Hwamyeong is a region in Buk-gu, northern Busan, South Korea. It is situated along the east bank of the Nakdong River, and since 2003 has been divided into three dong, Hwamyeong 1, 2, and 3-dong. The total area of the three dong is approximately. It was made to serve the role of commuter town of Busan, and it is home to about 99,000 people on the date of February 2020.
Name
The name Hwamyeong, has many view of where it is derived from. The most reliable theory is that Mt. Geumjeong, which is the mountain surrounds Hwamyeong, has another name, Mt. Hwa. It is originated from being called an ideal or bright place near Mt. Hwa, and the Chinese letter for ideal is pronounce 'myeong' in Korean, when put together, it becomes 'Hwamyeong'. Second theory is that the place's original name was Hwe-Bulgi, which means 'bright sun' or 'red sun'. The sun was interpreted as shining, and the adjectives were interpreted as bright with the Chinese character. The literal translation of name's current meaning is 'brightly shining'. It was first attached to the region in 1914, during the period of Japanese rule. At that time it was Hwamyeong-ri, a subdivision of Gupo-myeon. In 1963, it became a dong, part of Busanjin-gu. In 1978, it was transferred to Buk-gu, which it remained a unitary part of until its division in 2003.
Transportation
lies on the Gyeongbu Line, and is served by several Mugunghwa-ho and Tonggeun trains daily. The number of subway station in Hwamyeong-dong is two, which are named Hwamyeong station and Sujung station. Bus number that stops in Hwamyeong-dong is: Busan city bus 15, 59, 111, 111-1, 121, 126, 300, and 1009. Yangsan city bus 21, 23, and 23-1. Busan town shuttle Gyeumjung 1, Bookgu 3, Bookgu 7, and Bookgu 7-2.
Tourism
Hwamyeong ecology park is near Hwamyeong new town. It has walk trail, baseball park, soccer field, tennis court, basketball court, in-line skating bowl and etc. On the bottom end of it, there is natural lotus habitat along with aqua sports center and outside pool. Hwamyeong arboretum is built along side the Deachun river which traverses Hwamyeong-dong. It has over 200,000 of plants for the visitors to observe. Visitors can foresee where certain plants are located with the electronic plant dictionary that are suggested on the website. Busan fishing village folk museum is located right in front of Hwamyeong station. It presents material data of fishing activity of Busan folk village through ages, traditional fishing, historic sites, and folklore. It also has learn-through-activity programs for kids to understand the past culture. Hwamyeong rose center is right next to the Busan fishing village folk museum. It is a park divided by 49 section of different rose species. A basketball court, a football field, and a multipurpose sports field can be found. It has 4 entrances and exits on both sides.
