Gijang County is a ''gun'', or county, located between Haeundae-gu and

Ulsan Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...

in northern

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...

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 ...

History

Gijang first appears under its current name in the annals of the year 757, during the Unified Silla period. At that time it was made the ''

hyeon Korea's provinces ('' Do''; hangul: 도; hanja: ) have been the primary administrative division of Korea since the mid Goryeo dynasty in the early 11th century, and were preceded by provincial-level divisions (''Ju'' and ''Mok'') dating back to U ...

'' of Gijang, part of Dongnae-gun. The ''

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk Sagi'' (, ''History of the Three Kingdoms'') is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla. The ''Samguk Sagi'' is written in Classical Chinese, the written language of the literati of ancient Korea, ...

'' records that it was known as Gaphwayanggok () previously. Historical landmarks in the county include the Buddhist temple of Jangansa, said to have been first built by Wonhyo in the 7th century.

Geography and demographics

Gijang is the most rural of Busan's districts, and consists mostly of vacant and agricultural land. Approximately 156.7 of its 217.9 square kilometers are empty and forested, mostly hilly land. The county's population has risen steadily since 1990, when it stood at 56,847. There is a fishing village set along the coastline.

Economy

Due to its location along the coast of the Sea of Japan, Gijang is known as a center for the production of various kinds of seafood. These include anchovies and brown seaweed (''miyeok''). Jangangsa Dragon, near Busan, Korea

Education

Gijang is also the current residence of the new Busan International Foreign School, which the Ministry of Education recently spent 46.9 Billion won. One elementary school, Daebyun Elementary School, was nicknamed the "poop school" since "Daebyun" meant feces. Its name originated from the village Daebyun-ri, which derived from the Daedonggobyunpo Port. The school opened in 1963, and in August 2017 it had 76 students. That month the school announced it was changing its name effective 2018.

Tourism

Other points of interest in the Gijang area include Toam Pottery Park and Ilgwang Beach, as well as the cliffside Haedong Yonggungsa temple. The fishing village is popular for its fresh seafood and sashimi.

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple

Haedong Yonggungsa Temple is famous as a famous sunrise spot.

Daejeon Port

Daejeon Port, located 4.1 km north of Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, accounts for 60% of the national anchovy catches and is called an anchovy port. Around April, when the anchovy season comes, the sight of fishermen armed with raincoats, hats, boots, and rubber gloves opening their nets in a certain rhythm is truly spectacular. At the entrance of Daejeon Port, you can see Daejeon Port at a glance, enter the port, and slowly turn around Daejeon Port. There is a Suhyup building at the end and a small coastal road leads to the end of the road.

Administrative divisions

Gijang is divided into five parts: *''eup'' (larger towns): **Jeonggwan-eup **Gijang-eup **Jangan-eup *''myeon'' (rural townships): **Cheolma-myeon **Ilgwang-myeon

References

External links

Gijang County Office

{{coord, 35, 15, 00, N, 129, 13, 18, E, region:KR_type:city_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Gijang County, Counties of Busan