Gwangbok-dong is where the Waegwan in Dumo-po was inaugurated in 1678 (the fourth year of King Sukjong). The Waegwan remained stationed in Dumopo for 198 years until it was moved to Choryang in 1876, in accordance with the stipulation in the Ganghwado Treaty. After the Waegwan was moved to Choryang, Gwangbok-dong remained an exclusive Japanese residential district until the liberation in 1945.

There were several important buildings in Choryang Waegwan, including Dong-gwan (East Hall) and Seo-gwan (West Hall) standing near Yongdu Mountain. The Yi dynasty built these halls for Japanese Waegwan officials. In Dong-gwan (East Hall) there were three major halls called Gwansu-waega, Jaepan-waega, and Gaeshi-daecheong. In Seo-gwan (West Hall) there were also three major halls, and these were known as Dong-daecheong, Jung-daecheong, and Seo-daecheong. Each hall (daecheong) had two rooms for servants, one at each east and west side of its entrance gate. Right after the forced Treaty of Annexation was signed in 1910 between Korea's Yi dynasty and Imperial Japan, Choryang Waegwan was transformed into an independent Japanese lease territory to exclusively accommodate Japanese residents.

As of April 1914, when the status of Busan was elevated to Busan-bu (-bu for metropolis), the autonomouse districts of Busan-city included Gwangbok-dong into its jurisdiction, which was then divided into four districts: Byeoncheon-jeong, Geumpyeong-jeong, Seo-jeong and Haeng-jeong. The present name of Gwangbok-dong was designated at the time of the liberation, when the policy to renew place names by discarding Japanese influences was officially implemented. In order to commemorate this event, the word Gwangbok in Chinese characters stands exactly for liberation.