During the time of the early
Three Kingdoms of Korea, parts of modern-day Hwaseong was controlled by the state of Wonyang (), a small statelet that was part of the
Mahan confederacy. In 1949, when
Suwon was split from the rest of Suwon County, the remaining area of Suwon County was renamed to Hwaseong County, after
Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon. On January 1, 1989, the
town of
Osan was promoted to a city, splitting from Hwaseong County. On March 21, 2001, Hwaseong County would also be promoted to the status of city.
Universal Studios On November 27, 2007 the city was chosen as the site for the future
Universal Studios South Korea theme park. Originally set to open in 2016, it would have been the world's largest Universal Studios theme park, being larger than all the other four combined. The US$3.1 billion park was expected to create at least 58,000 new jobs. In 2014, the project was put on hold. The plan was restarted in 2015, and K-Water (Korean Water Resources Corporation) was chosen as a business partner. Universal Studios South Korea is no longer under development .
Aricell battery factory fire On June 24, 2024, a fire at a
lithium battery factory owned by Aricell killed 23 workers, and a further 8 workers were wounded. The fire was caused by the explosion of a series of battery cells. ==Climate==