Country South Korea Administrative divisions 2 eup, 7 myeon | Region Hoseo Area 521 km² | |
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Province North Chungcheong Province | ||
Eumseong County (Eumseong-gun) is a county in North Chungcheong Province, South Korea, best known for being the birthplace of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Contents
Map of Eumseong-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea
History
Eumseong County is composed of two towns (eup) and seven townships (myeon), with a total population of 98,619 people (including foreigners) as of March 31, 2013. The most central town is Geumwang (which also goes by the name Muguk).
Many farmers live in Eumseong County. They host two cultural festivals: the Pumba (traditional vagabond) Festival (품바축제) in the spring and the Gochu (chili pepper) Festival (고추축제) in the fall. Eumseong is famous in Korea for its production of high-quality red chili peppers. Eumseong is also renowned for its strawberries, ginseng, watermelon, and beef.
Eumseong County is home to three different high schools. Eumseong High School is located in the city of Eumseong, Chungbuk Semi-Conductor High School is located in Geumwang, and Maegoe High School is located in Gamgok. Maegoe is a Catholic all girls middle school as well as a mixed gender high school located at the base of a steep sided hill under a Christ-shaped statue. In addition, GVCS, an English-speaking Christian boarding school, is located in the city of Eumseong.
There are two institutes of higher education in Eumseong county that are both located in the township Gamgok - Far East University and Gangdong College. Far East University is a four-year school while Gangdong College has only a two-year program. As of 2013, 20 to 30 foreign English teachers live in Eumseong County, who are from countries including the United States of America, Canada, South Africa, England, and Scotland.
The name "Eumseong" means "shaded castle" and is not to be confused with its homonym "human voice".
In 1956, Eumseong's status was promoted from township to town. In 1973, Geumwang's status was also promoted to that of a town.
Samseong
Samseong is located in the northwest of Eumseong County, just east of the Jungbu Expressway. The township's bus terminal has connections to Dong Seoul station that take about 1.5 hours as well as connections to other provincial cities and towns.
Samseong has a middle school, an elementary school and several private academies or hagwons. The township is arranged principally around one street, which comprises a covered market, CU, 7 Eleven, Paris Baguette, and many Korean restaurants and hofs.
There are rice paddies between the various factories. In addition there are two sizeable lakes and a mountain named Mai San which is excellent for hiking.
Known for spotting wildlife, Samseong was formerly a prime location for encountering species now thought to be endangered.