Korean Language Blog

Have you ever wondered what there is to see in South Korea? For example, if you’re in the city of Daejeon (대전), what is there to see? Well, to start, Daejeon has the title of being the “Silicon Valley” of South Korea. In Daejeon, you can find the technology centers of major companies like Samsung and LG and technology centered colleges like KAIST. Other landmarks of Daejeon include…

The Daejeon Expo Bridge

and the Hanbit Tower

Gwangju (광주) is the sixth largest city in South Korea. It is known to be the site of an uprising against a dictator. A large bell called the Democracy Bell commemorates those who died in the uprising.

The Democracy Bell

The night life is very much alive in Gwangju

Ulsan (울산) is the seventh largest city in South Korea. It is the industrial center of South Korea and the corporate base of many companies. One of the landmarks of Ulsan is the Iaan Exodium. The Iaan Exodium are two twin towers that serve as residential apartments. They are the tallest skyscrapers in Ulsan and symbolize the city’s rapid industrialization.

Iaan Exodium

Don't forget to visit the beaches of Ulsan!

For today’s post I thought I’d do a geography lesson about Korea (한국) . I think most people know that South Korea and North Korea are two different countries (at least I hope so), but this wasn’t the case before 1945. After WWII ended Korea was divided at the 38^th parallel. The southern part formed into South Korea called namhan (남한), or what is officially called dehanminguk (대한민국). The northern part of Korea formed into North Korea which is called bukhan (북한). If you look further south of South Korea, you’ll see a small island called Jeju (제주). This island is also considered a part of South Korea.

In relation to other countries, Japan (일본) is east of the two Koreas, while China (중국) is to the north of North Korea. As you can see, this makes Korea a very important geopolitical location. When Korea was divided at the 38^th parallel after WWII, the US forces occupied South Korea while the Soviet forces occupied North Korea. When North Korean and Soviet forces tried to take over South Korea, this started the Korean War. The US feared that if South Korea fell to Communism, other East Asian and Pacific nations would follow. Therefore the US forces have remained in South Korea to this day.

If you look at a map of Korea in 1 A.D., Korea was not called ‘Korea’ at the time. The map on the left represents the Three Kingdoms Period of Korea (삼국시대) where Korea was divided into three nations. The three major nations were Silla (신라), Baekje (백제), and Goguryeo (고구려). Before the Goryeo Period, Korea was made up of different kingdoms. Historians generally agree that the Goryeo Period (고려시대) is when Korea was officially united as a nation.

South Korea is divided into provinces (도). There are nine provinces in South Korea. Within those provinces you can find cities (시). There are also a few metropolitan cities called gwangyeokshi (광역시), which operate independently from the provinces. Usually provinces are in charge of the cities, but the gwangyeokshi are an exception. Then there are counties (군), followed by districts (구), which can then be divided into towns (읍), or townships (면) and finally by neighborhoods (동) and even villages (리).

The North Koreans use a similar system of administrative division, but with one exception. The North Koreans have assigned certain regions as ‘special administrative regions’ (지구). For example one of the special administrative regions is the Kumgang Tourist Region (금강산관광지구). Generally speaking the special administrative regions are less impoverished than other areas of North Korea. This is because these special regions are the financial/job/economic centers of North Korea.

If you look at Korean history, there are times in every era when the Korean people had to defend its territory from invaders. One way the Korean people defended its borders was to build a fortress. It’s an impressive feat for a fortress to remain to this day, because many of them have been damaged by foreign attack. Some of these fortresses can still be viewed as historic sites to this day.

The Dongnae Eupseong Fortress (동래 읍성지) is located in Dongnae (동래), which is part of northern Busan (부산). Due to frequent attacks by invaders, a fortress was built to protect the locals. Since it was built (1^st century BC), it has been demolished and rebuilt several times. Even today, some of the original stone, wood and plaster are still intact.

Hwaseong Fortress (화성) is a large fortress that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was constructed for several seasons. Initially King Jeongjo (정조) wanted to honor his executed father and place his remains in the fortress, but it was also built as a wall to shield the people from outside attack. In addition to being a barrier it was an offensive place to shoot arrows and stall the enemy from entering.

Construction is still being done on Samnyeon Sanseong Fortress (삼년산성). This fortress is an archeologically significant piece of work because it dates to the Silla Kingdom. From this fortress, historians have learned what building materials and techniques were used in the Silla Kingdom. There are also numerous graves around the site that are being excavated for their remains.

Geumjeongsanseong Fortress (금정산성) is the largest mountain forest in South Korea. The Geumjeongsanseong Fortress was built in the 1700s to protect the nation from invasions across the sea.  There are several gates and observation towers which are being reconstructed, but it is a huge task to complete because it is seventeen kilometers long and about eight square kilometers in area.

Acha Mountain Fortress (아차산성) is in Gwangjingu (광진구). Gwangjingu is a ward in Seoul (서울). This fortress was built by a Baekjae (백제) king who wanted to ward off Goguryeo (고구려) armies. Eventually the Baekjae were defeated and Goguryeo kings would later form what is now present day Korea. The fortress can still be viewed on Mount Acha (아차산).