Jeongeup

Jeongeup 정읍시
Municipal City
Korean transcription(s)
• Hangul	정읍시
• Hanja	井邑市
• Revised Romanization	Jeongeup-si
• McCune-Reischauer	Chŏngŭp-si
From the top: Naejangsan, Jeongeup seen from Seonghwangsan
Flag Emblem of Jeongeup
Location in South Korea
Coordinates: 35°34′N 126°51′E / 35.567°N 126.850°E / 35.567; 126.850
Country	South Korea
Region	Honam
Province	North Jeolla
Administrative divisions	1 eup, 14 myeon, 12 dong
Area
• Total	692.66 km2 (267.44 sq mi)
Population  (March, 2022)
• Total	106,187
• Density	153/km2 (400/sq mi)
• Dialect	Jeolla

Jeongeup (Korean pronunciation: [tɕʌŋ.ɯp̚]), also known as Jeongeup-si, is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea.The city is located in the southwestern part of Jeollabuk-do Special Self-Governing Province, bordered to the north by Gimje City and Wanju County, to the east by Imsil County, to the west by Buan County and Gochang County, and to the south by Suncheon County and Jangseong County in Jeollanam-do.The city limits include Naejang-san National Park, a popular destination particularly in autumn due to its foliage. Jeongeup is on the Honam Expressway and Honam Line, with the Seohaean Expressway also within easy reach, providing links to Seoul and Mokpo.

After reaching a peak population of 270,000 in the mid-1960s, the population gradually declined, falling to around 100,000 by April 2023. Nevertheless, it remains the fourth most populous city within Jeollabuk-do Special Self-Governing Province, following Jeonju City, Iksan City, and Gunsan City. Although the population continues to decrease, the living population is estimated to be approximately 330,000, about three times the registered population.^[1]

The city is located where the boundary between North Jeolla Special Self-Governing Province and South Jeolla Province is divided. Crossing the pass of the Noryeong Mountain Range at Galjae (Noryeong in Hanja), one enters South Jeolla Province. Historically, it has been a crucial transportation hub facilitating exchanges between North and South Jeolla Provinces. Currently, the Honam Tunnel of the Honam Expressway and the Honam No.2 Tunnel of National Route 1, which pass beneath Galjae, enable travel between North and South Jeolla Provinces. Due to its strategic importance as a transportation hub, during the 5.18 Democratic Uprising period, the new military government completely blocked all routes leading to South Jeolla Province from this location, with military units patrolling the area, creating a tense atmosphere. As a result, despite media censorship, residents of Jeongeup reportedly sensed that something significant was happening earlier than outsiders. Culturally, the Noryeong Mountain Range serves as the boundary between North and South Jeolla Provinces, so even though Jeongeup is adjacent to Jangseong County in South Jeolla, the Jeongeup dialect differs significantly from the South Jeolla dialect and resembles the dialects of other North Jeolla regions.

Although it is an inland area approximately 5 kilometers away from Baegun-ri in Gobu-myeon on Gomsoman (or Julpoman) along the Yellow Sea (West Coast), it is one of the closest areas to the sea among South Korea's municipal administrative districts.

In winter, it is characterized by an enormous amount of snowfall. According to residents whose hometown is Jeongeup, it snows very heavily. Every year, snowfall is so heavy that weather advisories are frequently issued due to blizzards, and Jeongeup is known for receiving a large amount of snow based on short-term snowfall records, even though it is not in the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province. However, unlike Gangwon or Ulleungdo, where snow accumulations of over one meter have never been recorded since weather observations began, Jeongeup still experiences considerable snowfall. This is because Jeongeup is geographically located near the end of the Noryeong Mountain Range. As the Siberian high-pressure systems expand and pass over the Yellow Sea, snow clouds laden with moisture cannot fully pass over Nae Jang Mountain adjacent to Jeongeup, resulting in concentrated snowfall in Jeongeup. Due to these geographical characteristics, driving a short distance to cities like Jeonju or Iksan often results in little to no snow, and the three regions that receive the most snowfall in Jeollabuk-do are Gochang, Buan, and Jeongeup, ranking them among the top three in Jeollado for heavy snowfall. Since weather observations began, Jeongeup recorded its highest single-day snowfall of 45.6 cm on December 21, 2005, and a cumulative snowfall of 59.3 cm on December 22, 2005, an extraordinary level.

Being in a basin area, similar to Daegu which is also in a basin, Jeongeup experiences extremely hot summers, with unofficial maximum temperatures exceeding 40°C on occasion. In the summer of 2011, a one-day rainfall of 400mm was recorded, becoming the main story on the 9 o'clock news, marking the highest since weather observations began in Jeongeup. At that time, the upper reaches of Jeongeupcheon (starting from Nae Jang Mountain Reservoir to near Jeongeup Station) were at risk of flooding, leaving only about one meter of the cherry blossom tunnel dike remaining. In reality, parts of the downstream and some areas of the upstream were flooded, submerging villages and roads. Even Jeongju High School, located in Geumbung-dong on the upper reaches of Jeongeupcheon, experienced water rising up to the knees on the uphill road where buses approach, and Jeongeup High School, also adjacent to the upstream, saw water rising up to the waist. However, this was not due to the river overflowing, but rather due to overlapping adverse conditions such as low-lying areas and slow drainage.

Although the river frequently overflowed into the outskirts of the city, this was the first time it threatened to flood the sections that traverse the city center. Moreover, the dike roads below were densely populated with residential areas, meaning that during flooding, these neighborhoods were inevitably submerged. Fortunately, large-scale flooding was avoided, but some low-lying and poorly drained areas were flooded, and one could see scenes of manholes overflowing throughout the city.

The heavy rain also severely damaged Jeongeupcheon, with the railings of the youth water playground bent, various exercise equipment uprooted, and even a bridge in Sang-dong collapsing (which has since been rebuilt).

It is an area that experiences heatwaves in summer and heavy snowfall in winter.

The main hills in Jeongeup are Naejang-san National Park and Ibamsan, though there are also several smaller hills in the city. It is the east of the city which is more mountainous, the west being a plain around the Dongjin River. There are several streams in Jeongeup, most notably the Jeongeupcheon, a tributary of the Dongjin. This over went a makeover by the city council in December 2009.

Jeongeup, like many cities in Korea, had a hyanggyo, or Confucian school, where people were trained in Confucian ways. This building is a tourist attraction today, but is not open to the public.

Jeongeup is known for a traditional song from the Baekje Kingdom era, known as Jeongeup-ga. The song tells the tale of the lamenting heart of a woman waiting for her peddler husband's return.

Naejangsa Temple: first erected in 636, but most of its current buildings were built after the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1597 and the Korean War.^[2] On 31 October 2012, the temple was destroyed in a fire that broke out.^[3]

A maple festival around Naejang-san is held annually. The maple leaves here are widely regarded as some of the most beautiful in the country. The festival was abolished in 2002 but was revived in 2007.^{[4][full citation needed]} This festival includes several events regarding the chrysanthemum love.

Additionally, a century ago, Jeongeup was the site of a revolution by the religious movement of Cheondoism. A lot of peasants joined the movement against the Japanese invaders. For this, Jeongeup holds an annual ceremony to commemorate the event.^[5]

• Seung Hwan Oh, professional baseball player, Olympic gold medalist
• Song Dae-kwan, singer
• Yu Sung-yup, politician

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Jeongeup is twinned with:

• Jongno-gu, Seoul
• Sacheon, South Gyeongsang
• Sokcho, Gangwon
• Suseong-gu, Daegu
• Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
• Narita, Chiba, Japan

Jeongeup has a cooler version of a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa).

• 
  Looking downstream along the Jeongeupcheon from Chosangyo
• 
  Jeongeup Station
• 
  Street in central Jeongeup
• 
  Hyanggyo
• 
  Chungryeolsa
• 
  Statue guarding Chungryeolsa
• 
  Memorial to those who fell defending South Korea

• Naejang-san
• List of cities in South Korea

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Jeongeup.

• Jeongeup city official homepage