Geochang County (''Geochang-gun,'' ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

South Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) 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 H ...

Province,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

. The Geochang International Festival of Theater, which was started in 1989, is renowned as the best play festival in Korea. The District Office is located in Geochang-eup, and has jurisdiction over 1 eup and 11 myeon.

The origin of Geochang's name

Geocheang Country ( Geochang-gun, Korean pronunciation) has been called ''Geoyeol'', ''Geota'' and ''Arim'' since ancient times, in the meaning of a large bright place, a very wide field, a wide field, or a large bright one. It was first called a Geochang in the 16th year of King Gyeongdeok of Silla in 757 and was called a geochang after being divided and annexed by surrounding cities.

History

*At the beginning of the Shilla Dynasty was referred to as Gayeol. *1896 Gyeongsangnam-do, Geochang-gun *1928 Gadong-myeon and Gaseo-myeon consolidated into Gajo-myeon. *1931 Eupwoe-myeon renamed to Wolcheon-myeon. *1937 Geochang-myeon elevated to Geochang-eup. *1957 Wolcheon-myeon consolidated into Geochang-eup.

Festivals

* Keochang International Festival of Theatre (KIFT) In Korea, it is called the four major theatrical festivals along with

Ansan Street Arts Festival The Ansan Street Arts Festival is an annual street festival held every May in the city of Ansan, South Korea. Although small shows like circuses, juggling, parades, and performances have been held on the streets, this is the first annual fe ...

, Puppet Festival Chuncheon, and

Andong Maskdance Festival Andong () is a city in South Korea, and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 as of October 2010. The Nakdong River flows through the city. Andong is a ...

. It is an international theater festival that is held every July and August under the theme of "Nature, Humanity, and Drama".

Twin towns and districts

Geochang is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Gokseong,

(1998) *

Gangdong-gu Gangdong District (Gangdong-gu) is one of the 25 '' gu'' which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Gangdong is literally "east of the (Han) River". It is located on the east side of the city. Jungbu (literally "Central Part") Express Motorw ...

(1999) *

Gaoyou Gaoyou (), is a county-level city under the administration of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China, located in the Yangtze River Delta on the north side of the Yangtze River. History Recent archaeological finds at the Longqiuzhuang site in Gaoyou has ...

, China (2005) * Yeongdo-gu,

(2006) *

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

(2006) *

Seocho-gu Seocho District () is one of the 25 '' gu'' (local government districts) which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Seocho is generally referred to as a part of Greater Gangnam Area, along with Gangnam District. As of 2022, Seocho District r ...

(2007)

Climate

Geochang has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

( Köppen: ''Dwa''), but can be considered a borderline humid subtropical climate ( Köppen: ''Cwa'') using the isotherm.

Geography

*Geochang-gun is situated at the far west side of Gyeongsangnam-do, and faces Gyeongsangbuk-do and Jeollanam-do. It does not have good transportation access.

Administrative Regions

The administrative region of Geochang-gun is made up of Geochang-eup, and 11 myeons. With an area of 804.14 km², it occupies 7.65% of Gyeongsangnam-do. As of August 2012, it has a population of 27,111 households, or 63,122 people, with 62.4% residing in Geochang-eup. Its highest ever population was 125,995, which was much higher than present day Changwon-si.

Notable people from Geochang County

* Shin Yong-Mok (

Hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The ...

: 신용목), South Korean poet *

Choi Ri Choi Ri (born June 29, 1995) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her role in the historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the inventi ...

(

: 최리), South Korean actress *

Shin Mi-hwa Shin Mi-Hwa (born in Geochang County) is a South Korean bobsledder.FIBT Profile
...

(

: 신미화), South Korean bobsledder * Kim Tae-ho (

: 김태호), South Korean politician *

Shin Dalja Shin Dalja (born 1943) is a South Korean poet. Life Shin Dalja was born in 1943 in Geochang, Gyeongnam. She was born as the fifth daughter among one son and six daughters. Her adolescence was relatively stable under her businessman father, but ...

(

: 신달자), South Korean poet * V (Real Name: ''Kim Tae-hyung'',

: 김태형), singer-songwriter, member of

K-pop K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, g ...

boygroup BTS (Originally from

Seo-gu Seo-gu (), or "Western District (disambiguation), Western District," is the name of a ''gu'' in several South Korean cities: * Seo-gu, Busan * Seo-gu, Daegu * Seo-gu, Daejeon * Seo-gu, Gwangju * Seo-gu, Incheon {{set index Lists of places sharing ...

Daegu, South Korea Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

)

References

External links

County government website
{{coord, 35, 41, N, 127, 54, E, type:city, display=title Counties of South Gyeongsang Province