Jeju Island Explained

Jeju Island
Native Name Lang:ko
Sobriquet:Sammudo, Samdado ("Island of Three Lacks and Three Abundances")
Image Alt:Image of Jeju Island
Image Map Caption:Map of Jeju Island
Pushpin Map:South Korea
Pushpin Relief:1
Location:East Asia
Coordinates:33.38°N 126.53°W
Archipelago:Jeju
Length Km:73
Width Km:31
Area Km2:1826[1]
Highest Mount:Hallasan
Elevation M:1,950
Country:South Korea
Country Admin Divisions Title:Special Self-Governing Province
Country Admin Divisions:Jeju Special Self-Governing Province
Country1:North Korea (claimed)
Country1 Admin Divisions Title:Province
Country1 Admin Divisions:South Chŏlla Province
Country1 Admin Divisions Title 1:County-level division
Country1 Admin Divisions 1:Cheju Island (further divided into 1 ŭp and 12 myŏn)
Country Largest City:Jeju City
Country Largest City Population:501,791
Population:678,324
Population As Of:October 2022
Density Km2:316
Ethnic Groups:Jejuans, Korean
Languages:Jeju, Korean
Module:
Hangul:제주도
Hanja:濟州島
Rr:Jejudo
Mr:Chejudo
Child:yes

Jeju Island (Jeju/; pronounced as /ko/) is South Korea's largest island, covering an area of, which is 1.83% of the total area of the country. Alongside outlying islands, it is part of Jeju Province and makes up the majority of the Province.

The island lies in the Korea Strait, south of the Korean Peninsula, and South Jeolla Province. It is located off the nearest point on the peninsula.[2] Jeju is one of two special self-governing provinces in South Korea, meaning that the province is run by local politicians. The Jeju people are indigenous to the island, and it has been populated by modern humans since the early Neolithic period. The Jeju language is considered critically endangered by UNESCO. It is also one of the regions of Korea where Shamanism is most intact.[3]

Jeju Island has an oval shape of east–west and north–south, with a gentle slope around Hallasan Mountain in the center. The length of the main road is and the coastline is . On the northern end of Jeju Island is Gimnyeong Beach, on the southern end Songak Mountain, the western end Suwol Peak, and the eastern end Seongsan Ilchulbong.

The island was formed by the eruption of an underwater volcano approximately 2 million years ago.[4] It contains a natural World Heritage Site, the Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes.[5] Jeju Island has a temperate climate which is moderate; even in winter, the temperature rarely falls below 0C. Jeju is a popular holiday destination and a sizable portion of the economy relies on tourism and related economic activity.

Historical names

Historically, the island has been called by many different names including:

Before the Japanese annexation in 1910, the island was usually known as Quelpart (Quelpaërt, Quelpaert) to Europeans;[12] during the occupation it was known by the Japanese name Saishū. The name Quelpart coming from French language is attested in Dutch no later than 1648 and may have denoted the first Dutch ship to spot the island, the quelpaert de Brack around 1642, or rather some visual similarity of the island from some angle to this class of ships (a small dispatch vessel, also called a galiot).

The first European explorers to sight the island, the Portuguese, called it Ilha de Ladrones (Island of Thieves).[13]

The name "Fungma island" appeared in the "Atlas of China" of M. Martini who arrived in China as a missionary in 1655.[14]

History

Jeju Island has been inhabited by modern humans since the early Neolithic period. There is no discovered historical record of the founding or early history of Tamna. One legend tells that the three divine founders of the country—Go (Korean: ), Yang (Korean: ), and Bu (Korean: )—emerged from three holes in the ground in the 24th century BC. These holes, known as the Samseonghyeol (Korean: 삼성혈), are still preserved in Jeju City.[15] [16] Until 938 AD, the island was an independent kingdom called Tamna (which means 'island country') when it became a vassal state of Korea under the Goryeo dynasty. In April 1330, in the midst of political purges of the Yuan dynasty, Toghon tomor had been sent in Exile on this remote island, which was then part of the vassal Korean Goguryeo.[17] In 1404, Taejong of Joseon placed the island under firm central control and brought the Tamna kingdom to an end.

In April 1948, it was the site of the Jeju uprising.

Landscape

Jeju is a volcanic island, dominated by Hallasan: a volcano 1950m (6,400feet) high and the highest mountain in South Korea. The island measures approximately 73km (45miles) across, east to west, and 41km (25miles) from north to south.[18] The island also has around 360 oreum: small extinct volcanoes or parasitic cones. Many of these are now popular tourist attractions, such as Geomunoreum, Yongnuni Oreum, and Geum Oreum.[19]

The island formed by volcanic eruptions approximately two million years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch. The island consists chiefly of basalt and lava.

An area covering about 12% (224km2) of Jeju Island is called gotjawal, a local term for forests.[20] This area remained uncultivated until the 21st century, as its base of 'a'a lava made it difficult to develop for agriculture. Because this forest remained pristine for so long, it has a unique ecology.[21]

The forest is the main source of groundwater and thus the main water source for the half million people of the island, because rainwater penetrates directly into the aquifer through the cracks of the 'a'a lava under the forest. Gotjawal forest is considered an internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention by some researchers[22] because it is the habitat of unique species of plants and is the main source of water for the residents, although to date it has not been declared a Ramsar site.[23]

Formation

Climate

Most of Jeju Island has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa in the Köppen climate classification). Four distinct seasons are experienced in Jeju: winters are cool with moderate rainfall, while summers are hot and humid with very high rainfall.

Jeju City, the northern part of the island, tends to be colder in winter than the southern part due to the influence of continental seasonal winds. Gosan-ri, located on the west side of the island, has the lowest annual average precipitation on the island. However, unlike most parts of mainland Korea, the seasonal precipitation in Gosan-ri is evenly distributed. The Chuja Islands, which belong to Jeju City, are an archipelago located between mainland Korea and Jeju Island and also have a humid subtropical climate (Cfa).

Seogwipo, the southern part of the island, is relatively warmer in winter than Jeju City because Hallasan in the middle of the island blocks continental seasonal winds. Downtown Seogwipo has the highest average temperature in January in Korea, even compared to mainland Korea. Seongsan-eup, on the southeastern side of the island, is directly affected by both the East Asian monsoon and the Tsushima Current, so annual precipitation is very high. Seogwipo is one of the regions with the highest annual precipitation in Korea.

The climate of the highlands in the middle of the island where Hallasan is located is quite different from that of the rest of the island. As the altitude increases, the average temperature decreases and the climate becomes colder. The highlands of Jeju Island have the highest annual precipitation in Korea.

In January 2016, a cold wave affected Jeju Island. Snow and frigid weather forced the cancellation of 1,200 flights on Jeju Island, stranding approximately 90,300 passengers.[25]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Joshua Calder's World Island Info - Largest Islands of Selected Countries . Worldislandinfo.com . 2016-01-30.
  2. Landsat/Copernicus. Data SIO. NOAA. United States Navy. NGA. GEBCO. TMap Mobility. TerraMetrics . 2022. 15 May 2022. Korea Strait . Google Earth. Alphabet.
  3. Book: Choi, Joon-sik . Folk-Religion: The Customs in Korea. Ewha Womans University Press . Ewha Womans University Press . 2006 . 978-8973006281.
  4. News: Jeju Island. February 2011. Business Traveller.
  5. News: Unesco names World Heritage sites . . June 28, 2007 . May 6, 2010.
  6. The Island of Quelpart. Bulletin of the American Geographical Society. 37. 7. 396–408. 198722. Hulbert. H. B. 10.2307/198722. 1905.
  7. Web site: Photographic image of map . JPG . 26 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170406160926if_/http://www.drben.net/publishImages/Koreas_Report~Sources~Korea_Maps~Historic~1945~Map-Japan-Korea-1945-01~~element1972.jpg . 6 April 2017 . dead.
  8. Quelpart Island and Its People. Geographical Review. 16. 1. 60–72. 208503. Hall. R. Burnett. 10.2307/208503. 1926. 1926GeoRv..16...60H .
  9. Web site: The Queen of Quelparte. Hulbert. Archer Butler. 1902.
  10. The Name of Quelpaert Island. Isis. 38. 3/4. 231–235. 10.1086/348077. 1948. Sokol. A. E. 144230819.
  11. Web site: Jeju Island Facts. Softschools.com.
  12. Web site: The Island of Quelpart. Fs.unm.edu.
  13. Sokol . A. E. . February 1948 . The Name Of Quelpaert Island . Isis. 38 . 3/4 . 231–235 . 10.1086/348077 . 144230819 . July 8, 2021.
  14. Web site: The memory and traces of marine exchange:Jeju Island in eastern and western antique maps. eastsea1994.org. 2021-01-03. 2021-08-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20210831171058/http://eastsea1994.org/data/bbsData/14911233821.pdf. dead.
  15. Web site: Jeju (Cheju) Island Travel Information: Samseonghyeol . 30 July 2014.
  16. Book: Sources of Korean tradition. 2: From the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries / ed by Yong-ho Ch'oe ... with the collaboration of Donald Baker ... and contributions by Martina Deuchler . 2001 . Columbia University Press . 978-0-231-10566-8 . New York Chichester.
  17. Kyung Moon Hwang A History of Korea, London: Palgrave, 2010 p. 56.
  18. http://www1.korea-np.co.jp/pk/124th_issue/99121501.htm Map of Korea: Cheju Island
  19. Web site: Geumak (Geum) Oreum Volcanic Cone . 2024-07-13 . www.visitjeju.net . en.
  20. Web site: RISS 통합검색 - 국내학술지논문 상세보기. Riss4u.net.
  21. Web site: RISS 통합검색 - 학위논문 상세보기. Riss4u.net.
  22. Jang, Yong-chang and Chanwon Lee, 2009, "Gotjawal Forest as an internationally important wetland," Journal of Korean Wetlands Studies, 2009, Vol 1.
  23. Web site: Ramsar site list . 2007-06-20 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090114195859/http://www.ramsar.org/sitelist.pdf . January 14, 2009 . Accessed June 2009
  24. Web site: 제주특별자치도 자연환경생태정보시스템 . https://archive.today/20160712043220/http://nature.jeju.go.kr/index.asp?sso=ok . dead . 2016-07-12 . nature.jeju.go.kr . 2016-03-14 .
  25. News: Ap. Tiffany. CNN. January 25, 2016. January 25, 2016. Deaths, travel disruption as bitter cold grips Asia.