Haenam County


Haenam is a county in South Jeolla Province, South Korea.
The capital of Haenam-gun is Haenam-eup.
The economy of the county is based mainly on agriculture, with rice and radish being the two most common crops.

History

Haenam County has been inhabited since the Neolithic. Relics of the Bronze Age, such as dolmens and shell mounds, were discovered here. The term Haenam appeared during the Goryeo dynasty but a definite record does not exist. After 1895 it came to be called as Haenam-gun, and became the biggest county in Jeonnam.

Welfare

Birth promotion policy

Haenam is attracting attention with its birth rate more than double the average in South Korea. In '2014 Birth Statistics', its total fertility rate was 2.4 per person, making it the county with the highest fertility rate. This is the result of various childbirth policies implemented by the local government. Some of these policies include:
  1. Housing arrangements: The sale price of apartments in Jeollanamdo, which Haenam County belongs to, is less than half the national average. A 99 square meter apartment costs 152 million won, which is lower than the annual rent and less than a quarter of the sales price of an similar-sized apartment in Seoul.
  2. Grants for each newborn: Couples who give birth to their first child receive 3 million won. Higher monetary rewards are awarded for each additional child — 3.5 million won for the second child, 6 million won for the third child and 7.2 million won for the fourth child.
  3. Child and parent-friendly programs: The local newspaper announces the birth of each child. In addition, the local government organizes a wide range of family-friendly programs, such as "Dad Camp" to encourage men to be more involved in housework and "Stroller Marching Concerts" that are inclusive to families with infants as the name suggests.
  4. Attractive jobs in the agriculture and maritime industry: Haenam is actively working on building a wealthy farming and fishing village, focusing on the issue of jobs and cultivating processed sweet potatoes and eco-friendly items. The 'Haenam Food Specialization Complex', a food manufacturing and agro-industrial complex based on eco-friendly farming, aquatic and livestock products, is currently sold under the guidance of the military.

    Economy

The county has large farmland and reclaimed land. As of 2019, there are about 20,000 agricultural workers. Since the total population is about 65,000, the proportion of agricultural workers is high. The total length of the county's coastline is 302 km, and there are a total of 65 occupied and uninhabited islands. The population engaged in fishing is 9,403, about half of the agricultural workers.
The county contains the historic restaurant Cheonil Sikdang, the seventh-oldest active restaurant in South Korea.

Agriculture

Due to its agriculture-focused economy, Haenam has been a main source of a wide variety of crops ranging from sweet potatoes to cabbages. Haenam accounts for 70% of locally-grown cabbages.
A special type of orange, the hallabong, is also grown in Haenam county. Before, Jeju was the only place to grow hallabong but many counties in Jeonnam started to cultivate this breed due to the greenhouse effect affecting Jeju.

Geography

Haenam faces Gangjin to the east, Yeongam to the north, Jindo and Wando to the west and south across the sea.
Additionally, Haenam is located below Taebaek Mountains and goes through an oceanic climate. It is quite a warm area even among southern region of South Korea. There is rias coast around Hwawon peninsula.

Climate

Education

  • Global Academy in Haenam town

    Enterprise city

Haenam is the enterprise city in Jeonnam with Muan and Yeongam county. Three counties are going to take important status as moving point for growth.
The next term president, Lee Myung-bak designated three areas as the huge triangle region of Honam.

Famous people

  • Yoon Seon Do : one of the most famous Korean painters and writers during mid-Joseon dynasty.
  • Kim Nam Ju : Korean poet
  • Goh Jung Hee : Goh, Jung-Hee was born in Haenam. In 1975 she made her debut in the Korean literary world on the recommendation of poet Park Nam-Su. She contributed the poems “Resurrection, Hereafter,” “A Love Song,” and others to the magazine “Modern Poetics.” From her debut until she died, during her short period of writing lasting about 15 years, she wrote 12 collections of poetry, which included her collection of poems and posthumous manuscripts. She also attracted attention in the world of poetry for showing various and strong experimental attitudes through each poem.
  • Hwang Ji Wu : Korean poet and artistic critic.
  • Park Jin-hee: South Korean actress
  • Lee Jin Woo : Produce X 101 trainee. He is currently a member of GHOST9, a 7-member boy group under Maru Entertainment that debuted in 2020.
  • Oh Gitaek : South Korean singer

    Twin towns – sister cities

Haenam is twinned with: