Iksan

"Iri" redirects here. For acronyms, see IRI (disambiguation).

Iksan 익산
—  Municipal City  —
Korean transcription(s)
– Hangul	익산시
– Hanja	益山市
– Revised Romanization	Iksan-si
– McCune-Reischauer	Iksan-si
The local power plant was built by the failed Enron corporation of Houston, Texas.
Emblem of Iksan
Iksan Location in South Korea
Coordinates: 35°56′38″N 126°57′16″E / 35.94389°N 126.95444°E / 35.94389; 126.95444
Country	South Korea
Region	Honam
Administrative divisions	1 eup, 14 myeon, 12 dong
Area
– Total	507.07 km2 (195.8 sq mi)
Population (2006)
– Total	317,920 [1]
– Density	659/km2 (1,706.8/sq mi)
– Dialect	Jeolla

Iksan is a city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, (commonly transliterated as Jeollabuk-do or Chollabuk-do) South Korea.

The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (Hangul: 이리시; Hanja: 裡里市; RR: Iri-si), but merged with Iksan County (Iksan-gun) in 1995.

The railway junction is located at the point where Jeolla, Janghang Line and Gunsan Lines meet the Honam Line, and is served by frequent train service to/from Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, Mokpo, Jeonju, Suncheon, and Yeosu.

Iksan National College, Won Buddhism Graduate School, Wonkwang Health Science College, and Wonkwang University are all located in Iksan.

Iksan is called “The city of Jewelry” and has a Jewelry museum which opened in May 2002.

In late November 2006, Korean authorities quarantined a farm in Iksan and began culling poultry and livestock within 3 kilometers radius, to contain an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus.^[1]

Iksan that has been handed down the story of Seodong and Seonhwa will be the 'Paradise in Autumn Festival'

Festivals with various themes are held in Iksan. Each of these festivals is themed with a particular product and related to the local history.

The names are as follows:

Seodong Festival 10,000,000 Chrysanthemums festival Iksan Jewelry Expo Stone Culture festival

History

Iksan was once the capital of an ancient country, Baekje Kingdom. The temples built then are still standing now. Iksan has always been an important transport center. After the "Iri train station explosion", Iksan city fell into a state of decline.However, Iksan's train station was later rebuilt and it became the junction of three rail lines, the Jeolla Line, Honam Line and Janghang Line. It now services KTX and Saemaul trains as well as frequent buses services. Today, Iksan is once again a thriving city.

Geography

Iksan's geographical location is situated on the Okgu and Keumman Plains which lead to the West Sea [Yellow Sea].. As it is located very near the sea where ships can transport a wide variety of products, Iksan has played a role as a central area of logistics as well as traffic for a long time.^{[2][dead link]}

Iksan is situated in the northwestern part of Jeollabuk-do. In the east of Iksan are the rugged mountains of Mt. Cheonho and Mt. Mireuk at the edge of the Noryeong Mountains, and in the northwest the range of Mt. Hamra leading to a series of hills and a great stream, which have formed a fertile plain, towards the west. Iksan borders Nonsan-gun and Buyeo-gun, Chuncheongnam-do, divided by Keum-gang[river] in the north. It faces the Okgu Plains in the west and the Kimje Plains divided by Mankyeong-gang in the south.

Sister cities

• Culver City, California, United States
• Odense, Denmark
• Zhenjiang, People's Republic of China

Notable people from Iksan

South Korea portal

• Birdie Kim, LPGA golfer
• Iri Station Explosion

See also

• List of cities in South Korea
• Geography of South Korea
• Honam

References

1. ^ http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/Engnews/20061126/620000000020061126120016E6.html
2. ^ http://www.iksan.go.kr/english/default.htm Iksan Official Website

External links

• City government home page
• City government home page (Korean)

References

Coordinates: 35°56′38″N 126°57′16″E / 35.9438888989°N 126.954444454°E / 35.9438888989; 126.954444454