Ulleung County (

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

: 울릉군, ''Ulleung-gun'';

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 ...

: 鬱陵郡) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...

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 ...

. Ulleung County has a population of 10,426 making it the least populated county in South Korea. Ulleung County consists mainly of the island of

Ulleungdo Ulleungdo (also spelled Ulreungdo; Hangul: , ) is a South Korean island 120 km (75 mi) east of the Korean Peninsula in the Sea of Japan, formerly known as the Dagelet Island or Argonaut Island in Europe. Volcanic in origin, the rocky s ...

and 44 smaller islands located in 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, it h ...

, including the

Liancourt Rocks The Liancourt Rocks, also known by their Korean name of Dokdo or their Japanese name of Takeshima,; ; . form a group of islets in the Sea of Japan between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago. The Liancourt Rocks comprise two ...

(Dokdo) in effective governance by South Korea (but claimed by

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

). Ulleung County is administratively divided into one '' eup'' and two '' myeon'': Ulleung-eup, Buk-myeon, and Seo-myeon, which are divided into 10 legal '' ri'', those into 25 administrative ''ri'', and at the most basic level the county is held to contain 56 "natural villages."

History

At the year of 512,

Jijeung of Silla Jijeung of Silla (437–514) (r. 500–514) was the List of monarchs of Korea, 22nd ruler of the Korean kingdom of Silla. He is remembered for strengthening royal authority and building Silla into a centralized kingdom. Like many Silla kings, ...

conquered

Usan-guk 280px, "Samguk Sagi" Book 04. Silla's Records. In 512, Usan-guk（于山國）was Ulleungdo（鬱陵島） Usan-guk, or the State of Usan, occupied Ulleung-do and the adjacent islands during the Korean Three Kingdoms period. According to th ...

which was the original nation in Ulleung-do. After a downfall of

Silla Silla or Shilla (57 BCE – 935 CE) ( , Old Korean: Syera, Old Japanese: Siraki2) was a Korean kingdom located on the southern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula. Silla, along with Baekje and Goguryeo, formed the Three Kingdoms of K ...

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

naturally took the title of Ulleung. In 930, 13th year of

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 ...

, he granted local people bringing a tribute.

Hyeonjong of Goryeo Hyeonjong of Goryeo (1 August 992 – 17 June 1031, r. 1009–1031) was the 8th ruler of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He was a grandson of King Taejo. He was appointed by the military leader Gang Jo, whom the previous King Mokjong had called ...

sent his ambassador to islands for recovering ruined farming land in 1012.

Location

It is located in the middle of the Sea of Japan between 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 ...

and

. There are two main ports that provide ferries to Ulleung and Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo):

Pohang Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wa ...

Port and Mukho Port. These two ports offer regular shipping service.

Administrative divisions

Ulleung-gun is divided into one ''eup'' and two ''myeon''. Ulleung-eup is then divided into four legal ''ri'', but six administrative ''ri''. Buk-myeon is divided into three legal ''ri'', eight administrative ''ri''. Seo-myeon is divided into three legal ''ri'', five administrative ''ri''.

Snowflower Festival

Ulleung County, which has one of the highest snowfalls in all of Korea, hosts the Snowflower Festival. In 2007, Ulleung had lot of snow, up to 42 cm (16.5 in) around coastlines and 105 cm (around 3 ft 5in) in the Nari Basin. But the county did not host its festival before 2006 as there was not enough snow.

Symbols

* Tree: '' Machilus thunbergii'' * Flower: camelliar flower * Bird: wood pigeon

Climate

Ulleung has a cooler version of a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Cfa'') with very warm, rainy summers and cold, snowy winters.

Tourism

Tourist spots

Places recommended b
Gyeongsangbuk-do Culture & Tourism Organization

Twin towns and sister cities

Ulleung is twinned with: *

Anyang Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. It had a ...

Suyeong-gu Suyeong District is a ''Subdivisions of South Korea, gu'' in central Busan, South Korea. It has a population density of about . Suyeong-gu was created in 1995 following its separation from Nam-gu, Busan, Nam-gu. It is border in the North-East by ...

Samcheok Samcheok () is a city in Gangwon-do, South Korea. History Ancient age & Three Kingdom * It was called "Siljikguk or Siljikgokguk" * 102 under the rule of Silla ( Pasa 23rd) * 468 under the rule of Goguryeo ( Jangsu 56th) * 505 The name changed ...

References

External links

Official county government website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulleung County Counties of North Gyeongsang Province Sea of Japan Port cities and towns in South Korea