South Cholla Province
(2000 pop. 2.2 million). Located in the southwestern corner of South Korea, South Cholla Province (Cholla namdo) has an area of 11,964 square kilometers. Kwangju, site of a 1980 civilian uprising, is the provincial capital, but it is an independent and administratively autonomous city. Mokp'o, Naju, Yosu, Yoch'on, Sunch'on, and Kwangyang are other cities in the province, and there are seventeen counties (kun).
Only 14 percent of the nearly two thousand islands off the province's coasts are inhabited. Chindo Island, famous for the Chindo breed of dogs native to Korea, is among the best known of these islands. The coastal region accounts for South Cholla's rich marine life and strong fishing industry. The agricultural sector is also vital, with rice, grains and cereals, and potatoes produced in the southwestern and northwestern regions of the province. Mining products include gold, silver, coal, and limestone. South Cholla is in the midst of a renewed industrialization effort, with six new industrial zones planned. Kwangyang has one of the world's largest steel plants.
President Kim Dae Jung (b. 1925) is a native of South Cholla. His election in 1997 marked the end of decades of regional discrimination against the Cholla provinces.
Further Reading
Cho, Chung-Kyung, Phyllis Haffner, and Fredric M. Kaplan. (1991) The Korea Guidebook. 5th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Nilsen, Robert (1997) South Korea Handbook. Chico, CA: Moon.
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