Geochang County

(Redirected from Kochang)

Geochang County (Geochang-gun, Korean pronunciation: [kʌtɕʰaŋɡun]) is a county in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. The Geochang International Festival of Theater, which was started in 1989, is renowned as the best play festival in Korea. The District Office is located in Geochang-eup, and has jurisdiction over 1 eup and 11 myeon.

Geochang
거창군
Korean transcription(s)
 • Hangul거창군
 • Hanja居昌郡
 • Revised RomanizationGeochang-gun
 • McCune-ReischauerKŏch'ang-gun
Flag of Geochang
Official logo of Geochang
Location in South Korea
Location in South Korea
CountrySouth Korea
RegionYeongnam
Administrative divisions1 eup, 11 myeon
Area
 • Total804.09 km2 (310.46 sq mi)
Population
 (September 2024[1])
 • Total59,737
 • Density77.5/km2 (201/sq mi)
 • Dialect
Gyeongsang

The origin of Geochang's name

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Geocheang Country (Geochang-gun, Korean pronunciation) has been called Geoyeol, Geota and Arim since ancient times, in the meaning of a large bright place, a very wide field, a wide field, or a large bright one. It was first called a Geochang in the 16th year of King Gyeongdeok of Silla in 757 and was called a geochang after being divided and annexed by surrounding cities.

History

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  • At the beginning of the Shilla Dynasty was referred to as Gayeol.
  • 1896 Gyeongsangnam-do, Geochang-gun
  • 1928 Gadong-myeon and Gaseo-myeon consolidated into Gajo-myeon.
  • 1931 Eupwoe-myeon renamed to Wolcheon-myeon.
  • 1937 Geochang-myeon elevated to Geochang-eup.
  • 1957 Wolcheon-myeon consolidated into Geochang-eup.

Festivals

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  • Keochang International Festival of Theatre (KIFT)

In Korea, it is called the four major theatrical festivals along with Ansan Street Arts Festival, Puppet Festival Chuncheon,[2] and Andong Maskdance Festival.

It is an international theater festival that is held every July and August under the theme of "Nature, Humanity, and Drama".

Twin towns and districts

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Geochang is twinned with:

Climate

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Geochang has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dwa), but can be considered a borderline humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cwa) using the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm.

Climate data for Geochang (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1972–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 15.5
(59.9)
22.9
(73.2)
26.3
(79.3)
30.8
(87.4)
34.6
(94.3)
35.5
(95.9)
37.8
(100.0)
37.1
(98.8)
34.5
(94.1)
30.1
(86.2)
26.7
(80.1)
19.7
(67.5)
37.8
(100.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 5.4
(41.7)
8.1
(46.6)
13.3
(55.9)
19.5
(67.1)
24.5
(76.1)
27.4
(81.3)
29.5
(85.1)
29.9
(85.8)
25.9
(78.6)
21.0
(69.8)
14.3
(57.7)
7.5
(45.5)
18.9
(66.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) −1.3
(29.7)
0.9
(33.6)
5.9
(42.6)
11.9
(53.4)
17.1
(62.8)
21.2
(70.2)
24.3
(75.7)
24.4
(75.9)
19.4
(66.9)
12.8
(55.0)
6.5
(43.7)
0.5
(32.9)
12.0
(53.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −7.3
(18.9)
−5.5
(22.1)
−1.0
(30.2)
4.4
(39.9)
9.8
(49.6)
15.7
(60.3)
20.3
(68.5)
20.4
(68.7)
14.5
(58.1)
6.4
(43.5)
0.1
(32.2)
−5.4
(22.3)
6.0
(42.8)
Record low °C (°F) −18.9
(−2.0)
−16.8
(1.8)
−12.1
(10.2)
−5.7
(21.7)
−0.3
(31.5)
4.8
(40.6)
10.5
(50.9)
8.7
(47.7)
2.7
(36.9)
−5.1
(22.8)
−11.0
(12.2)
−15.8
(3.6)
−18.9
(−2.0)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 23.7
(0.93)
34.1
(1.34)
55.4
(2.18)
84.8
(3.34)
88.7
(3.49)
149.4
(5.88)
286.2
(11.27)
285.3
(11.23)
166.2
(6.54)
60.8
(2.39)
37.8
(1.49)
22.3
(0.88)
1,294.7
(50.97)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 5.4 5.3 7.5 8.4 8.6 9.7 14.7 14.3 8.9 5.4 6.1 5.4 99.7
Average snowy days 5.6 4.5 2.6 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.2 3.9 18.2
Average relative humidity (%) 62.3 59.1 58.5 58.8 64.3 71.7 79.7 80.3 78.2 73.4 69.0 64.8 68.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours 190.6 192.3 214.0 225.5 241.7 190.5 164.9 168.4 161.1 187.5 171.3 180.8 2,288.6
Percent possible sunshine 62.0 62.5 58.3 59.4 56.1 46.6 39.8 43.8 46.2 57.3 56.5 60.1 53.3
Source: Korea Meteorological Administration (snow and percent sunshine 1981–2010)[3][4][5]

Geography

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  • Geochang-gun is situated at the far west side of Gyeongsangnam-do, and faces Gyeongsangbuk-do and Jeollanam-do. It does not have good transportation access.

Administrative Regions

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The administrative region of Geochang-gun is made up of Geochang-eup, and 11 myeons. With an area of 804.14 km2, it occupies 7.65% of Gyeongsangnam-do. As of August 2012, it has a population of 27,111 households, or 63,122 people, with 62.4% residing in Geochang-eup. Its highest ever population was 125,995, which was much higher than present day Changwon-si.

Eup/myeon Hanja Number of households Population Area
Geochang-eup 居昌邑 16,536 40,746 56.00
Joosang-myeon 主尙面 857 1,655 50.01
Woongyang-myeon 熊陽面 1,016 2,026 58.47
Goje-myeon 高梯面 807 1,560 58.47
Buksang-myeon 北上面 876 1,652 125.30
Wuicheon-myeon 渭川面 1,096 2,162 54.75
Mari-myeon 馬利面 1,166 2,150 46.62
Namsang-myeon 南上面 1,324 2,613 68.51
Namha-myeon 南下面 828 1,528 49.83
Sinwon-myeon 神院面 886 1,590 73.71
Gajo-myeon 加祚面 2,039 3,920 66.15
Gabuk-myeon 加北面 831 1,455 96.25
Geochang-gun 居昌郡 28,262 63,057 804.07

Notable people from Geochang County

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Population statistics". Korea Ministry of the Interior and Safety. 2024.
  2. ^ "Puppet Festival Chuncheon 춘천인형극제". cocobau.com. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Climatological Normals of Korea (1991 ~ 2020)" (PDF) (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  4. ^ 순위값 - 구역별조회 (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  5. ^ "Climatological Normals of Korea" (PDF). Korea Meteorological Administration. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
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35°41′N 127°54′E / 35.683°N 127.900°E / 35.683; 127.900