Gunpo was promoted from town to city in 1989 due to the rapid urban and industrial growth of Seoul, and large-scale housing projects were immediately begun. Hansei University, a Christian institute of post-secondary learning, is in the city, as are forty-four other public schools and a number of private academies. With eighty-three percent of its citizens holding public library memberships, Gunpo touts itself as a book-reading city, and it also promotes itself as being environmentally friendly and in harmony with nature. Its resident include 2010 Olympic figure skating gold medalist Yuna Kim, who grew up in Gunpo after moving there at the age of six. Sightseeing locations around the city include the Banwol reservoir and the Royal Azaleas Hill, and Surisan is a hiking destination.