Ongjin County, Incheon

Ongjin County is a county in Incheon Metropolitan City, South Korea. It consists of a group of islands in the Yellow Sea (West Sea).

This article is about a county in South Korea. For the county in North Korea, see Ongjin County, South Hwanghae.
Ongjin

옹진군
County
Korean transcription(s)
 • Hanja甕津郡
 • Revised RomanizationOngjin-gun
 • McCune-ReischauerOngjin-kun
Janggyeong Beach on Yeongheung Island
Divisions of Ongjin are numbered
CountrySouth Korea
RegionSudogwon
Provincial levelIncheon
Administrative divisions7 myeon
Area
 • Total172.48 km2 (66.59 sq mi)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total20,456
 • Density120/km2 (310/sq mi)
 • Dialect
Seoul
WebsiteOngjin County Office
Islanders of the Sir James Hall Group, engraving c. 1817

Four of the islands, Yeonpyeong Island, Baengnyeong, Daecheong, and Socheong Islands, are very near the Northern Limit Line. They are close to the Ongjin Peninsula of South Hwanghae Province in North Korea, at a considerable distance from the nearest part of the South Korean mainland. These islands are popular destinations for tourism. In historical contexts these three islands and their smaller neighbors are sometimes known as the Sir James Hall Group after Sir James Hall, whose son Basil Hall was an early Western visitor to Korea.[1]

History

Once a part of the Lolang district of the Han Empire before the 4th century, this area was known as Ongcheon during the Three Kingdoms period. It was bestowed with the name in use today - Ongjin - during the reign of King Taejo of Goryeo, the founder of the Goryeo Dynasty. Then in 1018, during the 9th year of King Hyeonjong's reign over Goryeo, the county was established as one of the major administrative divisions in the heartland of the kingdom.[2]

Administration
Administrative divisions

The Ongjin County seat is located outside of the county itself, in Nam-gu, Incheon. There is also an Ongjin County in South Hwanghae Province, North Korea. This chain of islands was originally a part of South Hwanghae province before the Partition of Korea in 1948.

Administrative divisions

Ongjin County is divided into seven townships ("myeon").

  • Bukdo-myeon (북도면), which includes Sindo, Sido, and Modo
  • Yeonpyeong-myeon (연평면), on Yeonpyeong Island
  • Baengnyeong-myeon (백령면), on Baengnyeong Island
  • Daecheong-myeon (대청면), on Daecheong Island and Socheong Island
  • Deokjeok-myeon (덕적면), which includes Deokjeokdo
  • Jawol-myeon (자월면)
  • Yeongheung-myeon (영흥면)

Tourism

It is difficult to reach Ongjin County because of its proximity to North Korea and its distance from South Korean areas.

The coast and islands feature many gravel beaches, some of which (such as Guridong beach and Gulubdo beach) feature fantastic eroded stone outcroppings. There are also large mudflats, which are a popular tourist destination.

See also

References
  1. "History of United States Naval Operations, Korea". United States Department of the Navy, Naval Historical Center. Retrieved 2006-11-03.
  2. Official page of Ongjin County(eng)

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