Jeongeup (), also known as Jeongeup-si, is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

North Jeolla North Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollabuk-do''), also known as Jeonbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Jeolla has a population of 1,869,711 (2015) and has a geographic area of 8,067 km2 (3,115 sq mi) located in the Honam region in the southwes ...

Province,

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 ...

. The city limits include

Naejang-san Naejangsan is a mountain located on the border of North Jeolla and South Jeolla provinces in southwestern South Korea, approximately three hours drive south of Seoul. It has an elevation of . National park Naejangsan forms the core of Naejangsan ...

National Park, a popular destination particularly in autumn due to its foliage. Jeongeup is on the Honam Expressway and

Honam Line {{Infobox rail line , box_width = auto , name = Honam Line , other_name = , native_name = 호남선(湖南線) , native_name_lang = kr , color = , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = Korail H ...

, with the

Seohaean Expressway The Seohaean Expressway ( Korean: 서해안 고속도로; Seohaean Gosok Doro), meaning "West Coast Expressway", is a freeway in South Korea, connecting Mokpo to Gunsan, Dangjin, and Seoul. It is numbered 15. The entire length from Seoul ...

also within easy reach, providing links to

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 of ...

and

Mokpo Mokpo (; ''Mokpo-si'') is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea, located at the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula, close to Yudal mountain. Mokpo has frequent high-speed train services to Seoul, and is the terminus for a number of f ...

Demographics

Jeongeup's population is in decline, with an average of 56 people moving to the city every day but 91 leaving, with the birth and death rates being equal. The divorce rate currently runs at 50%.

Geography

The main hills in Jeongeup are

National Park and Ibamsan, though there are also several smaller hills in the city. It is the east of the city which is more mountainous, the west being a plain around the Dongjin River. There are several streams in Jeongeup, most notably the Jeongeupcheon, a tributary of the Dongjin. This over went a makeover by the city council in December 2009.

Attractions

Jeongeup, like many cities in Korea, had a ''hyanggyo'', or

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

school, where people were trained in Confucian ways. This building is a tourist attraction today, but is not open to the public. Jeongeup is known for a traditional song from the

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (, ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BC to 660 AD. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. Baekje was founded by Onjo, the third son of Goguryeo's founder Jum ...

Kingdom era, known as Jeongeup-ga. The song tells the tale of the lamenting heart of a woman waiting for her peddler husband's return. Naejangsa Temple: first erected in 636, but most of its current buildings were built after the

Japanese invasions of Korea Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

in 1597 and the Korean War. On 31 October 2012, the temple was destroyed in a fire that broke out.

Festivals

A maple festival around

is held annually. The maple leaves here are widely regarded as some of the most beautiful in the country. The festival was abolished in 2002 but was revived in 2007. This festival includes several events regarding the chrysanthemum love. Additionally, a century ago, Jeongeup was the site of a revolution by the religious movement of

Cheondoism Cheondoism (spelled Chondoism in North Korean sources; ) is a 20th-century Korean pantheistic religion, based on the 19th-century Donghak religious movement founded by Ch'oe Che-u and codified under Son Pyŏng-Hi. Cheondoism has its origins i ...

. A lot of peasants joined the movement against the Japanese invaders. For this, Jeongeup holds an annual ceremony to commemorate the event.

Notable people

Seung Hwan Oh Seung-hwan Oh (Hangul: ; ; ; born July 15, 1982) is a South Korean professional baseball relief pitcher for the Samsung Lions of the KBO League. He previously played for the Lions in South Korea, the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Base ...

, professional baseball player, Olympic gold medalist *

Song Dae-kwan Song Dae-kwan (, born June 2, 1946) is a South Korean singer of Trot music. He often appears on the KBS 1TV ' Golden Oldies ( ko, 가요무대)'. Early life and education Song was born in 1946 in what was then Jeonlla Province, now North Jeol ...

, singer *

Yu Sung-yup Yu Sung-yup (Korean: 유성엽, born 25 January 1960) is a South Korean politician who was the Member of the National Assembly for Jeongeup from 2008 (also for Gochang from 2016) to 2020. He was also the co-presidents of the Minsaeng Party, s ...

, politician

Twin towns – sister cities

Jeongeup is twinned with: *

Jongno-gu file:Korea-Seoul-Bosingak-05.jpg, Bosingak bell pavilion Jongno District () is a district () in central Seoul, South Korea. It takes its name from a major local street, Jongno, which means "Bell Road". Characteristics Jongno District has been th ...

Sacheon Sacheon () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Sacheon's chief fame comes from its being the site of two naval battles in the Seven Year War. The city as it now exists results from the merging of Sacheon-gun and Samcheonpo-si in ...

, South Gyeongsang *

Sokcho Sokcho ( ko, 속초; ()) is a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It is located in the far northeast of Gangwon. The city is a major tourist hub, and a popular gateway to nearby Seoraksan national park. Sokcho is home to the few lakes: Yeong ...

, Gangwon * Suseong-gu, Daegu *

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

, China * Narita, Chiba, Japan

Climate

Jeongeup has a cooler version of a humid subtropical climate (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfa'').

Gallery

File:Looking downstream along the Jeongeupcheon from Chosangyo - 2009-02-04.JPG, Looking downstream along the Jeongeupcheon from Chosangyo File:Jeongeup Station - 2009-02-04.JPG, Jeongeup Station File:Street in central Jeongeup - 2009-02-04.JPG, Street in central Jeongeup File:Jeongeup Hyanggyo - 2009-02-04.JPG, Hyanggyo File:Jeongeup Chungryeolsa - 2009-02-04.JPG, Chungryeolsa File:Jeongeup Chungryeolsa Statue - 2009-02-04.JPG, Statue guarding Chungryeolsa File:Jeongeup Seonghwangsan War Memorial - 2009-02-04.JPG, Memorial to those who fell defending South Korea

References

External links

Jeongeup city official homepage
{{Authority control Cities in North Jeolla Province