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Yeosu
View over the port of Yeosu.
Korean name
Hangul 여수시 Hanja 麗水市 Revised Romanization Yeosu-si McCune-Reischauer Yŏsu-si
Statistics
Area 498.1 km² (192 sq mi) Population (2002) 320,570  Male: 161,657 Female: 158,913 Foreigners: 424 Population density 650/km² (1,683/sq mi) Administrative divisions 1 eup, 6 myeon, 20 dong
Location map

Yeosu (Yeosu-si) is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Old Yeosu City, which was founded in 1949, and Yeocheon City, founded in 1986, were merged into a new city in 1998. Its geographical location is 34°44′N, 127°44′E.

The city of Yeosu consists of the Yeosu peninsula as well as 317 islands (49 inhabited, 268 uninhabited). Lying about midway along the southern coast of South Korea, it is separated from Namhae County in South Gyeongsang Province to the east by a natural waterway, and the Bay of Suncheon to the west and northwest, the city of Suncheon sprawling along its banks. The city has three different City Halls. On April 1, 1998, the cities of Yeosu and Yeocheon, along with Yeocheon County merged to form the unified city of Yeosu. As of October 14, 2007 plans are being set up and a referendum is being planned for a merging of the cities of Yeosu, Suncheon and Gwangyang into a new metropolitan city, taking advantage of the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone, Yeosu's Expo 2012 bid and port facilities, Suncheon's educational institutes and Gwangyang's POSCO plant. ^[1]

On November 27, 2007, Yeosu won its bid to host Expo 2012. ^[2] Local government officials are optimistic about the potential economic growth this may bring to the area. This Expo will be Korea's second, following Daejeon's 1993 Fair.

Wonchon-hyeon/Dolsan-hyeon was the name given to Yeosu in the 16th year of King Seong(538 A.D.) who was the king of Baekje Dynasty. The name changed to Haeub-hyeon/Yeosan-hyeon in 757 and to Yeosu-hyeon/Dolsan-hyeon in 940. Beginning in 1479, the Joseon Dynasty's Naval Headquarters for eastern sector of Cholla Province was located there. As such, it was the first base where Admiral Yi Sun-sin's fleet was based at during the Imjin War. In 1897, Yeosu was renamed Yeosu-myeon and included in the new county of Yeosu-gun. In 1914, Yeosu-gun merged with Dolsan-gun, further increasing its territory. Naturally, Yeosu-myeon grew in its territory. In 1931, Yeosu-myeon became Yeosu-eup. In 1949, Yeosu became a city. In 1998, Yeosu city merged with Yeochon city and Yeochon-gun, creating the unified city of Yeosu.

In the harbour there is a full-size model of one of Admiral Yi's turtle ships, iron-clad vessels which were used to defeat the Japanese navy. There is a beach with volcanic 'black' sand near Yeosu that is popular with Korean tourists. It is also possible to take ferries to many local islands for an authentic taste of rural Korea.

• Cebu, Philippines
• Hangzhou, China
• Karatsu, Japan
• Newport Beach, United States
• Sikeston, United States
• Weihai, China

• List of cities in South Korea

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]

• City government home page
• Galbijim wiki page on Yeosu
• Yeosu, surrounding cities to merge Chosun Ilbo September 7, 2007