Hamchang is an ''eup'' in

Sangju Sangju (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Although Sangju is rather rural, it is very old and was once a key city. Along with Gyeongju, it gives rise to half of the name of the Gye ...

City,

North Gyeongsang North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...

province,

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 comprises 30 distinct ''ri'' (the smallest South Korean administrative division), and has a population of 8,427 (from 2003 registration figures). There are two elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. Hamchang was once the capital of a small kingdom, Goryeong Gaya. Although its role today is far less central, it remains an important local town, served by intercity buses as well as the Gyeongbuk Line railroad.

Geography

Hamchang is located about 19 kilometers north of the Sangju city center, and borders

Jeomchon Jeomchon is the urbanized center of Mungyeong city, in Gyeongsangbuk-do province, 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 a ...

Mungyeong Mungyeong (; ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The local government, economy, and transportation networks are all centered in Jeomchon, the principal town. Mungyeong has a lengthy his ...

City directly on the north. Within Sangju, it adjoins the local districts of Ian-myeon, Gonggeom-myeon, and Sabeol-myeon. It covers a total area of 43.37 km². Of this 16.87 km² are vacant. The vacant land is mostly mountainous, but contains no high peaks; Obong Mountain itself stands a mere 192 meters high. Hamchang's eastern border is formed by the Yeong River, which flows between Mungyeong's Yeongsun-myeon and Hamchang-eup. The Iancheon stream runs from west to east across southern Hamchang and into the Yeong, which shortly thereafter meets the Nakdong.

History

In the early

Three Kingdoms period The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the ...

, the small kingdom of Goryeong Gaya is traditionally supposed to have been based in Hamchang, making it by far the northernmost state of the

Gaya confederacy Gaya (; ) was a Korean confederacy of territorial polities in the Nakdong River basin of southern Korea, growing out of the Byeonhan confederacy of the Samhan period. The traditional period used by historians for Gaya chronology is AD 42– ...

. The reputed tomb of Goryeong's founder, who is also the progenitor of the Hamchang Kim lineage, is located near the town center. On Obong Mountain, other tombs dating to the Three Kingdoms period have been excavated. These are sometimes associated with Sabeol-guk, a minor state which appears in early Silla records . What relation may have existed between Sabeol-guk and Goryeong Gaya, or whether they were in fact the same kingdom, is not known. By the early 6th century, the Hamchang area was securely under

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 ...

control. It was subsequently administered as part of the ''ju'' of Sangju. At this time, Hamchang was known by various names which appear to suggest a connection with Goryeong Gaya, such as Goreung (고릉, 古陵), Gonyeong (고녕, 古寧), and Godongnam-gun (고동람군, 古冬欖郡). In 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 ...

period, in 964, the area became known as Hamnyeong-gun (함녕군, 咸寧郡). The name changed to the present "Hamchang" in 1018. In 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, the Hamchang area was designated as Hamchang-hyeon in 1490 and Hamchang-gun (Hamchang County) in 1895. In 1914, it became known as Hamchang-myeon and was included in Sangju County. It received its present designation as Hamchang-eup by presidential decree on December 1, 1980.

External links

Official eup website, in Korean
{{coord missing, South Korea Sangju Towns and townships in North Gyeongsang Province