Gijang County is a ''gun'', or county, located between

Haeundae-gu Haeundae District () is a district ( ''gu'') of Busan, South Korea. Haeundae has a population of about 423,000, the most populous district of Busan with 11.6% of the city population, and covers an area of 51.44 km² (19.86 sq mi) in easter ...

and

Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...

in northern

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

History

Gijang first appears under its current name in the annals of the year 757, during the

Unified Silla Unified Silla, or Late Silla, is the name often applied to the historical period of the Korean kingdom of Silla after its conquest of Goguryeo in 668 AD, which marked the end of the Three Kingdoms period. In the 7th century, a Silla–Tang alli ...

period. At that time it was made the ''

hyeon Korea has had administrative districts that can be considered provinces since the 7th century. These divisions were initially called ''ju'' () in Unified Silla and Later Baekje, and there were nine in total. After Goryeo conquered these states in t ...

'' of Gijang, part of

Dongnae Dongnae District () is a '' gu'' (district) in central Busan, South Korea. Administrative divisions It has a population of about 300,000, and an area of 16.7 square kilometers. It was once a separate city, the principal port of southeastern Ko ...

-gun. The ''

Samguk Sagi ''Samguk sagi'' () is a historical record of the Three Kingdoms of Korea: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. Completed in 1145, it is well-known in Korea as the oldest surviving chronicle of Korean history. The ''Samguk sagi'' is written in Classical ...

'' records that it was known as Gaphwayanggok () previously. Historical landmarks in the county include the Buddhist temple of Jangansa, said to have been first built by

Wonhyo Wŏnhyo (; ; 617 – 686, meaning: "Dawnbreak") was one of the most important philosophers and commentators in East Asian Buddhism and the most prolific scholar in Korean Buddhism.Muller, Charles元曉 Wonhyo, ''Digital Dictionary of Buddhism'' ...

in the 7th century.

Geography and demographics

Gijang is the most rural of Busan's districts, and consists mostly of vacant and agricultural land. Approximately 156.7 of its 217.9 square kilometers are empty and forested, mostly hilly land. The county's population has risen steadily since 1990, when it stood at 56,847. There is a fishing village set along the coastline.

Economy

Due to its location along the coast of the East Sea, Gijang is known as a center for the production of various kinds of seafood. These include anchovies and brown seaweed (''

miyeok Wakame ''(Undaria pinnatifida)'' is a species of kelp native to cold, temperate coasts of the northwest Pacific Ocean. As an edible seaweed, it has a subtly sweet, but distinctive and strong flavour and satiny texture. It is most often served in ...

'').

Education

Gijang is also the current residence of the new Busan International Foreign School, which the Ministry of Education recently spent 46.9 billion won. One elementary school, Daebyun Elementary School, was nicknamed the "poop school" since "Daebyun" meant feces. Its name originated from the village Daebyun-ri, which derived from the Daedonggobyunpo Port. The school opened in 1963, and in August 2017 it had 76 students. That month the school announced it was changing its name effective 2018.

Tourism

Other points of interest in the Gijang area include Toam Pottery Park and Ilgwang Beach, as well as the cliffside Haedong Yonggungsa temple. The fishing village is popular for its fresh seafood and

sashimi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese delicacy consisting of fresh raw fish or Raw meat, meat sliced into thin pieces and often eaten with soy sauce. Origin The word ''sashimi'' means 'pierced body', i.e., "wikt:刺身, 刺身" = ''sashimi'', whe ...

. It contains Orangdae Park.

Daejeon Port

Daejeon Port, located 4.1 km north of Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, accounts for 60% of the national anchovy catches and is called an anchovy port. Around April, when the anchovy season comes, the sight of fishermen armed with raincoats, hats, boots, and rubber gloves opening their nets in a certain rhythm is truly spectacular. At the entrance of Daejeon Port, you can see Daejeon Port at a glance, enter the port, and slowly turn around Daejeon Port. There is a Suhyup building at the end and a small coastal road leads to the end of the road.

Administrative divisions

Gijang is divided into five parts: *''eup'' (larger towns): ** Jeonggwan-eup ** Gijang-eup ** Jangan-eup *''myeon'' (rural townships): ** Cheolma-myeon ** Ilgwang-myeon

References

External links

Gijang County Office

{{Coord, 35, 15, 00, N, 129, 13, 18, E, region:KR_type:city_source:kolossus-frwiki, display=title Counties of Busan