Dangjin (; ) is a city in

South Chungcheong Province South Chungcheong Province (), informally called Chungnam, is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, province of South Korea in the Hoseo region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. South Chungcheong borders the provinces of Gyeonggi to ...

, South Korea. It stands on the south shore of the Bay of Asan. Dangjin borders

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, ...

Pyeongtaek Pyeongtaek (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Located in the southwestern part of the province, Pyeongtaek was founded as a union of two districts in 1940. It was elevated to city status in 1986 and is home to a South Korean naval b ...

, and Hwaseong by sea, and Seosan, Yesan, and

Asan Asan (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 400,000. Asan is known for its many hot springs an ...

by land. Its name means " Tang ferry," and refers to the historic role of Dangjin's harbor in connecting Korea to the other side of 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 ...

. This role continues to be important in the city's economy, which relies on a mixture of agriculture and

heavy industry Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

. The city has the same Hanja name (唐津市) as Karatsu in Saga Prefecture, Japan.

Administrative divisions

The city is divided into 2 ''eup'', 9 ''myeon'' and 3 ''dong''.

History

The name "Dangjin" was first used to refer to this area during the

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 ...

period. From 1413 to 1895, it was known as Dangjin-hyeon, a division of

Chungcheong Chungcheong Province (; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Chungcheong was located in the southwest of Korea. The provincial capital was located at Gongju, which had been the capital of the kingdom of Baekje ...

Province. The city achieved its present borders in 1973, with the merger of a portion of Jeongmi-myeon into Seosan's Unsan-myeon. It was originally a county but was promoted to a city on January 1, 2012, after a rapid population boost. Being on the Yellow Sea, the port has been important for trade with China, and since early times was defended against foreign invasion by becoming a fortress city ( Eupseong). According to legend, the eupseong was built in the 16th year of King Chungyeol (1290 AD), but it is currently believed to have been built during 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 ...

period and modified throughout the Joseon period to prevent foreign invasion. Mianchuan Eupseong is a city with four gates in the east, west, south, and north. It was rebuilt in the 13th year of King Taejong of the Joseon Dynasty, and it was rebuilt during the reign of King Gyeongjong.

Education

As of March 2005, in Dangjin there were 33 elementary schools, 12 middle schools, and 38 preschools, serving 14,293 students. In addition, there were 8 high schools. All of these organs are overseen by the Dangjin Office of Education. There are some institution of higher education in the city is Shinsung College (), Hoseo University ().

Economy

Dangjin is home to a number of factories, including steel mills operated by Hyundai Hysco and Hyundai INI Steel. These factories are supplied in part by ships docking at Dangjin Harbor, a cargo port with 5 piers, two of which are dedicated to steel coil shipping.

Notable People

Entertainment

* Aiki, dancer, choreographer, and TV personality * Geum Bo-ra, actress * Taehwan ( Vanner), singer

Society

* Saint Andrew Kim Taegon,

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

priest and patron saint of Korean clergy * Chong Moon Lee, entrepreneur and philanthropist * Kim Na-rae, pastry chef * Song Young-jin, politician

Sports

* Choi Yong-soo, boxer * Gim Eun-ji, curler * Han Myung-woo, wrestler and Olympic gold medalist * Kim Gi-dong, footballer and coach *

Kim Gi-jung Kim Gi-jung or Kim Ki-jung (; or ; born 14 August 1990) is a South Korean badminton player. He competed at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics in the men's doubles event. Career In 2008, he won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships ...

, badminton player * Lee Jong-sung, footballer * Park Sung-woo, badminton player and coach * Seo Myeong-won, footballer * Sin Hyeon-ju, sports shooter * Yoo Yong-sung, badminton player and two-time Olympic medalist

Sister cities

Overseas Sister Cities

* Snohomish County, Washington,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

* Rizhao,

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

* Daisen, Akita,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

References

External links

City government website
{{Authority control Cities in South Chungcheong Province Port cities and towns in South Korea