Editing Changwon (section)

==History==
=== Early history ===
Populated since the early [[Bronze Age]], the area surrounding Masan Bay would have been a wide open region between the ocean and the hilly lands of the coastal plain. Today ruins can be found in the area dating from the [[Iron Age]]. Typical Iron Age landmarks include Bangyedong monuments, dolmens, holy mounds, lower molar sites, and dolmens from Bronze Age settlements.

In 209 AD, during the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms]] period, the area was named Gulja-gun, a province of the [[Silla]] kingdom. During the Unified [[Silla]] Period, this region was renamed to Uian-gun in 739 AD, during the reorganization of all Silla provinces, then in the [[Goryeo]] Period, to Uichang-hyeon.{{Citation needed|date=March 2017}}

The name Changwon was first used in 1408 during the [[Joseon]] period, when King Taejong established the city as Changwon-bu. In 1415, he renamed Changwon-bu to Changwon-dohobu. Later during the King Sunjo Period (1601), it became Changwondae-do hobu.<ref name=":62"/>

In 1895, the country was reorganized into 23 divisions by King Gojong, and Changwondae-do hobu was split into Changwon-gun and Ungcheon-gun. In 1908 Ungcheon-gun merged with nearby Jinhae-gun. During the [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japanese colonial period]], the city became known as Masan-bu, and Masan Port was opened. Eventually, Changwon was separated from Masan-bu.<ref name=":62"/>

=== Post-Korean War ===
In 1970, the Masan Free Export Zone was opened to encourage foreign business to move to the area. In 1974, Changwon was selected to be an industrial and residential centre, as well as the provincial capital. The Changwon Industrial Complex was built in the south of the city, while Changwon began urban planning modelling itself after Canberra, Australia.<ref name=":14"/>

The country's longest straight road was constructed in Changwon, with a length of {{convert|15.27|km|mi}},<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20100405026008|title=City and Street Changwon blov|date=5 April 2010 |publisher=Seoul News|access-date=5 April 2010}}</ref> with the industrial park to the south and residential complexes constructed to the north. This road, Changwon Daero, is meant to serve as an airplane runway in a state of emergency as Changwon was designed to be South Korea's emergency backup capital city. Underground walkways are able to serve as bomb shelters and roads and buildings in the planned city are numbered for efficient use in evacuation.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|url=http://changwonliving.blogspot.ca/2012/07/yongi-lake-and-korean-war-memorial.html|title=YONGJI LAKE AND KOREAN WAR MEMORIAL|website=changwonliving.blogspot.ca|access-date=17 March 2017|date=29 July 2012}}</ref>

In 1985, the Korean War Monument ({{Korean|충혼탑|labels=no}}) in Changwon's Uichang gu was constructed. The {{convert|47.1|m|ft}} monument is "dedicated to the 1,142 soldiers from Gyeongsangnam province that died in the Korean War."<ref name=":7"/>

On 1 July 2010, the three neighboring cities of [[Masan]], Changwon and [[Jinhae]] unified to create ''Unified Changwon City'', with a population of 1.04&nbsp;million.<ref name=":62"/>