Dorasan () or Mount Dora is a hill on the north bank of the
Imjin River
The Imjin River (; South Korean spelling) or Rimjin (; North Korean spelling) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea.
...
in northernmost
Paju
Paju (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun'').
The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedi ...
,
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 ...
. It lies very near the
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone () is a heavily militarized strip of land running across the Korea, Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It wa ...
. The hill gives its name to several nearby landmarks, including
Dorasan Station and the
Mt. Dora Observatory, as well as to the local administrative unit Dorasan-
ri.
Overview
The hill's name can be translated as "
Silla
Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...
City Mountain." According to legend, the last king of
Silla
Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...
,
King Gyeongsun, dwelt nearby after he gave up his throne to
Taejo of Goryeo
Taejo (; 31 January 877 – 4 July 943), personal name Wang Kŏn (), also known as Taejo Wang Kŏn (), was the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty of Korea. He ruled from 918 to 943, achieving unification of the Later Three Kingdoms in 936.
Backgroun ...
. Unable to return to Silla, King Gyeongsun would walk to the top of Dorasan and weep for his home in
Gyeongju
Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...
. Due to this historical significance, "Dorasan" was chosen as the name of the train station.
See also
*
Dorasan Station
*
Division of Korea
The division of Korea began at the end of World War II on 2 September 1945, with the establishment of a Soviet occupation zone and a US occupation zone. These zones developed into separate governments, named the Democratic People's Republic of ...
*
List of mountains in Korea
The following is a list of mountains in Korea:
List of mountains in North Korea Pyongyang
* Taesongsan () –
Chagang Province
* Namsan (Chagang), Namsan () –
* Obongsan (Chagang), Obongsan () –
North Pyongan Province
* Myohyangsan () ...
Notes
{{reflist
External links
Speech given by George W. Bush at Dorasan Station in 2002
Paju
Landforms of Gyeonggi Province
Korean Demilitarized Zone
Hills of South Korea