Korea Island Promotion Agency Selects 'Gunsan Seonyudo' as This Month's Useful Island

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Korea Island Development Institute (KIDI, Director Oh Dongho) announced on the 4th that Seonyudo Island in Gunsan, Jeonbuk, has been selected as the ‘Island of the Month’ for August.

The ‘Island of the Month’ program, aimed at raising awareness of domestic islands, is themed ‘Useful Island of the Month (Alssulseom),’ featuring interesting information about the island’s history, culture, and traditions.

Seonyudo is the place where Admiral Yi Sun-sin visited for rest immediately after leading the historic Battle of Myeongnyang to victory.

The name Seonyudo, meaning ‘the island where immortals played,’ originates from the shape of the island’s representative rocky mountain peaks, which resemble two immortals sitting face-to-face playing baduk (Go).

Seonyudo, along with about 60 other islands including Sinshido, Munyeodo, Bangchukdo, and Maldo, forms the Gogunsan Archipelago.

Located at the center of the archipelago, it is the third largest island among them and is mentioned in Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s ‘Nanjung Ilgi’ (War Diary).

The ‘Nanjung Ilgi’ records that Admiral Yi Sun-sin set up camp on Seonyudo and stayed there for ten days after leading the Myeongnyang victory.

There is also a story associated with Mangjubong Peak on Seonyudo. It is said that a loyal subject exiled to Seonyudo climbed the rocky mountain every day, gazing toward Hanyang (present-day Seoul) while longing for the king.

Seonyudo is also the venue for the ‘3rd Island Day’ event. The event commemorating ‘Island Day’ (August 8) will be held from August 8 to 14 at the Saemangeum Convention Center in Gunsan and throughout the Gogunsan Archipelago.

The Korea Island Development Institute plans to hold an on-site island forum on the 10th in the second-floor conference room of the Gogunsan Tourism Exploration Support Center on Seonyudo, Gunsan, to share policy issues and discover policy tasks and development projects.

Oh Dongho, Director of the Korea Island Development Institute, said, “Through the monthly selected Island of the Month, we hope the value of islands will be rediscovered and reexamined,” adding, “We hope that, in connection with our various development projects, the selected islands will become more beautiful and anticipated destinations.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.