Qibla direction in Gijang

How to face the Qibla in Gijang

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 17.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 287.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 17° off.

Scholars agree that someone who can see the Kaaba must face it exactly, while someone far away faces its direction (jihat al-Ka‘bah) as precisely as reasonably possible. If a mosque is nearby, its mihrab and prayer lines are the easiest reference, since they were set when the building was laid out. At home, mark the direction once with tape or a small arrow so the whole family prays the same way.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Gijang to Mecca points to 260.0° (west), a full 27.4° away from the true Qibla of 287.4° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 248 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Gijang first heads west, and that is the direction to face.

The angle on this page is the initial bearing of the great circle from 35.2442° N, 129.2139° E to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the method used by mosque architects and by every serious Qibla calculator, and it gives one exact answer for each point on Earth.

Distance from Gijang to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 8,602 km from Gijang as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 8,436 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 10 h 37 min, although most pilgrims from Gijang connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Gijang run 6 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Gijang rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Gijang

On 94 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Gijang while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in July (31 days); for example, on 15 May 2027 it happens at 18:33 local time.

On 246 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in March (31 days), for instance on 1 March 2027 at 07:51.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Gijang: at 18:18 and 18:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Gijang compared with other cities

Compared with Seoul, 327 km away, the Qibla in Gijang is turned 1.7° further clockwise (287.4° against 285.7°), and Mecca is 265 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Yangsan (20 km), prays towards 287.3°, a difference of 0.1°.

Among the 47 cities in South Korea on this site, Gijang has the largest Qibla bearing; the smallest is 285.6° in Incheon. Across the country the direction varies by 1.9°.

See all cities on the Qibla page for South Korea.

Qibla in cities near Gijang

• Yangsan287.3° · 20 km
• Busan287.4° · 23 km
• Gimhae287.3° · 30 km
• Ulsan287.4° · 34 km
• Changwon287.2° · 48 km
• Gyeongju287.3° · 67 km