Daebu Island () is an island in the

Yellow Sea The Yellow Sea, also known as the North Sea, is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula, and can be considered the northwestern part of the East China Sea. Names It is one of four ...

, within the municipal borders of the city of

Ansan Ansan (, ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It lies southwest of Seoul and is part of the Seoul Metropolitan Area. It is connected to Seoul by rail via Seoul Subway Line 4. It is situated on the Yellow Sea coast and some islands lie ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

, South Korea.

Geography

The island has a population of roughly 7,114 people and an area of 41.98 km². Administratively, the island today is divided into five ''dong'': Daebubuk-dong (), Daebunam-dong (), Daebudong-dong (), Seongam-dong () and Pungdo-dong (). The predominant industries are tourism and fishing. The island is connected (via Seongam-do and Tan-do) to the mainland in the south-east by road bridges, to Hyeong-do () (and thence the mainland) in the north-east by several routes due to land reclamation efforts, and to Seonjae-do () (and thence Yeongheung Island () and others) to the west by a further road bridge.

Environment

Due to rising mudflats, the island has merged with neighbouring Seongam-do () and Tan-do (). It is a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding i ...

because its intertidal

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal ...

s support significant populations of breeding

Chinese egret The Chinese egret or Swinhoe's egret (''Egretta eulophotes'') is a threatened species of egret from east Asia, first described by Robert Swinhoe in 1860. Description The Chinese egret averages 68 cm in height. The plumage is white throug ...

s, as well as of

dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader in the genus '' Calidris''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown", with the suffix ''-ling'', meaning a person or ...

s and

common greenshank The common greenshank (''Tringa nebularia'') is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name ''Tringa'' is the Neo-Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek ''trungas ...

s on passage.

History

During the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

and

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

Dynasties, Daebu Island was included in the old jurisdiction of Namyang. On March 1, 1914, it was transferred to

Bucheon Bucheon (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Bucheon is located away from Seoul, of which it is a satellite city. It is located between Incheon and Seoul. Bucheon is the second most densely populated city in South Korea after Seo ...

, and on July 1, 1973 responsibility was transferred to

Ongjin County Ongjin County may refer to: * Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea * Ongjin County, South Hwanghae Ongjin County () is a county in southern South Hwanghae Province, North Korea. It is located on the Ongjin Peninsula, which projects into the Yello ...

(which later became part of

Incheon Incheon is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi Province to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. As of February 2020, ...

). On December 26, 1994 the island was moved into the jurisdiction of Ansan, where it remains today.

Education

Daebu Island has three kindergartens, three elementary schools, one middle school and a high school. The island (specifically Seongam-do) is also home to the Gyeonggi English Village's Ansan Camp, an immersion village for students from

References

External links