Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Lay of the Land
Western South Korea is divided into three provinces, all of which are bordered to the west
by the Yellow Sea. Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province) takes up the peninsula's south-
western corner and has a population of almost two million, excluding the metropolitan city
of Gwangju, which lies at its center but due to its size (1.5 million people) is governed inde-
pendently. Its northern stretches are home to ample river-fed plains, and it is flanked on the
east by one of the peninsula's steepest mountain ranges, but the province is most renowned
for the breadth and diversity of its marine resources. The broad bays of the southwest coast
shelter important ports such as Yeosu and Mokpo and lead out to a group of around 2,000
islands, many uninhabited, that are the stomping grounds of a staggering variety of seafood.
Directly to the north, Jeollabuk-do (North Jeolla Province) is dominated by its fertile
western plains, blessed with abundant rainfall and single-handedly responsible for much of
South Korea's rice, barley, and cotton crops. In the middle of this expanse is the provincial
capital of Jeonju, one of the country's last true outposts of historic architecture.
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