Jeongseon (''Jeongseon-gun'') is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the province of Gangwon-do,

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 is famous as the hometown of "Jeongseon

Arirang ''Arirang'' ( ) is a Korean folk song. There are about 3,600 variations of 60 different versions of the song, all of which include a refrain similar to "arirang, arirang, arariyo" (""). It is estimated that the song is more than 600 years old ...

," a traditional Korean folksong. It is also the hometown of actor

Won Bin Kim Do-jin (; born November 10, 1977), professionally known as Won Bin (), is a South Korean actor. He first gained wide popularity in 2000 after starring in the television series '' Autumn in My Heart''. One of the most selective actors in the ...

and footballer Seol Ki-hyeon.

History

It was ruled by the

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

Dynasty during the

Three Kingdoms 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 Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

period, called Ingpyae-hyeon (잉패현). After the

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 ...

Dynasty unified the

Korean peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

, it was renamed Jeongseon-hyeon in 757. After 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 ...

Dynasty was founded, it was promoted from a ''

hyeon Korea has had administrative districts that can be considered provinces since the 7th century. These divisions were initially called ''ju'' () in Unified Silla and Later Baekje, and there were nine in total. After Goryeo conquered these states in t ...

'' to a

(''gun'') in 1012 or 1018. After 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 ...

Dynasty was founded and the territory was divided into 8 Provinces, the region was involved in the province of Gangwon. After the territory was divided into 23 districts in 1895 with the 8-provincial system abolished, it was included in the district of Chugju. When a 13-provincial system was enacted in 1896, it returned to Gangwon Province.

Administrative divisions

Towns (eup)

Gohan-eup Gohan-eup () is a town in Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, South Korea, and the county seat of the county of Jeongseon. The town has a surface area of 52.32 km2 (20.2 mi2) and a population of 9,940. It is located in the far southeas ...

* Jeongseon-eup * Sabuk-eup * Sindong-eup

Townships (myeon)

* Yeoryang-myeon * Bukpyeong-myeon * Hwaam-myeon * Imgye-myeon * Nam-myeon

Geography

A lot of

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

and

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

is buried in the strata formed during the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic ( , , ; or Palaeozoic) Era is the first of three Era (geology), geological eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. Beginning 538.8 million years ago (Ma), it succeeds the Neoproterozoic (the last era of the Proterozoic Eon) and ends 251.9 Ma a ...

Era in this region. A

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

zone formed from the dissolution of the limestone is located, and many of

solutional cave A solutional cave, solution cave, or karst cave is a cave usually formed in a soluble rock like limestone (Calcium carbonate, with chemical formula ''CaCO3''). It is the most frequently occurring type of cave. It can also form in other rocks, incl ...

s are found. Natural monuments shaped from the limestone are as follows. * Baekbongryeong

zone: Karst zone in baekbongryeong zone is known to be academically useful because karst is located in small area. It was designated Natural Monuments of South Korea number 440 on April 9, 2004. * Jeongseon coral cave: few stony corals are growing in the cave, and there is big coral which is not found elsewhere. Designated as natural monuments number 509 on December 15, 2009.

Climate

Culture and tourism

Cultural heritages

There are one

treasure Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

, 6

natural monuments Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...

, 1 important folklore cultural heritage in Jeongseon. Province designated 3 tangible cultural heritages, 1 intangible cultural heritage, 5 monuments, 2 folklore heritages.

Temple

* Jeongamsa Temple : Founded by

Jajang Jajang (590–658) was a monk born Kim Seonjong, into the royal Kim family, in the kingdom of Silla. He is credited with founding the temple of Tongdosa in 646 CE, near in what is now Busan, South Korea, and played a significant role in th ...

, also known as "Galaesa". As Sumano Pagoda stores

buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

Śarīra Śarīra is a generic term referring to Buddhist relics, although in common usage it usually refers to pearl or crystal-like bead-shaped objects that are found among the cremated ashes of Buddhist spiritual masters. Relics of the Buddha afte ...

, there is no

Buddharupa Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as () in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in an image may be someone else who has obtained ...

. * Sumano Pagoda in Jeongamsa Temple: Pagoda in Jeongamsa Temple. Stones are sharpen like a brick. Designated as Treasure number 410. It is assumed that it was constructed during the

Dynasty, considering other heritages found in the Jeongam temple. Records indicate it was repaired in 1653.

Natural Heritages

Brachymystax lenok ''Brachymystax lenok'', the sharp-snouted lenok,Kartavtseva, I.V.; Ginatulina, L.K.; Nemkova, G.A.; and Shedko, S.V. (2013). ''Chromosomal study of the lenoks, Brachymystax (Salmoniformes, Salmonidae) from the South of the Russian Far East.'' Jou ...

habitat: Korean Peninsula is in the southern limit of Brachymystax lenok habitat, thus academic importance is recognized and habitat is registered as natural monuments of South Korea on December 7, 1962. * Banronsan Rhododendron schlippenbachii and

Chwinamul ''Doellingeria scabra'' is a perennial herb of the family Asteraceae from Eurasia. It is frequently found in wild mountain regions of Korea, eastern Russia, China, and Japan. Distribution ''Doellingeria scabra'' is native to Eurasia. It is act ...

habitat: Banronsan's rhododendron schlippenbachii is the biggest in South Korea's known rhododendron schlippenbachii, and Chwinamul is protected because it is locally grown. It was designated Natural Monuments of South Korea number 348 on April 17, 1986. * Duwibong

Taxus cuspidata ''Taxus cuspidata'', the Japanese yew or spreading yew, is a member of the genus ''Taxus'', native to Japan, Korea, northeast China and the extreme southeast of Russia. Names In Japan, the tree is known as ''ichi'i'' (一位), meaning "first ...

habitat: Taxus cuspidata in Duwibong is protected because it is considered oldest in South Korea. Designated natural monuments of South Korea on June 29, 2004 as number 433.

Tourism

Arirang Museum, run by the county government, was opened in 2016 to promote

, collecting and displaying around 600 exhibits. Jeongseon Arirang Festival is held annually in October, to preserve Jeongseon Arirang and promote them. In addition to Jeongseon Arirang show, Arirang from other region is also performed. High 1 Resort, a ski resort, is located in Gohan-eup, the resort at 1,345 meters is at the highest altitude of the Korean ski resorts.

Kangwon Land Kangwon Land () is a South Korean casino and resort company based in Gangwon Province, South Korea, Gangwon Province, South Korea. The company develops abandoned mines, and builds gaming and entertainment facilities. Kangwon Land operates a n ...

, located in Jeongseon, is the only domestic casino that is open to South Korean citizens.

Sports

2018 Winter Olympic Games

The

Alpine Skiing Alpine skiing, or downhill skiing, is the pastime of sliding down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed-heel Ski binding, bindings, unlike other types of skiing (Cross-country skiing, cross-country, Telemark skiing, Telemark, or ski jumping) ...

venue was located at the

Jeongseon Alpine Centre Jeongseon Alpine Centre () was an alpine skiing area in South Korea. It was located on the slopes of the mountain of Gariwangsan, in Bukpyeong-myeon in the county of Jeongseon. Overview Jeongseon was a venue for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympic ...

in Jungbong, Bukpyeong-myeon, Jeongseon during the

2018 Winter Olympics The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

Transportation

Taebaek line Taebaek Line is a single-track electrified railway mainline connecting Jecheon station to Baeksan station in South Korea. At its two ends, the Taebaek Line connects to the Jungang Line and Yeongdong Line. The line was originally two spur lines, w ...

and Jeongseon line pass through Jeongseon county. A-train departing from

Cheongnyangni Cheongnyangni-dong () is a '' dong'' (neighborhood) of Dongdaemun District, Seoul, South Korea. At this dong, there are many convenient buildings like many kinds of financial companies and banks, a branch of Lotte Department Store, and Cheongny ...

operates to Auraji. There is no highway in Jeongseon County, but

Yeongdong Expressway The Yeongdong Expressway () is an expressway in South Korea. Numbered 50, it connects the Seoul area with Gangwon Province. It is named from Yeongdong, an old name for Gangwon. The road has its western end in Namdong-gu of Incheon Metro ...

is accessible through

Pyeongchang County Pyeongchang ( , ; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ) is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, county in the province of Gangwon Province, South Korea, Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddh ...

, and national highway number 6, 31, 35, 42, 49 passes through the County.

References

External links

*
Jeongseon County government home page
{{Authority control Counties of Gangwon Province, South Korea