SUNCH'ON

city, Cholla-nam do (province), southern South Korea. Located on the Yosu Peninsula, 87 miles (140 km) southeast of Kwangju, the provincial capital, it is an administrative and economic centre of the eastern part of the province. It is connected by rail with Seoul through Kwangju and Taejon and, since 1968, has been connected with Pusan through Chinju and Masan. A transportation junction, it is also a service centre for the surrounding area. Songgwang Temple, one of the three largest Buddhist temples in South Korea and the country's centre of Son Buddhism (the Korean form of Zen), is located northwest of the city. Pop. (1985 prelim.) 121,938.