Yeouido

Infobox Korean name

---

hangul=여의도
hanja=linktext|汝|矣|島
rr=Yeouido
mr=Yŏŭido

Yeouido is a large island next to the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. It is Seoul's main business and investment banking district. Its 8.4 square kilometers are home to some 30,988 people. [Figures as of March 2006. cite web|url=http://yeongdeungpo.seoul.go.kr/Dong/04/sub01/c01.asp|title=동현황|work=Yeouido-dong website (Korean)|accessdate=2006-04-16] The island is located in the Yeongdeungpo-gu district of Seoul, and largely corresponds to the precinct of Yeouido-dong. The island contains the National Assembly Building, where the National Assembly of South Korea meets, the huge Yoido Full Gospel Church, the 63 Building, and the headquarters of LG, KBS, and MBC, and the Korea Exchange Center.

History

Being a vacant spot convenient to the national capital of Joseon, Yeouido was used as a national pasture for sheep and goats, according to a 16th-century geographical record. [cite web|url=http://yeongdeungpo.seoul.go.kr/Dong/04/sub01/d01.asp|title=동유래|work=Yeouido-dong website (Korean)|accessdate=2006-04-16] When the Han River flooded, only a small patch of high ground remained above river level. (That is why the name of the island means "You can have it (Useless)". Yeouido remained for the most part an uninhabited sandbar prior to the construction of Seoul's first airport there by the Japanese occupation government in April 1924. [According to cite web|url=http://yeongdeungpo.seoul.go.kr/Dong/04/sub01/c01.asp|title=동현황|work=Yeouido-dong website (Korean)|accessdate=2006-04-16. However, the [http://100.naver.com/100.nhn?docid=111942 Naver Encyclopedia] asserts that the airport opened in 1916, and that the homecoming flight of An Chang-nam, the first Korean pilot, landed here in 1922. ] The airport served both international, domestic, and military flights, and was also the site of a flight school. [cite web|url=http://yeongdeungpo.seoul.go.kr/Dong/04/sub01/c01.asp|title=동현황|work=Yeouido-dong website (Korean)|accessdate=2006-04-16] At that time the island was part of Goyang. The six-lane bridge connecting it to the mainland of Yeongdeungpo was constructed in 1970 as part of Han River development project lead by President Park Jung-Hee, after which time development took place rapidly. Yeouido-dong was formed as a separate entity in 1971. [cite web|url=http://yeongdeungpo.seoul.go.kr/Dong/04/sub01/c01.asp|title=동현황|work=Yeouido-dong website (Korean)|accessdate=2006-04-16]

Transportation

Though isolated for centuries, Yeouido is now tightly-connected to the Seoul transportation grid. Seoul Subway Line 5 and the under-construction Seoul Subway Line 9 pass through Yeouido; when Line 9 is complete, they will meet at Yeouido Station. Line 5 also stops at Yeouinaru Station.

Public parks

Five parks are located in Yeouido. Notable among these are the Yeouido district of the Han River Public Park and Yeouido Park. Yeouido Park was formed in 1999 through the reclamation of a patch of land, known as Yeouido Square or 5/16 square, which had lain under asphalt for 27 years and was used for various large public gatherings. [cite web|url=http://english.tour2korea.com/03Sightseeing/TravelSpot/travelspot_read.asp?konum=subm1_1&kosm=m3_6&oid=133|title=Yeouido|work=Tour2Korea.com|accessdate=2006-04-16] In addition, a terminal for excursion ferries stands on the Han River shore.

As a meme

The "Size of Yeouido" is often used in media as a unit to describe a size of an unfamiliar area, e.g. twice as the size of Yeouido, to give an impression to people how big the area is, as Size of Wales in UK.

References

ee also

*Geography of South Korea
*Islands of Korea
*List of Korea-related topics

External links

* [http://thedailykimchi.blogspot.com/2007/04/yeuoido-spring-flower-festival-first.html Yeuoido Spring Flower Festival 2007]
* [http://yeongdeungpo.seoul.go.kr/Dong/?Path=D0401a Yeouido-dong website]
* [http://english.tour2korea.com/03Sightseeing/TravelSpot/travelspot_read.asp?konum=subm1_1&kosm=m3_6&oid=133 Tour2Korea profile of the island]