South Jeolla Province


South Jeolla Province, also known as Jeonnam, is a province of South Korea. South Jeolla has a population of 1,902,324 and has a geographic area of 12,247 km2 located in the Honam region at the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula. South Jeolla borders the provinces of North Jeolla to the north, South Gyeongsang to the northeast, and Jeju to the southwest in the Korea Strait.
Muan County is the capital and Yeosu is the largest city of South Jeolla, with other major cities including Suncheon, Mokpo, and Gwangyang. Gwangju was the largest city of South Jeolla until becoming a Metropolitan City in 1986, and was the historic capital until the provincial government was relocated to the Muan County town of Namak in 2005.
South Jeolla was established in 1896 from the province of Jeolla, one of the Eight Provinces of Korea, consisting of the southern half of its mainland territory and most outlying islands.

Geography

The province is part of the Honam region, and is bounded on the west by the Yellow Sea, on the north by Jeollabuk-do Province, on the south by Jeju Strait, and on the east by Gyeongsangnam-do.
There are almost 2,000 islands along the coastline, about three quarters of which are uninhabited. The coastline is about long. Some of the marine products, in particular oyster and seaweed cultivation, are leading in South Korea.
The province is only partially mountainous. The plains along the rivers Seomjin, Yeongsan and Tamjin create a large granary. There is abundant rainfall in the area, which helps agriculture. The province is also home to the warmest weather on the peninsula. This helps to produce large amounts of agricultural produce, mainly rice, wheat, barley, pulses and potatoes. Vegetables, cotton and fruits are also grown in the province.
A small amount of gold and coal is mined in the province, but industries have also been developed in the area.

Administrative divisions

Jeollanam-do is divided into 5 cities and 17 counties. Listed below is the name of each entity in English, hangul, and hanja.
Map#NameHangulHanjaPopulation Subdivisions
------
City-----
1Yeosu290,7741 eup, 6 myeon, 20 haengjeong-dong
2Mokpo목포시木浦市238,36823 haengjeong-dong
3Suncheon순천시順天市279,4351 eup, 10 myeon, 13 haengjeong-dong
4Gwangyang광양시光陽市152,1311 eup, 6 myeon, 5 haengjeong-dong
5Naju나주시羅州市100,3121 eup, 12 myeon, 7 haengjeong-dong
County-----
6Muan County무안군務安郡71,2943 eup, 6 myeon
7Haenam County해남군海南郡81,3211 eup, 13 myeon
8Goheung County고흥군高興郡76,1182 eup, 14 myeon
9Hwasun County화순군和順郡70,7571 eup, 12 myeon
10Yeongam County영암군靈巖郡64,5962 eup, 9 myeon
11Yeonggwang County영광군靈光郡58,0263 eup, 8 myeon
12Wando County완도군莞島郡54 8673 eup, 9 myeon
13Damyang County담양군潭陽郡48,3291 eup, 11 myeon
14Boseong County보성군寶城郡49,9402 eup, 10 myeon
15Jangseong County장성군長城郡47,2311 eup, 10 myeon
16Jangheung County장흥군長興郡42,6433 eup, 7 myeon
17Gangjin County강진군康津郡41,1601 eup, 10 myeon
18Sinan County신안군新安郡46,0072 eup, 12 myeon
19Hampyeong County함평군咸平郡37,5281 eup, 8 myeon
20Jindo County진도군珍島郡34,4861 eup, 6 myeon
21Gokseong County곡성군谷城郡32,8961 eup, 10 myeon
22Gurye County구례군求禮郡27,7651 eup, 7 myeon

Sister cities and provinces

According to the census of 2005, of the people of South Jeolla 30.5% follow Christianity and 16.1% follow Buddhism. 53.4% of the population is mostly not religious or follow Muism and other indigenous religions.

Education

National Universities with Graduate Schools