Inje

Infobox Korean settlement
logo=Inje.pnghangul=인제군
hanja=麟蹄郡
rr=Inje-gun
mr=Inje-gun
area_km2=1646.33
pop=34120
popyear=2000
popden_km2=21
divs=1 "eup", 5 "myeon"

Inje County ("Inje-gun") is a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea. It has lowest population density in South Korea county.

History

From the first inhabitants of the Korean penninsula, people have lived in Inje county. Surrounded by clear and clean rivers and streams and magnificent Mt. Seorak. Inje is located in the mid-east of Gangwon-do, it was at first called Jeojokhyeon in the Goguryeo Kingdom, Heejaehyeon in the Silla Kingdom, Inje in the Goryeo Dynasty, Youngsohyeon and again later Inje in the Joseon Dynasty and finally raised to the status of Inje county on August, 1896. [Official page]

Environment

Inje is located in the Taebaek Mountains and has a landscape dominated by Flora. Many species inhabit several areas of the county, not only mountains but rivers also.

Fauna

* Asiatic Black Bear : It populates a wide area from Siberia to Afghanistan and Thailand as well as certain Asian islands such as Taiwan and Japan. In Korea, the Asiatic Black Bear can be found in the areas of Paekdusan, Seoraksan, Jirisan. The Asiatic Black Bear is becoming rare in South Korea. It usually lives in broadleaf forest on peaks higher than 1,500m, finding lots of fruits like wild grapes, wild berries, fruits of Acfinidia arguta, especially with acorns. The Asiatic Black Bear has developed a good sense of smell and hearing however cannot see very well. [Inje Official website]

* Musk deer : Among the Musk deers in the northern hemisphere, this species in the North-East is divided into 7 subspecies. This subspecies found in the mountains around Mokpo and Jeonranamdo is also reported to be distributed Manchuria, Amur, Ussuri and Eastern Siberia as well as South Korea.

Flora

* Senecio koreanus : The Senecio Koreanus is a Korean Endemic Species.

* Carex chordorhiza : The Carex Chordorhiza is a perennial plant growing with sphagnum in a swamp, at first grows straight and then crawls laterally to take root. From its joint it grows a flower stem of upto 20cm. Its leaves are flat and 1~1.5cm wide with colors of gray and green. The heads are egg-like and numbered 2~4 which are 5~7cm long. Male flowers come out upward but female ones downward without any bracts.

* Megaleranthis saniculifolia : Megaleranthis Saniculifolia is also a Korean Endemic Species and clings to Ranunculaceae. It inhibits the Jeombongsan, Sobaeksan, Jirisan and Taebaeksan areas. Living in the swamps or ridges in deep mountains, the perennial plant sprouts in stubbles. It's between 30 and 40cm tall. Leaves come from the root of the plant and are divided into three parts at the end, a long leafstalk may be split into 2 to 3 parts again.

Daecheong peak

Daecheong Peak is the highest peak in the Mt. Seorak ranges and is located near at the boundary of Inje county and Yangyang county with an altitude of 1,708m. [Official page concerning Tour]

The beautiful snow scenes around Daecheong peak are widely renouned my many people. Inje county is quite cold from early November, with snow falling around its higher peaks. In 2007, the first heavy snow of the year was recorded as early as Nov. 16. [Daecheongbong peak is in the very winter (대청봉은 한겨울)2007.11.16 (금)]

Ice fishing festival

Because of its cold climate, lots of ice fishing festivals often occur in Inje and also the wider Gangwon-do area. However, the ice fishing in Inje is one of the main attractions in winter with 6,000 tourists per weekday and over 10,000 on weekends. [http://www.ytn.co.kr/_ln/0103_200801260111142622 "겨울의 절정...얼음 낚시 릴레이"2008-01-26 ]

References

External links

* [http://www.inje.go.kr/english/main.asp Inje County government home page]