Yeongcheon

Infobox Korean settlement
logo=Yeongcheon logo.gif
hangul=영천시
hanja=永川市
rr=Yeongcheon-si
mr=Yŏngch'ŏn-si
area_km2=919.76
pop=113807 |popnote= [ [http://www.yc.go.kr/kor/about/02_07.asp] Dead link|date=July 2008]
popyear=2003
popden_km2=123.7
city bird=pigeon
city flower=rose
city tree=gingko
divs=1 "eup", 10 "myeon", 5 "dong"

Yeongcheon is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.

Yeongcheon is located 350 km southeast of Seoul, in the southeast of North Gyeongsang Province. It is on the Gyeongbu Expressway linking Seoul and Busan, and is also the junction of the Jungang and Daegu railway lines.

Economy of Yeongcheon

As a rural city, many of Yeongcheon's citizens farm to earn their living. The most well-known crop is the grape, which is generally large, seeded and often peeled before consuming (due to Koreans' concern over fertilizers and pesticides).

Festivals

The Bohyeon Mountain Starlight Festival takes place in summer and is centered in the Bohyeon Mountain Observatory, which houses the third-largest telescope in Korea. In late summer, the Grape Festival takes place, hosting events such as the Miss Grape contest and a grape-eating competition. Yeongcheon is also well-known for its Herbal Medicine Festival, which takes place in October and hosts traditional singing and lots of herbs.

People

Notable individuals born in the city include Goryeo period general Choe Mu-seon and Goryeo intellectual Jeong Mong-ju. Yeongcheon's population is largely ethnically Korean. Yeongcheon is home to a growing number of non-Korean wives from South-East Asia. The city government subsidizes marriage tours by male residents to Vietnam, to compensate for migration to Korea's cities.

Notable Tourist Destinations

Tourists to Yeongcheon are few, but popular destinations include Eunhaesa Temple, the War Memorial Park, Cyan Art Gallery, Yeongcheon Dam, the Jeong Sowon and Gatbawi.

ister Cities

*flagicon|China Kaifeng, China

ee also

*List of cities in South Korea
*Yeongcheon River in South Korea

References

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/22/world/asia/22brides.html?pagewanted=2http://en.yc.go.kr/

External links

* [http://en.yc.go.kr/ City government website]