Geoje

Geoje is Korean for "great rescue", from the syllables "geo" (Korean: 거; Hanja: 巨) meaning great, and "je" (Korean: 제; Hanja: 濟) meaning rescue.

Geoje has a history stretching back thousands of years. Various artifacts dating back to the Neolithic era have been found at archaeological digs on Naedo, Sandaldo, and Isudo. While no written history can be found from this era, the digs show evidence of numerous small establishments along the coasts. The first written mention of Geoje appears as, Geoje being one of two main divisions of the Dokro kingdom, a member of the Byeonhan confederacy (circa 0-300 AD). The Byeonhan confederacy slowly gave way to the Gaya confederacy(42-562 AD). The Gaya eventually submitted to the Kingdom of Silla.

In 757, Gyeongdeok of Silla classified the island as "Geoje-gun" "거제군" (Geoje county). Modern Geoje is classified as a "si" (시) (city). In 1170, Uijong of Goryeo secretly escaped to Geoje when Jeong Jung-bu raised a rebellion against him, instating his brother, Myeongjong as king. Geoje served as a strategic location in preparation of the naval forces for the Gihae Eastern Expedition (기해동정) of Tsushima Island in 1419 by the Korean general Yi Jong Mu. At the time of the Seven-Year War in 1592, admiral Yi Sun-sin gained a great naval victory against Japanese invaders near the town of Okpo in Geoje. Since then. Yi was referred to by his noble title, "Chung Mu Gong," which roughly translates into English as "Earner of Great National Respect."

In the Korean War (1950–53), the military government of General Douglas MacArthur used the island as a place for the settlement for 170,000 POWs, and a Prisoner of war camp measuring at 11.8 square kilometres (4.6 sq mi) was established during these years. The prison was rife with human rights abuses, including summary execution and the widespread use of torture against prisoners by Canadian and American troops. British journalist Alan Winnington and Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett conducted extensive research to document these human rights abuses, and jointly published their findings in 1952.[1] After the war, a portion (23,000 m²) was converted into a tourist attraction.[2]

More recent and more thorough historical analysis, based largely on the accounts of people who were actually there, paints a much more complex picture of the violence in the camps by the ruling rioters, and the difficulties faced when the UN tried to regain control of the camp.

The Geneva Convention of 1949 failed to foresee to the development of hardcore, organized prisoner groups on Geoje-do in 1951-52 or to provide protection for the captor nation in dealing with stubborn resistance, mainly as a result of the harsh treatment that the prisoners received from the military government.

During the last few decades Geoje has emerged as leader in the shipbuilding industries. Due to the continued industry, Geoje largely escaped the negative impacts of the Asian market crash of 1997.

Some notable people from Geoje include:

• Former President Kim Young-sam
• Poet Yu Chi-hwan, better known by his pen-name Cheongma.
• Former President Moon Jae-in

According to the whitebook published by Geoje City in May 2014, Geoje had a population of 243,736, 12,240 of which are foreigners (non-Koreans). A significant portion of the population depends on shipbuilding to support their livelihood, and this can be evidenced by the fact that nearly 33% of workers are employed in the shipbuilding industry.

Geoje offers a variety of attractions, including Haegeumgang island, Oedo, a marine western-style botanical garden in Hallyeo-Haesang National Park, built by Lee Chang-ho and his wife when they settled on the island in 1969. Visitors visit by ferry boat from the harbor neighboring the islands.

Tourists also visit Jisim-do for trekking. Jisim is known for its Camellia vegetation. However, the Maemi typhoon in 2003 severely affected the island's plant life. Another popular tourist attraction at Haegeumgang-do (located southeast of Geoje) is the Sipja Donggul Cave. Buddhist and Shamanist sculptures can be found in the cave.

Geoje is the second largest island in Korea, so discovering these locations is most easily done using a tourist map.

Geoje Tourist Map

Gohyeon Castle

Geoje Gohyeon Castle

Gohyeon Castle is named the 46th national treasure of South Gyeongsang Province. Gohyeon Castle (고현성) and is located in Gohyeondong, Geoje city. It was established during the Joseon dynasty in 1451.

In the famous Joseon era geography book, Donggukyeojiseungram (동국여지승람), it was recorded that the Gohyeon castle had a circumference of 3,038 Cheok (척) (equivalent to about 9.2 km or 5.7 mi), and had a height of 13 Cheok (3.93 m (12.9 ft)). It was considered the largest castle in the South Sea.[4]

Geoje Township Government Office

Geoje Government Office

The Geoje Township Government Office is regarded as Korea's 84th cultural treasure. During the time of the Japanese invasions, the office was established in 1470 to administer all military and shipbuilding plans.

Oksangeum Fortress Area

Oksangeum Fortress

The Oksangeum Fortress Area (옥산금성지) was an unsanctioned fortress built on the Sujeong peak to defend against Japanese invasion. Due to the strain it placed on the people during the building, the magistrate responsible was dismissed. Oksangeum Fortress is regarded as the South Gyeongsang Province's 10th cultural treasure.

Pyewang Fortress

Pyewangseong in Dundeok is the oldest fortress in Geoje.

Pyewang Fortress (폐왕성) is the oldest surviving fortress in Geoje. First built during the Silla Dynasty, Pyewang fortress later served the fortress refuge for the King Uijong the 18th king of the Goryeo dynasty, while escaping from a military coup. Pyewang fortress is located in Dundeok-myeon. Pyewang fortress is regarded as the South Gyeongsang Province's 11th cultural treasure, and National Historical Site no. 509.

Museums

Geoje Themepark Museum

Hill of Wind

Hill of Wind overlooking South Sea

The Hill of Wind (바람의 언덕) is located in Galgot village, Nambumyeon (거제시 남부면 갈곶리). It overlooks South Sea and there is a strong wind. A windmill is set on top of hill. It became famous after 2 Days & 1 Night, where one of the most popular Korea TV shows was filmed.[7]

Haegeumgang

Haegeumgang (해금강)

Haegeumgang (해금강) is named for resemblance of the famous Haegeum mountain in North Korea. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in all of Geoje.[8]

Oedo and Naedo

Oedo Island (외도)

Oedo (외도)[9] and Naedo (내도)[10] are two islands located in the southeast of Geoje island and of the two, Oedo hosts the second most visited attraction in all of Geoje, the expansive botanical gardens of Botania.

Shipbuilding

Shipbuilding in Gohyeon 고현의 삼성조선소

There are various shipbuilding docks which provide tours from the Daewoo and Samsung corporation located in both Gohyeon and Okpo.[14]

Yugyo Fishing port

According to a 2014 study, Geoje's Korean population was 243,736, and the foreign national population was 12,240.[16] Although Gohyeon-dong is the fifth smallest of the dongs, it is the largest in population at 40,400. The cumulative area of Geoje is 402.3 km², with Dongbu-myeon (동부면) being the widest, and Majeon-dong (마전동) being the narrowest.

In 2008 Shinhyeon-eup (신현읍) was abolished, and in its place a new town was installed. It now divided into the separate dongs of Gohyeon-dong, Jangpyeong-dong, Sangmundong-dong, and Suyang-dong

The industrial area of Geoje has the highest man to women worker ratio in South Gyeongsang.

Myeon·Dong	Hangeul	Hanja	Area(km2)	Population[17]	Map
Geoje-myeon	거제면	巨濟面	37.30	7,114	Map of Geoje in Korean
Nambu-myeon	남부면	南部面	31.87	1,945
Dongbu-myeon	동부면	東部面	52.50	3,682
Dundeok-myeon	둔덕면	屯德面	33.78	3,693
Sadeung-myeon	사등면	沙等面	34.69	9,578
Yeoncho-myeon	연초면	延草面	40.14	10,038
Ilun-myeon	일운면	一運面	30.50	7,468
Jangmok-myeon	장목면	長木面	36.89	5,410
Hacheong-myeon	하청면	河淸面	29.10	5,148
Gohyeon-dong (Geoje city proper)	고현동	古縣洞	5.14	40,400
Sangmun-dong (Geoje city proper)	상문동	上門洞	20.97	21,783
Suyang-dong (Geoje city proper)	수양동	水良洞	11.15	14,433
Jangpyeong-dong (Geoje City proper)	장평동	長坪洞	6.98	29,867
Neungpo-dong	능포동	菱浦洞	3.21	12,816
Aju-dong	아주동	鵝州洞	12.45	13,557
Okpo 1-dong	옥포1동	玉浦1洞	2.26	10,560
Okpo 2-dong	옥포2동	玉浦2洞	8.61	30,250
Jangseungpo-dong	장승포동	長承浦洞	2.15	4,409
Majeon-dong (Jangseungpo southside)	마전동	麻田洞	1.92	5,673

Geoje city covers an area of 401.63 square kilometres (155.07 sq mi), encompassing Geoje-do (383.44 square kilometres (148.05 sq mi)) and 60 other small islets, of which 10 are inhabited.[18] The main island is joined to land by two bridges from nearby Tongyeong. It is also connected via a series of bridges and underwater tunnels to Gadeok (가덕), then Busan (부산), named the Geoga Great Bridge(거가대교). A proposal has been made to connect Geoje to Masan(마산) by another set of bridges and tunnels named Yi Sun-sin Great Bridge (이순신대교).

Due to Geoje's coastal sub-tropical location, the area grows and harvests several different crops, some of which are uncommon in most of Korea. Some of these crops include yuja, pineapples, and mushrooms.

Being an island also provides an abundance of seafood that is collected locally.

• Geoje (거제도; 巨濟島)
• Oedo
• Galgotdo (Haegeumgang)
• Chilcheondo
• Jisimdo
• Gajodo
• Haegando
• Sandaldo
• Hawdo

There is an international school, International School of Koje (거제국제외국인학교).

• Longjing, Jilin, China
• Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China
• Qidong, Jiangsu, China
• Guam, United States
• Yame, Fukuoka, Japan

• List of cities in South Korea
• Geography of South Korea
• Geoje POW camp

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Geoje.

• Geoje travel guide from Wikivoyage
• City government website
• - Tourism website for Expats
• Percetakan Murah

34°51′N 128°35′E