The Gimpo Peninsula is a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

on the west coast of

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 ...

, occupied by most of

Gimpo Gimpo () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It borders Incheon, with which it shares the South Korean side of the Han River estuary, as well as Seoul and the lesser cities of Paju and Goyang. North Korea is across the Han River. The cu ...

and Geomdan Dong and a portion of

Gyeyang District Gyeyang District (Gyeyang-gu) is a ward in Incheon, South Korea. History The first historical record of Gyeyang-gu goes back to the Goguryeo kingdom in 470 AD under the name of Jubuto-gun. It was renamed to Bupyeong-dohobu in 1413 AD. It was lat ...

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 ...

Geography

Most of the Gimpo Peninsula consists of

plains In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands. In ...

with the exception of the northwest in Tongjin Eup and Daegot Myeon with low hills. The eastern part is a part of a plain named Gimpo Plains with the part across the Han River, containing part of low land in Goyang City and Paju City. The northwest part of the Peninsula is often referred to as Tongjin Peninsula after former Tongjin County or Tongjin Eup.

History

In the period of

Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

, the Gimpo Peninsula was occupied by Tongjin County and

Gimpo County Gimpo () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It borders Incheon, with which it shares the South Korean side of the Han River estuary, as well as Seoul and the lesser cities of Paju and Goyang. North Korea is across the Han River. The c ...

(including current Geomdan Dong). In 1914, under the rearrangement of administrative division by the Japanese Empire, the two counties were merged with Yangcheon County (currently most of

Yangcheon District The Yangcheon District (Yangcheon-gu) is a ''gu'', or district, of Seoul, South Korea, located on the southwest side of the Han River. At the centre of this district is the Mok-dong area, which is home to numerous shopping outlets, bars and rest ...

and

Gangseo District Gangseo-gu (), or "''west of river'' district," is the name of a ''gu'' in 2 South Korean cities: *Gangseo-gu, Busan *Gangseo-gu, Seoul Gangseo District (Gangseo-gu) (Hangul: 강서구, Hanja: 江西區, ) is one of the 25 wards (''gu'') of ...

of Seoul Special City) and became new Gimpo County. In 1963, part of former Yangcheon county was absorbed into

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

but Gimpo county merges Gyeyang Myeon, formerly the district of Bucheon County. In 1989 Gyeyang Myeon was absorbed into

Incheon Metropolitan City 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 ...

, followed by the absorption of Geomdan Myeon into Incheon in 1995. It is sometimes referred to as Gimpo Island after the construction of Ara Canal, separating the Peninsula with

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

, but it is not an official name in

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. ---- {{SouthKorea-geo-stub Geography of Incheon Landforms of Gyeonggi Province Peninsulas of South Korea Gimpo