The Seomjingang River is a
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
in
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 ...
. It drains southeastern
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 ...
as well as eastern
Jeollanam-do
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 ...
and western
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 ...
provinces, and flows into 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 ...
. The Seomjin rises from
Palgongsan
Palgongsan, also Palgong Mountain, and previously called Gongsan during the Goryeo dynasty, is a mountain in southeastern South Korea, lying on an outlier of the Taebaek range. It stands on the northeastern border between Daegu metropolitan ...
and flows for 212.3 kilometers before reaching its final destination in
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 ...
, where it enters
Gwangyang Bay.
The Seomjingang
watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
comprises some 4,896.5 km². This area includes both farmland and a great deal of pristine mountain country, including the
Jirisan area. A wide variety of animals are found along the river, including the
European otter
The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...
, ''Lutra lutra''. Principal tributaries include the
Boseong River
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 ...
and
Yocheon stream.
The name "Seomjin" literally means "toad ferry." This name is believed to date from
Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea in the 1590s. According to legend, a swarm of toads blocked the Japanese army from crossing the Seomjin into northern
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 ...
.
In August 2020, consecutive days of
heavier-than-usual rainfall caused the river to overflow and a levee on river collapsed, resulting in massive flooding. Thousands of residents who lived in villages and towns along the river were left homeless as entire communities were submerged by the floodwaters.
See also
*
Rivers of Korea
The Korean peninsula is mainly mountainous along its east coast, so most of its river water flows west, emptying into the Yellow Sea. Some of these rivers flow through lakes en route to the coast, but these are all artificial reservoirs, as ther ...
*
Geography of South Korea
South Korea is located in East Asia, on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula located out from the far east of the Asian landmass. The only country with a land border to South Korea is North Korea, lying to the north with of the border ...
References
External links
Simcheong Village website, discusses the Seomjin in detail
Naver Encyclopedia entry
{{coord, 34, 57, 49, N, 127, 45, 38, E, region:KR_type:waterbody_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title
Rivers of South Jeolla Province
Rivers of North Jeolla Province
Rivers of South Gyeongsang Province
Rivers of South Korea