Baengnyeong Island
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Baengnyeong Island (sometimes spelled Baekryeong; ) is a , long and wide island in
Ongjin County Ongjin County may refer to: * Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea * Ongjin County, South Hwanghae Ongjin County is a county in southern South Hwanghae Province, North Korea. It is located on the Ongjin Peninsula, which projects into the Yellow ...
,
Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
,
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, located near the
Northern Limit Line The Northern Limit Line or North Limit Line (NLL) – 북방한계선 (in ROK) – is a disputed maritime demarcation line in the Yellow (West) Sea between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on the north, and the Republic of Ko ...
. The 1953
Korean Armistice Agreement The Korean Armistice Agreement ( ko, 한국정전협정 / 조선정전협정; zh, t=韓國停戰協定 / 朝鮮停戰協定) is an armistice that brought about a complete cessation of hostilities of the Korean War. It was signed by United Sta ...
which ended the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
specified that the five islands including Baengnyeong Island would remain under
United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, and the first a ...
and South Korean control. This agreement was signed by both
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...
and the United Nations Command. Since then, it has served as a maritime demarcation between
North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...
and South Korea in the Yellow Sea. It has a population of approximately 4,329. The meaning of its name is "white wing island", since the island resembles a flying
ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word ...
with its wings spread. Given its proximity to North Korea, it has served as a base for intelligence activity by South Korea. Numerous
North Korean defectors Since the division of Korea after the end of World War II, North Koreans have fled from the country in spite of legal punishment for political, ideological, religious, economic, moral, personal, or nutritional reasons. Such North Koreans are re ...
have also boated here to escape economic and political conditions in their homeland. In the recent past there have been several naval skirmishes between the two countries in the area, and
Kim Jong-Un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...
threatened on 11 March 2013 to wipe it out.
Natural monuments of South Korea The natural monuments of South Korea constitute a natural heritage system designated by the South Korean government according to the Natural Heritage Protection Law (문화재보호법) that considers significant natural resources, such as animals ...
#391–#393 are located on Baengnyeong Island.


Geography

Baengnyeong Island is the westernmost point of South Korea. Travel time by boat to the island from
Incheon Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
is about four hours.한국의 섬 (Islands of Korea)
Changsan Cape in
Ryongyon Ryongyŏn County is a county in western South Hwanghae province, North Korea. Its Yellow Sea coast is known for its natural environment and as an important habitat for plants and birds. Ryongyŏn was the first place in which Protestant Christian ...
, North Korea, can be seen from Baengnyeong on clear days.


Environment

The area is also rich in oceanic fauna and bird diversity. The
Chinese egret The Chinese egret or Swinhoe's egret (''Egretta eulophotes'') is a threatened species of egret from east Asia. The species was first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1860. Description The Chinese egret averages 68 cm in height. The plumage ...
, which is considered to be one of the fifty rarest birds in the world, can be found here. The area hosts a nature reserve for
spotted seal The spotted seal (''Phoca largha''), also known as the larga seal or largha seal, is a member of the family Phocidae, and is considered a "true seal". It inhabits ice floes and waters of the north Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas. It is primaril ...
s, and they can be observed on the rocks and beaches. Seals occasionally attract predators such as the
great white shark The great white shark (''Carcharodon carcharias''), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large Lamniformes, mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major ocean ...
into the area.
Finless porpoise ''Neophocaena'' is a genus of porpoise native to the Indian and Pacific oceans, as well as the freshwater habitats of the Yangtze River basin in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. ...
es in adjacent waters are also curious and playful. The Incheon Coast Guard has been investigating illegal whaling targeting
minke whale The minke whale (), or lesser rorqual, is a species complex of baleen whale. The two species of minke whale are the common (or northern) minke whale and the Antarctic (or southern) minke whale. The minke whale was first described by the Danish na ...
s in the area.


Climate


Religion

Owing to the geographical location,
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
went through Baengnyeong Island ahead of other Korean regions. After the
Gabo Reform The Gabo Reform, also known as the Kabo Reform, describes a series of sweeping reforms suggested to the government of Korea, beginning in 1894 and ending in 1896 during the reign of Gojong of Korea in response to the Donghak Peasant Revolution. ...
, Kim Seong-jin was exiled to this island, and the first church in Korea was established in 1896. There are ten churches on the island at the present time.


Neighboring islands

Two smaller islands nearby are
Daecheong Island Daecheong Island or Daecheongdo ( ko, 대청도 "big blue island" ) is a , long and wide island in Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea, near the Northern Limit Line. The 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement which ended the Korean War specified tha ...
and the much smaller
Socheong Island Socheongdo or Socheong Island is a small 5 kilometer long and 3 kilometer wide island in Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea, located in south Daecheong Island, near the Northern Limit Line. It is situated in the Yellow Sea, lying 200 km no ...
.


History


Korean War

During the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, the
USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
designated the airfield on Paengyong-do as K-53. The island was defended by the West Coast Island Defense Task Unit composed of men of the 2d Korean Marine Corps Regiment under the direction of US Marines. In April 1951 Paengyong-do was used as a staging base for a mission to recover wreckage of a downed Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 near the
Chongchon River The Ch'ŏngch'ŏn is a river of North Korea having its source in the Rangrim Mountains of Chagang Province and emptying into the Yellow Sea at Sinanju. The river flows past Myohyang-san and through the city of Anju, South P'yŏngan Province. ...
. On 17 April 1951 a USAF
Sikorsky H-19 The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...
carried a US/South Korean team to the crash site and they photographed the wreck and removed the turbine blades, combustion chamber, exhaust pipe and horizontal stabilizer. The overloaded helicopter then flew the team and samples back to Paengyong-do where they were transferred onto an
SA-16 The 9K38 Igla (russian: Игла́, "needle", NATO reporting name SA-18 Grouse) is a Russian/Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of E ...
and flown south for evaluation. The USAF established a communications interception site on the island in mid-1951 which was used to intercept Chinese military communications.Werrell, p.104 In December 1951 two
Sikorsky H-5 The Sikorsky H-5 (initially designated R-5 and also known as S-48, S-51 and by company designation VS-327Fitzsimons, Bernard, (general editor). ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 20, ...
s of the USAF 3d Air Rescue Squadron were based on the island and would forward deploy daily to Chodo Airport to operate search and rescue missions before being permanently deployed to Chodo in January 1952. The H-5s were later replaced by the more capable
Sikorsky H-19 The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw (company model number S-55) was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom ...
, two of which were based at Chodo and one on Paengyong-do.Werrell, p.113 On 12 November 1952 several aircraft, believed to be Po-2s, bombed the base in a night attack causing minimal damage.Werrell, p.110 In January 2010, an artillery duel between South Korean ships and North Korean land artillery occurred near Baengnyeong.


March 2010 Baengnyeong incident

The South Korean naval vessel ROKS ''Cheonan'' sank near the island on 26 March 2010. The 1,200-ton vessel broke in two pieces, with nearly half the crew dying (mainly in the stern section) and a little more than half surviving (mainly in the bow section). A multinational investigation concluded that a North Korean torpedo struck the ship.


References


Further reading

*Malcom and Martz, White Tigers: My Secret War in North Korea, Brassey's. 1996


External links


Official site in English

Official site
(in Korean)
2nd official site
(in Korean)

{{authority control Islands of Incheon Islands of the Yellow Sea Korean War air bases Ongjin County, Incheon