Yongho-dong is a ''
dong'' on the coast of
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
, a major port city in southeastern
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 ...
. Its mainland portion is bordered on three sides by water, standing on a peninsula which separates
Busan Harbor from
Suyeong Bay
Suyeong District is a '' 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. It is border in the North-East by the Suyeonggang River. The name 'Suyeong' c ...
. Its boundaries include the famed islets of
Oryukdo, and several other small uninhabited islands.
Yongho-dong is a legal ''dong''; for administrative purposes, it is divided into four administrative ''dong'': Yongho 1,2,3, and 4-dong. Yongho 1-dong alone, with more than 43,000 people, is the most heavily populated administrative dong in Nam-gu.
Yongho-dong is densely populated; its 7 square kilometers of land are home to more than 72,000 people. Thanks to its proximity to the harbor, it is also the site of a campus of the
Korea Institute of Maritime and Fisheries Technology.
There are varying accounts of the origin of the name "Yongho," which dates to the
Japanese occupation. The second syllable ''ho'' means lake, and refers to a
salt pan which once lay on
Suyeong Bay
Suyeong District is a '' 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. It is border in the North-East by the Suyeonggang River. The name 'Suyeong' c ...
at the dong's north end. The first syllable ''yong'', which means "dragon," may have referred to a legend that the pan was inhabited by an ''
imugi'', a snake which failed to become a dragon. However, this syllable may also have simply been borrowed from the name of neighboring
Yongdang-dong, to signify "the lake next to Yongdang-dong."
The highest point in Yongho-dong is the low peak of
Jangsanbong, overlooking the harbor.
See also
*
Geography of South Korea
External links
Yongho 1-dong website, in Korean
{{coord missing, South Korea
Nam District, Busan
Neighbourhoods in Busan