The Port of Gwangyang is on the south-central coast of South Korea in South Jeolla Province. Just 18 kilometers north of the small Port of Yeosu, the Port of Gwangyang is about 125 kilometers west-southwest of the country's largest port, Busan, and about 160 kilometers southeast of the Port of Gunsan. In 2003, over 137 thousand people called the Port of Gwangyang home.

Gwangyang city is home to POSCO's Gwangyang Steel Works, the world's largest facility of its kind. It's also the development center for the Gwangyang Bay Area Free Economic Zone, scheduled to be completed in 2011, when the Port of Gwangyang will focus on container-handling, shipbuilding, and steel production.

Archeological evidence from the Old Stone Age has been found in six areas near the Port of Gwangyang, including hunting tools and stone blades. Shell mounds and artifacts also confirm New Stone Age habitation of a village there about 4000 BC.

Relics of the Bronze Age and burials are plentiful in the area. Further Iron Age artifacts include stone axes, farming tools, an ancient well, and evidence of land reclamation for farming.

Later (but still ancient) tombs and ruins of early villages demonstrate habitation in the 1st Century BC. In 940 AD, the ancient village of Heeyang-hyun was renamed Gwangyang-hyun by the first king, Koryo.

The Port of Yeosu, just south of the Port of Gwangyang, is the area's historic port. It was here that Admiral Yi Sunsin constructed the famous turtle-shaped battleships and stopped the 1592 attempted invasion of the Japanese. The modern Yeosu Port opened in 1923, and it was the first port in the eastern Jeollanam province to open to foreign trade.

Construction was completed on the Port of Gwangyang's Jungheung and Nakpo Piers in 1974. By 1985, the first phase of the POSCO products wharf was finished, and the POSCO raw materials wharf was finished in 1987.

The Port of Gwangyang opened in 1986 when its new facilities were integrated with the existing Samil Port. In 1987, the POSCO Gwangyang Works opened for business. The POSCO Gwangyang Steel Works is the second such mill in South Korea, and it has the world's biggest steel plant, the most modern technology, and the best facilities for manufacturing steel. Today, the plant makes coil for bridges, iron structures, cars, refrigerators, and many other products. The Steel Works in the Port of Gwangyang can produce as much as 15 million tons of product per year. More than 300 thousand people from all over the world visit the plant each year.

In 1994, construction began on the Yulchon 1 Regional Industrial Complex. The Port of Gwangyang built the Gwangyang Container Terminal to make the port a logistics center for all of Northeast Asia. In 1998, Phase 1 of the Container Terminal began, and the Gwangyang Container Terminal, Phase 2-1, opened in 2002. Phase 2-2 of the container terminal was completed in 2004, and Phase 3-1 opened in 2007. Today, the container terminal operates 16 berths and plans further development.

Yeosu Port was recently designated a Marine National Park, and it was selected as host city for the "Expo 2012 Yeosu Korea." The port authority expects that the Expo will help make Gwangyang Bay the logistics and tourist hub for Northeast Asia.

In late 2007, a referendum was proposed to merge the cities of Yeosu, Gwangyang, and Suncheon to form a new metropolis. The new city economy would be based on the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone and the POSCO plant there, Yeosu's Expo 2012 bid and port, and the education institutes in Suncheon.

The Yeosu Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office is the port authority for the Port of Gwangyang. Yeosu Port and the Port of Gwangyang are large ports that handle a total of 206 million tons of cargo and serve 57 thousand ship calls each year. The Port of Gwangyang supports global companies like POSCO, GS-Caltex, and LG Chemical. The Port of Gwangyang is located near major sea trade routes between Europe, Asia, and North America.

The port authority intends to equip the Port of Gwangyang Container Terminals to accommodate 8th generation container vessels and to operate throughout the year. Today, the Port of Gwangyang has capacity to handle almost 5.5 million TEUs at 12 berths with capacity for vessels of five thousand DWT and four berths for vessels of two thousand DWT. Four more piers are scheduled to come into operation by 2011.

The Port of Gwangyang covers a water area of 14.5 hectares, and it contains 78 berths that accommodate some 43 thousand ships and handle about 200 million tons of cargo per year. Vessels calling at the Port of Gwangyang include oil tankers carriers of containers, bulk cargoes, chemicals, and liquefied natural gas.

The Port of Gwangyang lies on a naturally protected deep-water harbor, and its channels allow vessels up to 300 thousand tons to arrive and depart at any time. The harbor's 16 meter depth allows the largest container carriers to berth at the quays.

The Port of Gwangyang will soon be linked by rail between South and North Korea to the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Trans-China Railway, placing it in a enviable position with access to those huge markets.

Furthermore, the Port of Gwangyang Bay Area industrial cluster contains the 96.4 thousand square kilometer Gwangyang Industrial Complex, the 31.3 thousand square kilometer Yeosu Industrial Complex, and the 22.5 thousand square kilometer Yulchon Industrial complex. Each of these clusters boasts a variety of port-related industries.

The Port of Gwangyang boasts state-of-the-art logistics services, including a 100% on-dock system and ample equipment to handle container mega-carriers with fast loading/unloading rates. The advanced information technology backing terminal operations and automated gate services make operations efficient and affordable.

The port authority is committed to expanding Port of Gwangyang facilities until 2020, adding annual handling capacity of more than 12.4 million TEUs to make the Port of Gwangyang an international logistics hub for Northeast Asia. The Port of Gwangyang completed a distripark container terminal of some 190 hectares in 2008 and will expand the facility to 390 hectares by 2011.

The period of development for the Port of Gwangyang container terminals spans 1987 through 2020. Phases 1, 2, and 3-1 are already complete, and they created 5100 meters of quays and berths for 12 50-thousand ton container vessels and four 20-thousand ton container vessels. The Port of Gwangyang already has handling capacity for 5.48 million TEUs per year.

Through Phase 3-1 of the container terminal project, the Port of Gwangyang has created total terminal area of 274.6 hectares with container yards of 170.7 hectares and eight container freight stations. Total storage capacity to date is 123 thousand TEUs, and the container terminals include 44.8 thousand container ground slots.

By 2011 when Phase 3-2 is completed in the Port of Gwangyang, the port will have an additional 1260 meters of quays with berths for three more 50-thousand ton container carriers and one more 20-thousand ton container vessel. These expansions will add handling capacity of 1.37 million TEUs per year.

The Port of Gwangyang plans further expansions to the container terminals between 2011 and 2020 that will add 4900 meters of quays, 14 berths for 50-thousand ton container carriers, and annual cargo-handling capacity for 5.6 million TEUs. Therefore, by the year 2020, the Port of Gwangyang will have a total of almost 11.3 kilometers of quays with 29 berths for 50-thousand ton container vessels and five berths for 20-thousand ton container ships. The Port of Gwangyang will have a total annual cargo-handling capacity for 12.45 million TEUs.

The Port of Gwangyang has built a joint logistics center that will transform the Port of Gwangyang into a high value-added center based on an effective business model that covers the full range of logistics functions including storage, assembly, processing, and distribution. The Joint Logistics Center was completed in 2007 and contains total floor space of 33.2 thousand square meters. The logistics building covers 28.3 thousand square meters, and the office building has an additional five thousand square meters.

The future Marine Center in the Port of Gwangyang is a maritime business building and support facility that will help resident companies using the Free Trade Zone. This composite business center will provide one-stop administrative services and other business services and amenities. Scheduled for imminent completion , the Marine Center in the Port of Gwangyang will cover a total 35 thousand square meters and will contain shipping and port services agencies (like customs, immigration, quarantine, etc.), educational facilities, and the Korea Container Terminal Authority. It will also provide ample space for a variety of offices, financial institutions, restaurants, a large multi-purpose hall, and meeting rooms.

LogisALL International Company operates the freezing and refrigeration warehouse and composite transportation warehouse in the Port of Gwangyang. Covering 28.3 thousand square meters, the facility provides space and services for storing, processing, packaging, labeling, and transporting frozen and refrigerated cargoes. The facility contains two freezer rooms of 75 square meters and four refrigeration rooms of 2360 square meters. The facility warehouse covers 1.9 thousand square meters, including a 190 square meter office.

The Port of Gwangyang Free Economic Zone (FEZ) in Gwangyang District includes the container terminal), Yeosu, Suncheon, and Gwangyang City. The zone is being developed as five districts, and it will provide infrastructure for logistics, manufacturing, residences, and tourism. The FEZ will attract investments and support the Port of Gwangyang's efforts to become the main business center for Northeast Asia.

The Port of Gwangyang offers comprehensive transportation services and amenities for freight car drivers that use the container terminal, manage vehicles, or run cargo transportation businesses. The 1.9 thousand square meter Rest Center also has a gas station, parking lot and garage, car wash, restaurant, baths, and other amenities.

The Port of Gwangyang Seaman's Club is available for the recreation and convenience of ships' crews. Located near the Port of Gwangyang Container Terminal, the three-floor facility provides a convenience store, sauna, restaurant, office, recreation room, and welfare and employment center for Korean seafarers.

Gwangyang City thrives in a pristine natural environment that offers many natural treats and cultural assets that make it an attractive vacation destination. In addition to four golf courses, the Port of Gwangyang offers the Dadohae Marine National Park, the Boseong green tea farms, and the swampy coastal Suncheon Bay. The Port of Gwangyang boasts many unique and beautiful natural and cultural sites and many festivals throughout the year.

The Port of Gwangyang enjoys a moderate subtropical maritime climate. The average annual temperature is just under 14 °C (56 °F). The average low temperature in January is 0 °C (32 °F), and the average high is in July at 28 °C (82 °F). The Port of Gwangyang gets about 1296 millimeters of precipitation per year.

It has been said from the old times that three miraculous spirits inhabit Mount Baekun and bless the people who come there with prosperity, wisdom, and health. Visitors who do not meet the happy spirits will enjoy long peaceful hikes through this breathtaking natural environment. Mount Baekun holds four wonderful valleys and abundant species of rare flora. It is also famous for its mysteriously medicinal waters.

Another popular tourist attraction for visitors to the Port of Gwangyang is Maehwa Village. Originally called Seomjin, the village is covered with ume flowers in the early spring. Each March the Maehwa Festival celebrates the ume blossoms and spring. In the village, visitors will find the Cheongmaesil Farm and its traditional earthenwares, plum trees that are hundreds of years old, a bamboo forest, and a chance to fish corbicular (clams) at the Seomjin River. The Seomjin Ferry leaves the village to visit many ruins and learn about ancient local legends. A trip to Maehwa Village is well worth the time. It will not disappoint.

Yundang Park was built by the Port of Gwangyang's governor in 1547. The park has many ancient trees and boasts a classical Asian landscape with a beautiful pond and many weeping willows. The park blocks the salty wind from the sea, and it once hid Gwangyang-eup Castle from the invading Japanese. The Port of Gwangyang's Yudang Park has tens of 400-500 year-old trees, and it is a dense forest in the summer. The park is a favorite spot for residents and visitors alike.