South Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollanam-do''; ), also known as Jeonnam, is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

of South Korea. South Jeolla has a population of 1,902,324 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the

Honam Honam (; literally "south of the lake") is a region coinciding with the former Jeolla Province in what is now South Korea. Today, the term refers to Gwangju, South Jeolla and North Jeolla Provinces. The name "Jeonla-do" is used in the names of th ...

region at the southwestern tip of the

Korean Peninsula 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 ...

. South Jeolla borders the provinces of

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 southwest ...

to the north,

South Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World ...

to the northeast, and

Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...

to the southwest in the

Korea Strait The Korea Strait is a sea passage in East Asia between Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The strait is split by the Tsushima Island into the Western Channel and t ...

Muan County Muan County (''Muan-gun'') is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in Jeollanam-do, South Jeolla Provinces of Korea, Province (''Jeollanam-do''), South Korea. In 2005, Muan County became the capital of ''Jeollanam-do'' following the ...

is the capital and

Yeosu Yeosu (; ''Yeosu-si''), historically also Yosu, and known to the Japanese as Reisui during the period when Korea was under Japanese rule, is a city located on the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula in South Jeolla Province, South Korea and ...

is the largest city of South Jeolla, with other major cities including

Suncheon Suncheon () (''Suncheon-si'') is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is a scenic agricultural and industrial city of around 250,000 people near Suncheon Bay. It is located in the southeastern corner of Jeollanam-do, just over an hour ...

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 fe ...

, and

Gwangyang Gwangyang () is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Gwangyang city is the home of POSCO's Gwangyang Steel Works, the largest facility of its kind in the world. The city is also home to K League Classic football side Jeonnam Dragons. Gw ...

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...

was the largest city of South Jeolla until becoming a

Metropolitan City A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

in 1986, and was the historic capital until the provincial government was relocated to the Muan County town of Namak in 2005. South Jeolla was established in 1896 from the province of

Jeolla Jeolla Province (, ) was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in today Southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as wel ...

, one of the

Eight Provinces of Korea During most of the Joseon Dynasty, Korea was divided into eight provinces ('' do''; ; ). The eight provinces' boundaries remained unchanged for about 480 years from 1413 to 1895, and formed a geographic paradigm that is still reflected today in ...

, consisting of the southern half of its mainland territory and most outlying islands.

Geography

The province is part of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

, and is bounded on the west by the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. It is one of four seas named after common colour terms ...

, on the north by

Jeollabuk-do 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 southwest ...

Province, on the south by

Jeju Strait Jeju Strait is a strait between the Korean Peninsula (South Jeolla Province) and Jeju Island (Jeju Province). The strait is the boundary between the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea as defined by the International Hydrographic Organization, and i ...

, and on the east by

Gyeongsangnam-do South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World H ...

. There are almost 2,000

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

s along the coastline, about three quarters of which are uninhabited. The coastline is about long. Some of the marine products, in particular

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

and seaweed cultivation, are leading in South Korea. The province is only partially mountainous. The plains along the rivers Seomjin, Yeongsan and

Tamjin Gangjin County (''Gangjin-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Gangjin county proper was established in 1895. The county office is located in Gangjin-eup. The Gangjin Kiln Sites are a noted area for the production of tradi ...

are suitable for large-scale grain agriculture. There is abundant rainfall in the area, which helps agriculture. The province is also home to the warmest weather on the peninsula. This helps to produce large amounts of agricultural produce, mainly

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

pulse In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

s and

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es.

Vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...

and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s are also grown in the province. A small amount of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when dea ...

is mined in the province, but industries have also been developed in the area.

Demographics

Administrative divisions

Jeollanam-do is divided into 5 cities (''si'') and 17 counties (''gun''). Listed below is the name of each entity in English,

hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

, and

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

Sister cities and provinces

State of Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Four ...

, United States *

State of Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

, United States *

Gyeongsan Gyeongsan () is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Its western border abuts the metropolitan city of Daegu, and much of Gyeongsan lies within the Daegu metropolitan area. Numerous universities are located in Gyeongsan, such as Yeun ...

, South Korea *

Ipswich, Queensland Ipswich () is a city in South East Queensland, Australia. Situated on the Bremer River, it is approximately west of the Brisbane central business district. The city is renowned for its architectural, natural and cultural heritage. Ipswich pre ...

, Australia *

Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu ) is a province of Vietnam. It is located on the coast of the country's Southeast region. It also includes the Côn Đảo islands, located some distance off Vietnam's southeastern coast. From 1954 to 1975, under South ...

, Vietnam *

State of Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, United States *

Sichuan Province Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, China *

Alcochete Alcochete () is a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 17,569, in an area of 128.36 km². The municipality is composed of three parishes and is located in Setúbal District. Alcochete is known for its bullfighting tradition ...

, Portugal

Religion

According to the census of 2005, of the people of South Jeolla 30.5% follow

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 ...

(21.8%

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and 8.7%

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

) and 16.1% follow

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. 53.4% of the population is mostly not religious or follow

Muism Korean shamanism or Mu-ism is a religion from Korea. In the Korean language, alternative terms for the tradition are ''musok'' () and ''mugyo'' (무교, 巫敎). Scholars of religion have classified it as a folk religion. There is no central auth ...

and other indigenous religions.

Education

National universities with graduate schools

Chonnam National University Chonnam National University (CNU) is one of ten Flagship Korean National Universities located in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, South Korea. In March 2006, Yeosu National University merged with Chonnam National University to become a satellit ...

Campus *

Mokpo National Maritime University Mokpo National Maritime University is a national university located in Mokpo, South Korea. Organization President Committee University Headquarters *Office of Academic Affairs *Office of Admissions and Student Affairs *Office of Planning Affai ...

–

Mokpo National University Mokpo National University is located in Muan and Mokpo, South Korea. Mokpo, located in the most southwestern region of Korea, is a key coastal city of the Korean Peninsula. The main campus is located in the valley of Seungdal Mountain, which has ...

Yeongam County Yeongam () is a city and county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Bordered with Mokpo and Naju to the north, Jangheung County to the east, and Haenam and Gangjin to the south, Yeongam County comprises two '' eups'' and nine '' myeons'', popul ...

* Sunchon National University –

Private universities with graduate schools

Dongshin University Dongshin University is a private university in southwestern South Korea. Its campus is located in Naju, a city in South Jeolla province which borders Gwangju. It enrolls about 7,000 students; the class of 2003 contained 1,378 student The curren ...

–

Naju Naju () is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The capital of South Jeolla was located at Naju until it was moved to Gwangju in 1895. The name Jeolla actually originates from the first character of Jeonju () and the first character of Na ...

* Gwangju Catholic University –

* Mokpo Catholic University –

* Sehan University -

Campus * Youngsan Won Buddhist University –

Yeonggwang County Yeonggwang County (''Yeonggwang-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Speciality Yeonggwang is a large producer of a fish, the small yellow croaker which are sometimes given by Korean people as a gift to others. It is called ...

* Chodang University –

* Hanlyo University –

Public institutes of higher education

* Jeonnam Provincial College –

Damyang County Damyang County (''Damyang-gun'') is a county in Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Tourism is a major local industry. Notable local products include bamboo goods and strawberries. Damyang is not to be confused with Danyang, which is located in eastern ...

/ Jangheung County

Private institutes of higher education

* Chunnam Techno University –

Gokseong County Gokseong County (''Gokseong-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Climate Attractions * Taeansa TempleCin Woo Le"Simply stunning: 33 incredible Korean temples" ''CNN Go''. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-12 * Neungpa Towe ...

* Dong-A College –

Hanyeong College Hanyeong College (hangul: 한영대학, hanja: 漢永大學) is a private college located in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do established in 1992 with the School of Constitutional Conscription. On March 9, 1993, 480 freshmen from 6 departments and schools ent ...

–

Koguryeo College Koguryeo College is a college located in Naju, South Korea. It is a member of the Korean Council for University College Education. History A legal registration of the educational foundation, Ashin Institute, was completed in January 1995. Kog ...

* Kwangyang Health College –

Mokpo Science University 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 fe ...

–

* Suncheon First College –

* Suncheon Cheongam College –

List of governors of South Jeolla Province

* 31st: Heo Kyung-man (July 1, 1995 – July 1, 1998) – 1st term * 32nd: Heo Kyung-man (July 1, 1998 – July 1, 2002) – 2nd term * 33rd: Park Tae-young (July 1, 2002 – April 29, 2004) – 1st term * 34th: Park Jun-young (June 6, 2004 – July 1, 2006) – 1st term * 35th: Park Jun-young (July 1, 2006 – July 1, 2010) – 2nd term * 36th: Park Jun-young (July 1, 2010 – July 1, 2014) – 3rd term * 37th:

Lee Nak-yeon Lee Nak-yon (; born 20 December 1952), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he is the longest-serving prime ...

(July 1, 2014 – May 12, 2018) * 38th:

Kim Yung-rok Kim Yung-rok (; born 17 February 1955) is a South Korean public servant and politician. He served as Member of the National Assembly, Minister of Agriculture. Currently, Kim is serving as the governor of South Jeolla Province. He is a member of ...

(July 1, 2018 – )

Tourism

– Jinnamgwan Hall, Hyangiram, Yi Sun Shin Square *

– Songgwangsa Temple,

Seonamsa Temple Seonam Temple, or Seonamsa, is a Korean Buddhist temple on the eastern slope at the west end of Jogyesan Provincial Park, within the northern Seungjumyeon District of the city of Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. It belongs to the ...

, Nagan Eupseong Folk Village *

– Mokpo Modern History Museum, Gatbawi Rock,

Yudal Mountain Yudal Mountain () is a mountain located in Mokpo city, Jeollanam-do in South Korea. It is one of the "8 Scenes of Mokpo" and is a symbol of the city. At the summit, thousands of islands can be seen with several hills of strange looking rocks. Th ...

Haenam Haenam (''Haenam-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. The capital of Haenam-gun is Haenam-eup (Haenam town). The economy of the county is based mainly on agriculture, with rice and radish being the two most common crops. Hist ...

– Ttanggut (End of the Land) Village, Mihwangsa Temple *

Gurye Gurye (''Gurye-gun'') is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in the province of Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Gurye is a small, picturesque farming town situated between Jirisan and the Seomjin River. In the northeastern part of unwaveri ...

– Hwaeomsa Temple *

Damyang Damyang County (''Damyang-gun'') is a county in Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Tourism is a major local industry. Notable local products include bamboo goods and strawberries. Damyang is not to be confused with Danyang, which is located in eastern ...

– Damyang Juknokwon, Metasequoia-lined Road, Soswaewon Garden *

Boseong Boseong County (''Boseong-gun'') is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Boseong is famous for its green tea leaves, with 26.71 hectares of land dedicated to its production. It is also the birthplace of the Korean independence activ ...

– Boseong Green Tea Field Daehan Dawon * Dochodo – Seonggaksa

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Provinces of South Korea