Naju () 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 ...

in South Jeolla Province,

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 ...

. The capital of

South Jeolla South Jeolla Province (; ''Jeollanam-do''; ), also known as Jeonnam, is a province of South Korea. South Jeolla has a population of 1,902,324 (2014) and has a geographic area of located in the Honam region at the southwestern tip of the Korean ...

was located at Naju until it was moved to

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 ...

in 1895. The name Jeolla actually originates from the first character of Jeonju () and the first character of Naju (; nowadays spelled and pronounced 나/''na'' according to the South Korean standard). Dongshin University is situated in Naju. Naju is famous for the Naju Pear which is a large round pear that forms its district logo.

History

* In the

Later Three Kingdoms The Later Three Kingdoms period (889-935 AD) of ancient Korea saw a partial revival of the old three kingdoms which had dominated the peninsula from the 1st century BC to the 7th century AD. After the Unified Silla kingdom had ruled Korea alone ...

period of Korean history, Wang Geon (later

Taejo of Goryeo Taejo of Goryeo (31 January 877 – 4 July 943), also known as Taejo Wang Geon (; ), was the founder of the Goryeo dynasty, which ruled Korea from the 10th to the 14th century. Taejo ruled from 918 to 943, achieving unification of the Later Three ...

Dynasty) occupied the Naju area, which was then part of

Later Baekje Hubaekje or Later Baekje (, ) was one of the Later Three Kingdoms of Korea, along with Taebong and Silla. Later Baekje was a Korean dynastic kingdom founded by the disaffected Silla general Gyeon Hwon in 900, whom led the local gentry and popul ...

Kingdom and came to become large base of his political support. He also married the daughter of the Magistrate of Naju, Lady Janghwa, who became the mother of Goryeo's second King

Hyejong of Goryeo Hyejong of Goryeo (912 – 23 October 945) (r. 943–945) was the second King of Goryeo. He was preceded by King Taejo and succeeded by Jeongjong, 3rd Monarch of Goryeo. Early life Hyejong was born to King Taejo and his second wife, Janghw ...

. * In 1986, the governmental name was changed from Geumseong to Naju. * In 1995, Naju city was expanded to include Naju county.

Climate

Products

A well-known local product is the Naju pear, which has long been cultivated along the

Yeongsan River The Yeongsangang River is a river in south-western South Korea. It has a length of 129.50 km, and covers an area of 3,467.83 km2. It runs through Damyang, Naju, Gwangju and other regions and eventually flows into the Yellow Sea at Ye ...

. Naju pears and muskmelons are popular as gifts for

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named " Chinese New Year" becau ...

and other holidays.

Innovation city

Naju was designated an Innovation City and the opening ceremony for city construction was held on November 8, 2007. President

Roh Roh or ROH may refer to: * ''Roh'' (film), a 2020 Malaysian horror film * Roh (name), a Korean surname * Roh, Maré, New Caledonia * Revoluční odborové hnutí, labour union in Czechoslovakia 1945–1990 * Ring of Honor, American professional ...

participated in the opening events. As the city won the title of "Innovation City", several public organizations have relocated to here from

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 ...

. Start of the construction was 4th in line after

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 ...

, Gimcheon and

Jinju Jinju () is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was the location of the first (1592) and second (1593) Sieges of Jinju by Japanese forces during the Imjin War. The Republic of Korea Air Force Education and Training Command is ...

. The organizations that were the targeted for moving are:

Energy

* Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) * KEPCO Plant Service & Engineering Co., Ltd. (KEPCO KPS) * Korea Electric Power Data Network Co. Ltd. (KEPCO KDN) *

Korea Power Exchange Korea Power Exchange (), also known as KPX, is the quasi-governmental agency under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy responsible for operating the electricity market and the electric power system in South Korea. In order to ensure fair ...

(KPX)

IT & Communications

* Korea Post Information Center (KPIC) *

Korea Internet & Security Agency The Korea Internet & Security Agency (, KISA) is the Ministry of Science and ICT's sub-organization dealing with the allocation and maintenance of South Korea's IPv4/IPv6 address space (and the related WHOIS information), Autonomous System Numbers, ...

(KISA) * National Radio Research Agency (RRA) * Korea Communications Agency (KCA)

Agriculture

* Korea Rural Community Corporation (KRC) * Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) *

Korea Rural Economic Institute 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 of ...

(KREI) * Food and Agriculture Officials Training Institute (ATI) * Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (IPET)

Culture & Others

* Arts Council Korea (ARKO) *

Korea Creative Content Agency The Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA) is a South Korean government agency which is affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and is charged with governing cultural content. As part of its partnership the Export-Import Bank ...

(KOCCA) * Teachers' Pension (TP) The new city is set to be in area with the grand plan of developing it into a cultural center in the southwestern economy. Near the Innovation City is the Naju Pear Museum and Pear Orchard for Tourists (나주배박물관 및 배밭 관광체험), which is dedicated to the

Asian pear Fruit commonly known as the Asian pear in different parts of the world include: * ''Pyrus pyrifolia'', called Chinese pear or Nashi pear, usually round, with brown or yellow skin * ''Pyrus × bretschneideri'', called Ya pear or Chinese white pear, ...

; all of its displays are in Korean.

Notable People

Jin Hyeon Ju (Stage Name Belle) - member of KPop group

Cignature Cignature (; commonly stylized in all lowercase) is a South Korean girl group composed of Chaesol, Jeewon, Seline, Chloe, Belle, Semi and Dohee. Formed by C9 Entertainment and managed under their exclusive girl group sub-label J9 Entertainment,t ...

Symbols

* Flower: Pear blossoms * Bird: Dove * Tree:

Ginkgo Tree ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of tree native to China. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million years ago. Fossils ...

Festivals

* Naju

Pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

Blossom In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as wel ...

Festival in April * Naju Rapeseed Festival in May * Naju Yeongsanpo

Skate Skate or Skates may refer to: Fish *Skate (fish), several genera of fish belonging to the family Rajidae * Pygmy skates, several genera of fish belonging to the family Gurgesiellidae * Smooth skates or leg skates, several genera of fish belongin ...

Festival in May

International relations

Twin towns and sister cities

Naju is twinned with: *

Kurayoshi is a city located in the central part of Tottori Prefecture, Japan. As of October 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 48,558 and a population density of 180 persons per km², making it the third largest city in Tottori. The total a ...

, Tottori, Japan * Wenatchee,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, United States *

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia * Nanchang,

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

, China (since 2007)

Culture

The drama ''

Jumong Chumo (Hangul: 추모, Hanja: 鄒牟), posthumously Chumo the Holy (Hangul: 추모성왕, Hanja: 鄒牟聖王), was the founding monarch of the kingdom of Goguryeo, and was worshipped as a god-king by the people of Goguryeo and Goryeo. ''Chumo ...

'' was filmed in Naju. An amusement park called 'Samhanji Theme Park' was used for the film set because of its traditional sceneries. The 2021 drama Nevertheless also had scenes filmed in Naju. It hosts events such as hands-on experience on natural dyeing process for children. Many elementary schools are registering for this program.

References

External links

City's Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in South Jeolla Province