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'Jeolla' ('Jeolla-do' in Korean, formerly spelled 'Cholla' or 'Chŏlla') was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. Jeolla was located in the southwest of Korea. The provincial capital was Jeonju.

Contents

History

Geography

Culture

Notable personalities

See also

External links

History

During the Goryeo dynasty, the Provinces of Gangnam and Haeyang were merged to form Jeollaju Province (''Jeollaju-do;'' 전라주도; 全羅州道). In the early 15th century (the early Joseon Dynasty), the province's name was shortened to Jeolla. The name derived from the names of the principal cities of Jeonju (전주; 全州) and Naju (나주; 羅州). (The "n" in "Naju" is originally an "r", so the "n" (ㄴ) in "Jeonju" and the "r" in "Naju" are assimilated to "l"s (ㄹ) according to a phonetic rule in Korean.)
In 1895, the province was replaced by the Districts of Jeonju (''Jeonju-bu;'' 전주부; 全州府) in the northwest, Naju (''Naju-bu;'' 나주부; 羅州府) in the southwest, Namwon (''Namwon-bu;'' 남원부; 南原府) in the east, and Jeju (''Jeju-bu;'' 제주부; 濟州府) on Jeju Island.
In 1896, Jeonju and northern Namwon Districts were merged to form North Jeolla Province, and Naju, Jeju, and southern Namwon Districts were merged to form South Jeolla Province.
The Donghak Rebellion of 1894-95 began in Jeolla province, which was a peasant revolt fueled by the fervor of a coming local "messiah" (the Donghak Movement centering around the religious figure of Gang Il-Sun) and protests over Seoul's high taxes on rice. It was this event which caused Korea to ask China for military assistance, after which the Japanese invaded Korea, presumably out of fear of Chinese ownership of the peninsula. This began the Japanese occupation of Korea, the first in a series of territorial aggrandizements conducted by Japan throughout East and Southeast Asia during the first half of the 20th century.

Geography

Jeolla Province was bounded on the north by Chungcheong Province, on the east by Gyeongsang Province, on the south by the East China Sea, and on the west by the Yellow Sea.
The region is bordered on the east by the Sobaek Mountains and is drained by the Yeongsan, Seomjin and Mangyeong River. The largest city in the region is Gwangju. Apart from Jeonju and Naju, other cities of note include Iksan (formerly Iri), Gunsan, Mokpo, Namwon, Suncheon, and Yeosu.
The regional name for Jeolla was Honam, which is still frequently used today.

Culture

Jeolla is famous for its traditional music, particularly the genre of musical theater which originated there called pansori, as well as for a related genre of instrumental music called sanjo.

Notable personalities

★ Yi Kwang (Hangul:이광 Hanja:李洸), the governor of Jeolla province (Hangul:전라순찰사 Hanja:全羅巡察使), before and during the Imjin War.

★ Kobayakawa Takakage (Hiragana : こばやかわ たかかげ Kanji:小早川 隆景), he tried to invade Jeolla province during the Imjin War (1592-1593) but failed to achieve his goal.

See also

★ Jeollabuk-do

★ Jeollanam-do

External links

★ Seoul City history article on Hanseong and 22 other late 19th-century districts (in Korean)