Iksan

"Iri" redirects here. For acronyms, see IRI (disambiguation). For the villages in Iran, see Iri, Iran.

Iksan 익산시
Municipal City
Korean transcription(s)
• Hangul	익산시
• Hanja	益山市
• Revised Romanization	Iksan-si
• McCune-Reischauer	Iksan-si
Main road in Yeongdeung-dong Iksan
Official logo of Iksan Emblem of Iksan
Location in South Korea
Coordinates:
Country	South Korea
Region	Honam
Administrative divisions	1 eup, 14 myeon, 12 dong
Area
• Total	507.07 km2 (195.78 sq mi)
Population (June 30, 2011)
• Total	308,794 [1]
• Density	608.98/km2 (1,577.3/sq mi)
• Dialect	Jeolla

Iksan (Korean: 익산) is a city and major railway junction in North Jeolla Province, (commonly transliterated as Jeollabuk-do or Chollabuk-do) South Korea.

The city center and railway junction was formerly called "Iri" (Hangul: 이리시; hanja: 裡里市; RR: Iri-si), but merged with Iksan County (Iksan-gun) in 1995.

The railway junction is located at the point where Jeolla, Janghang Line and Gunsan Lines meet the Honam Line, and is served by frequent train service to/from Seoul, Daejeon, Gwangju, Mokpo, Jeonju, Suncheon, and Yeosu.

Jeonbuk National University Iksan campus(Before, it was Iksan National College), Won Buddhism Graduate School, Wonkwang Health Science College, and Wonkwang University are all located in Iksan.

This city is called “The city of jewelry”; the Iksan Jewelry Museum opened in May 2002 next to a Dinosaur museum.

In late November 2006, Korean authorities quarantined a farm in Iksan and began culling poultry and livestock within 3 kilometers radius, to contain an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus.

It has handed down the story of Seodong and Seonhwa which was broadcast in 2005~2006 as Sedongyo, as illustrated at the 'Paradise in Autumn Festival'

Festivals with various themes are held in Iksan. Each of these festivals is themed and relates to the local history. Festivals include:-

• 10,000,000 Chrysanthemum Festival (held in October/November),
• Iksan Jewelry Expo,
• Seodong Festival,
• Stone Culture Festival

History

Iksan was once the capital of an ancient country, Baekje Kingdom. The temples built then are still standing now. Iksan has always been an important transport center. After the "Iri train station explosion", Iksan city fell into a state of decline. However, Iksan's train station was later rebuilt and it became the junction of three rail lines, the Jeolla Line, Honam Line and Janghang Line. It now services KTX and Saemaul trains as well as frequent buses services. Today, Iksan is once again a thriving city.

Geography

Iksan's geographical location is situated on the Okgu and Keumman Plains which lead to the West Sea [Yellow Sea].. As it is located very near the sea where ships can transport a wide variety of products, Iksan has played a role as a central area of logistics as well as traffic for a long time.

Iksan is situated in the northwestern part of Jeollabuk-do. In the east of Iksan are the rugged mountains of Mt. Cheonho and Mt. Mireuk (Mireuksan (Jeollabuk-do)) at the edge of the Noryeong Mountains, and in the northwest the range of Mt. Hamra leading to a series of hills and a great stream, which have formed a fertile plain, towards the west. Iksan borders Nonsan-gun and Buyeo-gun, Chuncheongnam-do, divided by Keum-gang[river] in the north. It faces the Okgu Plains in the west and the Kimje Plains divided by Mankyeong-gang in the south.

Transportation

• Iksan Bus Terminal

The Iksan Bus Terminal (익산종합버스터미널) provides daily bus service to most cities in South Korea. Express buses to Seoul, Ansan, and Incheon are available.

• Iksan Train station

Culture

Museums

• Iksan Jewelry Museum
• Mireuksaji Mesuem
• Wanggung-Ri Relics Museum
  

  Music fountain in Iksan Central Park

Parks

• Central Park(Chungang Cheuk Gongwon)
• Seodong Park
• Gemma sculpture park

Events

• Iksan will host the 99th national athletic meet in 2018.

Sister cities

• Culver City, California, United States
• Odense, Denmark
• Zhenjiang, People's Republic of China

Notable people

• Birdie Kim, LPGA golfer

See also

• Geography of South Korea
• Honam
• List of cities in South Korea

External links

• City government home page
• City government home page (Korean)