Jeongeup (; ), is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. The city limits include Naejang-san National Park, a popular destination particularly in autumn due to its foliage. Jeongeup is on the Honam Expressway and

Honam Line The Honam Line is a major railway line serving the Honam region (North and South Jeolla Provinces) in South Korea. The line is served by frequent passenger trains from Seoul (via the Gyeongbu Line) to Gwangju and Mokpo. History A Honam Ra ...

, with the Seohaean Expressway also within easy reach, providing links to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

and

Mokpo Mokpo (; ) is the List of cities in South Korea, third largest and most densely populated 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 ...

Demographics

Jeongeup's population is in decline, with an average of 56 people moving to the city every day but 91 leaving, with the birth and death rates being equal. The divorce rate currently runs at 50%.

Geography

The main hills in Jeongeup are Naejang-san National Park and Ibamsan, though there are also several smaller hills in the city. It is the east of the city which is more mountainous, the west being a plain around the Dongjin River. There are several streams in Jeongeup, most notably the Jeongeupcheon, a tributary of the Dongjin. This over went a makeover by the city council in December 2009.

Attractions

Jeongeup, like many cities in Korea, had a ''hyanggyo'', or

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, religion, theory of government, or way of life. Founded by Confucius ...

school, where people were trained in Confucian ways. This building is a tourist attraction today, but is not open to the public. Jeongeup is known for a traditional song from the

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

Kingdom era, known as Jeongeup-ga. The song tells the tale of the lamenting heart of a woman waiting for her peddler husband's return. Naejangsa Temple: first erected in 636, but most of its current buildings were built after the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1597 and the Korean War. On 31 October 2012, the temple was destroyed in a fire that broke out.

Festivals

A maple festival around Naejang-san is held annually. The maple leaves here are widely regarded as some of the most beautiful in the country. The festival was abolished in 2002 but was revived in 2007. This festival includes several events regarding the chrysanthemum love. Additionally, a century ago, Jeongeup was the site of a revolution by the religious movement of Cheondoism. A lot of peasants joined the movement against the Japanese invaders. For this, Jeongeup holds an annual ceremony to commemorate the event.

Notable people

* Seung Hwan Oh, professional baseball player, Olympic gold medalist * Song Dae-kwan, singer * Yu Sung-yup, politician

Twin towns – sister cities

Jeongeup is twinned with: * Jongno District,

* Sacheon,

South Gyeongsang Province South Gyeongsang Province (, ) 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 Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple tha ...

* Sokcho, Gangwon *

Suseong District Suseong District () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea#Gu (District), ''gu'' (district) in southeastern Daegu, South Korea. It is one of the most prosperous and high-density areas of Daegu, the site of the city's most extensive hagwon ...

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

Xuzhou Xuzhou ( zh, s=徐州), also known as Pengcheng () in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 Chinese census, 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

, China * Narita, Chiba, Japan

Climate

Jeongeup has a cooler version of a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfa'').

Gallery

File:Looking downstream along the Jeongeupcheon from Chosangyo - 2009-02-04.JPG, Looking downstream along the Jeongeupcheon from Chosangyo File:Jeongeup Station - 2009-02-04.JPG, Jeongeup Station File:Street in central Jeongeup - 2009-02-04.JPG, Street in central Jeongeup File:Jeongeup Hyanggyo - 2009-02-04.JPG, Hyanggyo File:Jeongeup Chungryeolsa - 2009-02-04.JPG, Chungryeolsa File:Jeongeup Chungryeolsa Statue - 2009-02-04.JPG, Statue guarding Chungryeolsa File:Jeongeup Seonghwangsan War Memorial - 2009-02-04.JPG, Memorial to those who fell defending South Korea

References

External links

Jeongeup city official homepage
{{Authority control Cities in North Jeolla Province