, and a 30,000 tons crop silo behind pier No. 1.

In order to modernize equipment and improve overall productivity, private companies lease and operate the Port of Gunsan's Piers No. 1 and No. 2. Pier No. 3 contains the international passenger and cargo routes between the Port of Gunsan and the Port of Yantai in China. Piers 1-3 handle primarily raw lumber, pulp, grain, and cement.

The Port of Gunsan's Pier No. 1 is 525 meters long with alongside depth of from 9 to 11 meters. It can accommodate one 20-thousand ton or two 10-thousand ton vessels, and it has capacity to handle 1.2 million tons of grain, raw lumber, and miscellaneous goods per year.

Pier No. 2 in the Port of Gunsan is 551 meters long alongside depth of 11 meters. With capacity to handle 7.2 million tons per year, it can accommodate two-20 thousand ton and one five-thousand ton vessel carrying grain, raw lumber, and miscellaneous goods.

The Port of Gunsan's Pier No. 3 is 640 meters long with alongside depth of 11 meters, and it can accommodate three 20-thouand tons vessels. Pier No. 3 has annual capacity for 1.7 million tons of cement, grain, raw lumber, and liquid cargoes.

Pier No. 4 was constructed in the Port of Gunsan by Daewoo Automobile Company Limited in 1997. It is used exclusively for automobiles. It is 300 meters long with alongside depth of 11 meters, and it can handle one 20-thousand ton vessel. It has annual cargo-handling capacity for over two million tons of cargo.

Completed in late 2000, the Port of Gunsan's Pier No. 5 specializes in automobiles, pulp, containers, and miscellaneous goods. The pier is 1260 meters long with alongside depth of 11 meters, and it can accommodate six 20-thousand tons vessels. Pier No. 5 has capacity to handle almost 2.6 million tons of cargo per year.

Pier No. 6 in the Port of Gunsan has two berths. With capacity for four 50-thousand ton vessels, the first berth is 930 meters long with alongside depth of 13 meters. Specializing in containerized cargoes, Pier No. 6 can handle over 1.7 million tons of cargo per year. Specializing in grain, the second berth is 420 meters long with alongside depth of 11 meters. It can accommodate two 20-thousand ton vessels, and it has capacity to handle 855 thousand tons of cargo per year.

The Port of Gunsan also has several wharves dedicated to specific cargoes. These exclusive piers specialize in cement, oil, and silica. With capacity to handle 756 thousand tons of cargo per year, the Cement Pier is 220 meters long and can accommodate one 20-thousand ton vessel. The Oil Pier is 550 meters long and can accommodate five vessels from six- to 15-thousand tons. The Port of Gunsan's Silica Pier is 53 meters long and can accommodate one 700-ton vessel. It has annual cargo-handling capacity for 227 thousand tons per year.

The Port of Gunsan's Janghang Port, located on the north side of the river, is located in Choongna Province. Originally opened in 1938, the Janghang Port has two floating piers and a fishing wharf. The floating piers handle eight-thousand ton ships. In addition to serving the fisheries, the Janghang Port handles cement and oil. The Janghang Port in the Port of Gunsan has capacity to handle over one million tons of cargo per year. It has one 1.7 thousand square meter warehouse, two 20-thousand ton silos, and open storage of over 6.3 thousand square meters. In all, the Janghang Port has storage capacity for 44 thousand tons of cargo.

The Inner Harbor in the Port of Gunsan contains three floating piers built in the 1930s and expanded in 1958 to accommodate vessels to eight-thousand tons. The floating piers are used mostly by small ships like ferries and coastal ships. The Port of Gunsan has outgrown the Inner Harbor, and the area will be converted into an historic site and a water amusement park.

The new port envisioned by the Port of Gunsan's Kun-Jang New Port Development Plan was created to meet increasing passenger and freight traffic moving through the port and to promote the Kun-Jang National Industrial Complex. As planned, the new port would have 16 berths capable of handling vessels to 50 thousand tons.

To maintain tranquil waters, a link and breakwater were constructed, and the Port of Gunsan's total cargo-handling capacity was increased to over 12.9 million tons per year. The Kun-Jang Port quay is more than 3.5 kilometers long. The link is 10 kilometers long, and the breakwater is 3 thousand meters long.

Gunsan City is one of three seaports on South Korea's West Coast. The Port of Gunsan is the gateway to the central west region of the country, and it plays a vital role in South Korea's trade relations with China.

The Port of Gunsan is a coastal city with a sub-tropical maritime climate. Temperatures range from an average high of 30 °C (86 °F) in July and August to an average low of -5 °C (23 °F) in January. Heaviest rainfall comes from June through August and into September.

Visitors to the Port of Gunsan will find many reminders of the Baekje Dynasty culture in and around the city. The Port of Gunsan's most popular tourist attractions are Gogunsangundo, Eunpa Park, and the Geum River.

The Gogunsangundo, or Gunsan Islands, are 16 inhabited and 47 uninhabited islands that include the islands of Shinsido, Munyeodo, Bangchukdo, and Maldo. Seonyudo is the center of the islands, and it has long been famous for its natural beauty. A passenger ship goes to Seonyudo Island several times each day.

Eunpa (meaning Silver Wave) Park was originally a reservoir used by local farmers in the Port of Gunsan area, but it was designated a National Tourist Place in 1985. In the spring, a breathtaking one-kilometer long cherry blossom "tunnel" forms at the entrance. During the summer, wind surfers and boaters play. In the fall, people walk the picturesque promenade and pick chestnuts. The park contains the 370-meter long Mulbit (Water and Light) Bridge, and a music fountain operates eight times each day. The Eunpa Park is one of South Korea's 100 Big Noted Tourist spots.

The reed forests at the banks of the mouth of the Geum River (that is the heart of the Port of Gunsan) support the biggest migratory bird colony in Korea. Bird lovers will see many uncommon migratory birds there, including Baikal teals, wild ducks, mallards, geese, herring gulls, and many other species that roost here between October and March. A 360 ° observatory center helps visitors get wonderful views without disturbing the wildlife, and it is the only Bird Watching Gallery in South Korea where migratory birds can be observed close-up.