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South Jeolla Province

Former province of South Korea

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Soswaewon was a garden built by Yang San-bo(1503-1557) to renounce his worldly success and to retire into nature. For more information about living and working in Korea visit our website www.usfk.mil
UNC - CFC - USFK from Seoul, Republic of Korea · CC BY 2.0

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South Jeolla bordered the provinces of North Jeolla to the north, South Gyeongsang to the northeast, and Jeju to the southwest in the Korea Strait.

Suncheon was the largest city in the province, closely followed by Yeosu. Other major cities include Mokpo, Gwangyang and Naju.

Jeolla-do, including both North and South Jeolla, was the first province out of the Eight Provinces system to have its 1000th year anniversary in 2018, as the name 'Jeolla-do' was established in 1018, during Hyeonjong of Goryeo's 9th year in power.

History

Proto Three Kingdoms period

During the Samhan period, South Jeolla belonged to Mahan (마한; 馬韓)

Three Kingdoms period

In the Three Kingdoms period, it belonged to Gujihakseong (구지하성; 久知下城) of the southern five regions of Baekje (백제; 百濟), with Mujinju (무진주; 武珍州) as its center.

Unified Silla, North and South period

During the Unified Silla period, with the establishment of nine provinces and five subordinate regions, the area remained under Mujinju. In the 16th year of King Gyeongdeok's reign (757), Mujinju was renamed to Muju (무주; 武州) and came to oversee 15 counties (군; 郡) and 43 prefectures (군; 縣).

Goryeo dynasty

In the 2nd year of King Seongjong of Goryeo (983), when the national administrative divisions were reorganized into twelve mok (목), Naju-mok and Seungju-mok were established. In the 14th year of King Seongjong's reign (995), with the implementation of the province (도) system, the nation was divided into ten provinces(도), and the region was called Haeyangdo (해향도; 海陽道). In the 9th year of King Hyeonjong's reign, Haeyangdo was merged with Gangnamdo, and the name Jeollado (全羅道) was officially adopted.

Joseon dynasty

During the Joseon Dynasty, the country was divided into eight provinces, and names such as Gwangnamdo (光南道), Jeongwangdo (全光道), and Jeonnamdo (全南道) were occasionally used. However, the name Jeollado was predominantly maintained.

On May 26, 1895 (the 32nd year of King Gojong's reign), with the implementation of the 23-bu system, Jeollado was subdivided into Jeonju-bu (全州府), Namwon-bu (南原府), Naju-bu (羅州府), and Jeju-bu (濟州府). Currently, seven cities and counties, including Suncheon and Damyang, belong to Namwon-bu, and Yeonggwang and Jangseong is part of Jeonju-bu, and the remaining sixteen cities and counties belong to Naju-bu.

On August 4, 1896 (the 33rd year of King Gojong's reign), Decree No. 36 abolished the 23-bu system. During the reorganization process, the existing eight provinces were divided into thirteen provinces by splitting five provinces (Jeollado, Chungcheongdo, Gyeongsangdo, etc.) into northern and southern regions. As a result, Jeollado was split into north and south, with the southern part being renamed Jeollanam-do (전라남도),or South Jeolla Province, as it is known today, encompassing 1 moks(목/牧) and 32 counties (군/gun).

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