Pusan

Pusan (Japanese, Fusan or Husan), city in south-eastern South Korea and capital of South Kyǒngsang Province. Pusan lies at the mouth of the Naktong at the south-east extremity of the Korean Peninsula. Strategically located by a deepwater harbour on the Korea Strait, Pusan is the second-largest South Korean city and the principal seaport in the country. Industrial establishments in the city include shipyards, rail workshops, rubber factories, ironworks, textile mills, rice and salt refineries, and fisheries. The port has a ferry service to the Japanese port of Shimonoseki. The city is also the southern terminus of a railway leading to China and Russia. Pusan has several institutes of higher learning, among them Pusan National University (1946) and the National Fishery College.

Human habitation in the Pusan area dates from early Neolithic times—between 4000 and 5000 bc. By the time of the Koryo dynasty, which spanned the 10th to 14th centuries ad, Pusan had developed into an important regional seaport. Pusan was invaded by the Japanese in 1592. The port was opened to Japanese trade in 1876 and to general foreign commerce in 1883. After 1910, when Korea became a Japanese protectorate, the city became the centre of a flourishing trade with Japan. During the Korean War (1950-1953), Pusan was made the temporary capital of the Republic of Korea. A major port of entry and supply depot for United Nations forces, the city sustained extensive damage and was later rebuilt. Population 3,657,840 (2005 estimate).