Gijang County is a ''gun'', or county, located between

Haeundae-gu Haeundae District ( ko, 해운대구) is a district ( ''gu'') of Busan, South Korea. Haeundae has a population of about 423,000, the most populous district of Busan with 11.6% of the city population, and covers an area of 51.44 km² (19. ...

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, ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

History

Gijang first appears under its current name in the annals of the year 757, during the

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla (, ), is the name often applied to the Korean kingdom of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, after 668 CE. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alliance conquered Baekje and the southern part of Goguryeo in the ...

period. At that time it was made the '' hyeon'' of Gijang, part of

Dongnae Dongnae District is a '' gu'' in central Busan, South Korea. Administrative divisions It has a population of about 300,000, and an area of 16.7 square kilometers. It was once a separate city, the principal port of southeastern Korea. Numerous ...

-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 Won Hyo (617 – April 28, 686) was one of the leading thinkers, writers and commentators of the Korean Buddhist tradition. Essence-Function (), a key concept in East Asian Buddhism and particularly Korean Buddhism, was refined in the syncretic p ...

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 The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, i ...

, Gijang is known as a center for the production of various kinds of seafood. These include anchovies and brown seaweed (''

miyeok Wakame ''(Undaria pinnatifida)'' is a species of kelp native to cold, temperate coasts of the northwest Pacific Ocean. As an edible seaweed, it has a subtly sweet, but distinctive and strong flavour and texture. It is most often served in soups ...

'').

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 Haedong Yonggung Temple (Hangul: 해동 용궁사, Hanja :海東龍宮寺) is a Buddhist temple in Gijang-gun, Busan, South Korea. The temple was built in 1376 by the teacher known as Naong during the Goryeo Dynasty, and was originally know ...

temple. The fishing village is popular for its fresh seafood and

sashimi is a Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce. Origin The word ''sashimi'' means "pierced body", i.e. " 刺身" = ''sashimi'', where 刺し = ''sashi'' (pierced, stu ...

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 Counties of Busan