Pohang Airport

Pohang Airport is an airport in Pohang, South Korea (IATA: KPO, ICAO: RKTH). In 2011, 255,227 passengers used the airport.

Airlines and destinations

History

Pohang Airfield was originally developed during the Japanese Imperial period.

Korean war

In early July 1950 Pohang airfield was identified as a potential base for USAF operations. On 7 July, Brigadier-General Timberlake deputy-commander of the Fifth Air Force ordered the development of the base. Company A 802nd Engineer Aviation Battalion landed at Pohang and began improving the airfield on 12 July by added a 500 feet (150 m) PSP extension and building hardstands for 27 F-51 Mustangs. The airfield was designated by the USAF as K-3.

Troops of the Korean People's Army (KPA) 12th Division infiltrated the Pohang area in early August and made guerilla attacks against the airfield. By 12 August KPA troops entered Pohang and so on 13 August the 35th Fighter-Interceptor Group evacuated to Tsuiki Air Field in Japan. ROK and U.S. forces routed the KPA several days later, but the continued presence of guerilla units mitigated against an early return to the base.

Pohang

Pohang is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wards (gu), Buk-gu or Northern Ward (북구/北區) and Nam-gu or Southern Ward (남구/南區).

This city has the largest population of North Gyeongsang Province and it has the 3rd largest land area of any city (si) in South Korea.

History

The earliest evidence of human occupation in the Pohang area is from the Mumun Pottery Period (1500–300 BC). Archaeologists have unearthed small villages and megalithic burials (dolmen) from this period. Still a small fishing village at the dawn of the 20th century, the earliest steps toward developing Pohang into a place of greater significance were taken in 1930 with the construction of a modern harbour. Pohang grew rapidly afterward, attaining the designation of town (eup) in 1931 and then earning the status of city (si) in 1949.

Pohang's road arteries and shipping port made it a place of strategic significance during the Korean War. An unopposed landing of UN forces at Pohang on July 18, 1950 was the first large-scale amphibious operation since World War II, and the region around Pohang saw fierce clashes between South Korea's 3rd Infantry Division and North Korea's 5th Infantry Division during August–September 1950.