Historical province of Korea
Historical province of Korea
Jeolla Province
(
Korean
:
全羅道
;
RR
:
Jeollado
,
[t?????a?.do?]
) was one of the historical
Eight Provinces of Korea
during the Kingdom of
Joseon
in southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern
South Korean
provinces of
North Jeolla
,
South Jeolla
and
Gwangju
Metropolitan City as well as
Jeju Province
. The provincial capital was
Jeonju
, the current capital of North Jeolla. The entire inland
region
was called
Honam
(
lit.
'
south of the lake
'
), which is still commonly used today.
History
[
edit
]
Samhan and Samguk
[
edit
]
Baekje in 576.
During the
Samhan
era of Korean history, the area of Jeolla was controlled by the
Mahan confederacy
and the
Tamna
kingdom on Jeju. Fifteen of the 45 Korean tribes had their bases in this region. When
Baekje
overtook Mahan by the 5th century, the
Three Kingdoms
era began and the region became part of southern Baekje. Jungbang was the center of the province during this period.
Unified Silla
[
edit
]
When
Silla
conquered Baekje with the help of
Tang China
in 660, it became a territory of
Later Silla
during the 16th year of the reign of
Munmu of Silla
. Silla reorganized this territory into nine
ju
(
週
) and five
gyeong
(
警
), three of the
ju
belonging to the former Baekje. The northern territory of former Baekje, Ung (
Ungju
;
Hanja
:
熊州
), corresponds to modern-day
South Chungcheong Province
.
The middle area consisted of
Wansan
(
Hanja
:
完山州
) and
Namwon
, which correspond to modern-day North Jeolla. Wansan was later renamed Jeonju. The southern area consisted of Mujin (
Mujin-ju
), which was renamed Mu (
Hanja
:
武州
) in 757, the 16th year of the reign of
Gyeongdeok of Silla
. Mu consisted of one
gun
and 43
hyeon
, and corresponds to modern-day South Jeolla.
Goryeo dynasty
[
edit
]
In 983, during the second year of the reign of
Seongjong of Goryeo
, the country was reorganized into 12
mok
. Jeonju became Jeonju-mok (
Hanja
:
全州牧
), while Muju was split into the two
mok
of
Naju
and Seungju. In 995, King Seongjong again reorganized the country, this time into 10
do
(Korean:
도
; Hanja:
道
;
lit.
province). Jeonju-mok was renamed Gangnam-do (
lit.
'
province south of the river
'
) while Naju and Seungju were reunited and renamed Haeyang-do (
lit.
'
ocean province
'
).
In 1018, during the 9th year of the reign of
Hyeonjong of Goryeo
, the country was again reorganized into 5
do
, and the provinces of Gangnam and Haeyang were merged to form the province of Jeollaju (
Hanja
:
全羅州道
). The name derived from the names of the principal cities of
Jeonju
(
Hanja
:
全州
) and
Naju
(
Hanja
:
羅州
). (The difference between
na-
and
-la
is due to the (
initial sound rule
of modern Korean). This was the first time the area currently known as Jeolla was united under one administrative division, and it would remain this way for nearly eight centuries.
Joseon: 1392–1910
[
edit
]
In 1413, during 13th year of the reign of
Taejong of Joseon
, the territories were once again reorganized into 8
do
. This is the era of the historic Eight Provinces. Jeollaju-do was variously known as Gwangnam, Jeongwang, and Jeonnam, but the original name persisted, and was eventually shortened to simply Jeolla-do (
Hanja
:
全羅道
).
The
Donghak Peasant Revolution
of 1894–1895 began in Jeolla-do, which was a peasant revolt fueled by the fervor of the believed coming of a local messiah and protests over Seoul's high taxes on rice and the increasing number of Japanese traders in Joseon. There was
anti-Japanese sentiment
due to the
Japanese invasions of Korea (1592?1598)
.
On May 26, 1895,
Gojong of Korea
replaced the 8
do
system with a 23 [[Provinces of Korea#Districts of Late Joseon|
bu
]] district system and Jeolla was replaced by the districts of
Jeonju
(
Korean
:
前主婦
;
Hanja
:
全州府
;
RR
:
Jeonjubu
) in the northwest, Naju (
나主婦
;
羅州府
;
Najubu
) in the southwest, Namwon (
남원부
;
南原府
;
Namwonbu
) in the east, and Jeju (
濟州夫
;
濟州府
;
Jejubu
) on
Jeju-do
.
On August 4, 1896, Emperor Gojong issued Royal Order 36, repealing the district system and restoring the province system. Jeolla was divided north-south into
North Jeolla Province
and
South Jeolla Province
.
[1]
Also divided were
Chungcheong Province
,
Gyeongsang Province
,
Hamgyong Province
and
Pyongan Province
, bringing the total to 13 provinces.
Republic of Korea: 1948–present
[
edit
]
North Jeolla Province consisted of the Jeonju and northern Namwon districts, while South Jeolla Province consisted of the southern Namwon districts, Naju district, and Jeju island. Jeonju was retained as the capital of North Jeolla, with
Gwangju
being made the capital of South Jeolla. The capital of South Jeolla was later moved to
Namak
in 2005, and Gwangju was designated a
Special City
.
Jeolla is a stronghold of the liberal
Democratic Party of Korea
. Therefore, Jeolla-do people suffered a lot of discrimination and massacre by right-wing people.
[2]
[3]
Discrimination against Jeolla-do people remained for a long time by the conservative right-wing ruling class, which was more powerful than the left.
[4]
[5]
The public who support the conservative right call Jeolla-do people skate based on their food culture of eating rotten skate.
[6]
Conservative right-wing supporters in South Korea sympathize with the position of the ruling class on platforms such as DC and Ilbe, and experience greater sympathy with ex-dictators such as
Park Chung-hee
and
Chun Doo-hwan
.
[7]
As a result, the southwest portions of the country often vote strongly in favor of liberal parties, such as the
Democratic Party of Korea
and
Rebuilding Korea Party
, while the
[8]
west often votes strongly in favor of conservative groups. This is especially seen in
North Gyeongsang Province
, which voted overwhelmingly for
Yoon Suk Yeol
.
Geography
[
edit
]
Jeolla Province was bounded on the north by Chungcheong Province, on the east by Gyeongsang Province, on the south by the
East China Sea
, and on the west by the
Yellow Sea
. The region is bordered on the east by the
Sobaek Mountains
and is drained by the
Yeongsan
,
Seomjin
and Mangyeong rivers. The largest city in the region is Gwangju. Apart from Jeonju and Naju, other cities of note include
Iksan
(formerly Iri),
Gunsan
,
Mokpo
, Namwon,
Suncheon
, and
Yeosu
.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]