Muan County (''Muan-gun'') is a

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

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 Korea ...

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

(''Jeollanam-do''),

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 ...

. In 2005, Muan County became the capital of ''Jeollanam-do'' following the transfer of the provincial office from its previous location,

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 offic ...

to the village of Namak in Muan.

Muan International Airport Muan International Airport () is an airport in Muan County, Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Construction of the airport began in 1997 and the airport opened on November 9, 2007. The airport serves the province of Jeollanam-do, especially the cities ...

was opened here, and will eventually replace the airports in

and

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 f ...

Modern history

On January 1 of 1963, several villages (ri in Korean) were incorporated into

city and huge reorganization was made by Korean government. In 1979, Muan township was promoted to a township (eup of South Korea). In 1980, Illo was also promoted into a township.

Symbols

* Flower : The Chrysanthemum * Tree : The Zelkova tree * Bird : The white Heron

Location

Muan County is located on the western tip of the South Western part of the Korean peninsula. It acts as the primary link between Sinan county with the rest of the Korean mainland. Numerous beaches are also found on Muan's coast. Muan borders Yeongsan river with Naju and Hampyeong to the north, Yeongam to the east, Mokpo to the south. These surroundings have influenced the industrial and cultural structure of Muan County.

Enterprise city

Muan was designated an enterprise city by the South Korean government for the Honam region (Southwest). The South Korean government and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

have agreed to develop an industrial complex in a joint venture. It was reported that the Chinese government officially promised to invest in and help establish the complex area, which includes the construction of a college and distribution warehouses among other things such as a Chinatown for expatriates.

Mud

Muan includes a large area of mudlands. The western area of the Korean peninsula has a large amount of mud thanks to the Rias coast. However, many mudlands have been destroyed or reclaimed for expanding city areas or industrial complexes. The mudlands of Muan were designated one of the wetlands of the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It ...

. In the Muan mudflats, tourists can not enter the sea without permission to protect the mudflats. But, tourists can see the road that opens like the " Miracle of Moses " to reveal its face when the tide falls twice a day.

Festival

Muan is widely known for its White Lotus Festival () located in Illo-eup. The festival occurs in mid August when the white lotus flowers bloom fully onsite at the Hoesan White Lotus Pond (). Tourists can walk into the huge lotuslands via the many bridges that crisscross the water. Visitors may also ride the 'duck boats.' File:White Lotus Blossom.JPG, White Lotus Blossom File:Muan Lake.jpg, Lake in Muan with a Lotus-shaped building.

Products

Muan is known for several famous products characteristic of the area. They are largely farming goods from onions to lotus products. Muan puts out 16% of the national onion production making its production volume the largest in Korea. Muan county officially reported to host farming cluster of sweet potato, onion and lotus plants. The powder of lotus plants is used for making noodles.

Education

Muan County is the site of

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 ...

, situated in Cheonggye township.

Climate

Transportation

Expressway

Seohaean Expressway The Seohaean Expressway ( Korean: 서해안 고속도로; Seohaean Gosok Doro), meaning "West Coast Expressway", is a freeway in South Korea, connecting Mokpo to Gunsan, Dangjin, and Seoul. It is numbered 15. The entire length from Seoul ...

* Namhae Expressway * Muan–Gwangju Expressway

National Route

* National Route 1 * National Route 2 * National Route 24 * National Route 77

Railway

Honam Line {{Infobox rail line , box_width = auto , name = Honam Line , other_name = , native_name = 호남선(湖南線) , native_name_lang = kr , color = , logo = , logo_width = , logo_alt = , image = Korail H ...

Airport

Sister cities

* Uiryeong,

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 H ...

* Gunpo,

Gyeonggi Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

* Dobong-gu,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

* Taizhou,

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

, China *

Kitanagoya is a city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 86,068 in 36,904 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Kitanagoya is a member of the World Health Organization’s Alliance for ...

Aichi is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,552,873 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the west, Gifu Prefecture ...

, Japan *

Denizli Denizli is an industrial city in the southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about . Denizli is located in the country's Aegean Region. ...

, Turkey

References

External links

County government home page (in Korean)
{{Coord, 34, 59, 23, N, 126, 28, 17, E, source:dewiki_region:KR-46_type:adm2nd, format=dms, display=title Counties of South Jeolla Province