Yeosu
Yeosu, formerly romanized as Yosu, is a coastal city located on the southern shore of South Korea. With a population of 268,823, Yeosu is the second largest city in South Jeolla Province. In 1998, the Old Yeosu City, Yeocheon City and Yeocheon County were merged and the current city, Yeosu, was formed.
Etymology
The place name "Yeosu" first appears in the Samguk Sagi Jiriji with the record: "Haeeup-hyeon was originally Baekje's Wonzon-hyeon, but King Gyeongdeok changed its name. It is now Yeosu-hyeon in Goryeo." In both Dongramdo and , the name "Suyoung" is noted on the southern peninsula south of Suncheon and Gwangyang. This is believed to be because Jeollado's Jwasuyoung was established in this region starting in 1479. Subsequently, most old maps depict it as "Yeosu", written differently from the current Hanja. Specifically, in the Haedongdo map, Jwasuyoung appears south of Yeosumyeon.History
Neolithic period
The Neolithic sites in Yeosu were excavated and investigated by the National Gwangju Museum from 1989 to 1990. The artifacts unearthed include various types of pottery such as Yunggimong pottery, Apinmung pottery, Chimsunmung pottery, Jeomnyeolmung pottery, Juchil pottery, and Mummun pottery, as well as stone tools including milgae, jjikkgae, jargegae, geukkeogae, saegigae, doggi, galdol, and suttol. Additionally, two residential sites were investigated.The residential sites were constructed by compacting clay over shell layers, with diameters ranging from 460 to 540 centimeters, and featured a circular, flat layout equipped with round kilns. Notably, at the first residential site, a set of tools including a moru-dol, galpan, and another galdol were found near the kiln area. These tools allowed for the crushing or grinding of materials to produce powder, which drew significant attention. The radiocarbon dating of the Songdo shell mound indicated an age of 4285±195 BP and 4270±200 B.C.
In 1992 and 1993, surface surveys were conducted in the islands of Yeosu, leading to the additional investigation of 22 Neolithic shell mounds and 3 artifact dispersal sites. This revealed that the island regions of Yeosu, along with the coastal areas of South Gyeongsang Province, were cultural centers of the Neolithic period. The site locations were predominantly situated in bays suitable for various shellfish habitats, being safe from sea winds and featuring well-developed shell pits. The collected artifacts were similar to those unearthed from the Songdo shell mound, and a considerable number of Yunggimong pottery, which is dated to a relatively early period, were excavated.
Proto Three Kingdoms Period
In the Yeosu region during the Proto Three Kingdoms Period period, there appears to have been Wonji-guk, one of the Mahan confederations. However, in the late 4th century, as Baekje expanded its power, several small states located in the present-day Jeollanam-do region came under Baekje's influence. Baekje did not immediately reorganize these small states into counties or dispatch local governors. Instead, Baekje recognized the authority of the chieftains of these small states and exercised indirect control through them by collecting tributes. It is believed that the Yeosu region was incorporated into Baekje under such circumstances.Three Kingdoms Period
In the mid-5th century, Baekje's national power was significantly weakened due to Goguryeo's southward expansion. Additionally, as the Gaya Kingdom advanced into the lower regions of the Namyun and Seomjin rivers, the eastern part of Jeollanam-do was temporarily incorporated into Daegaya. In 538, Baekje moved its capital to Sabi-seong and divided the entire country into five regions centered around the central, eastern, western, southern, and northern areas. In each region, Baekje established Bangseong and governed through these large and small fortresses, managing them as counties or prefectures. In the southern region, now corresponding to Suncheon, Yeosu, and Gwangyang areas, Sapyeong-gun was established.Within Sapyeong-gun, there were three counties: Wonzon, Maro, and Dolsan. Wonzon-hyeon covered the Yeosu Peninsula, while Dolsan-hyeon included Dolsan-do and nearby islands. From this time, the Yeosu region saw the first establishment of counties named Wonzon and Dolsan.
Representative Baekje-era relics remaining in Yeosu include mountain fortresses such as Woram Mountain Fortress located in Dolsan Pyeongsari, Temi Mountain Fortress in Seonwon-dong, Jasan Mountain Fortress in Olim-dong, Gorak Mountain Fortress in Munsu-dong, and Jukpo-ri Bon Mountain Fortress in Dolsan. However, in 660, Baekje was defeated by Silla, and the Yeosu region was incorporated into Silla's territory.
Unified Silla Period
After the unification of the Three Kingdoms, Silla reorganized its local administrative structures to govern the expanded territories. The reorganization began around 677, after expelling the Tang forces, and continued through 687, culminating in the establishment of the Nine Provinces and Five Subordinate Capitals system. This system allowed Silla to directly control both the former territories of Baekje and Goguryeo and its own territories from the central government by dispatching administrators to the regions. In December 757, the names of the nine provinces and their counties were changed to Hanja names.Silla's land was divided into provinces, counties, and prefectures, establishing a pyramid-shaped administrative structure with nine provinces. Each province contained counties under them, which were further divided into prefectures. To manage the ruling elites of the conquered regions during the unification process, the provinces were divided into three sub-provinces each, forming a nine-province administration system. Among these, one of the provinces, Muju, governed the present-day Jeollanam-do region. Seungpyeong-gun within Muju consisted of three hyeon, maintaining the same names as in Baekje: Haeeup-hyeon, Yeosan-hyeon, and Heeyang-hyeon. Consequently, during the Unified Silla period, the Yeosu region, excluding Samsan-myeon, consisted of Haeeup-hyeon and Yeosan-hyeon.
Meanwhile, in the Gohung-gun area, Bunchagun was renamed to Bunryeong-gun, Jojo-rye-hyeon was renamed to Chungnyeol-hyeon, Duhi-hyeon was renamed to Gangwon-hyeon, and Bisa-hyeon was renamed to Baekju-hyeon. As a result, Samsan-myeon became Gangwon-hyeon.
In 892, during the chaotic end of the Unified Silla period, Gyeon Hwon established his kingdom with Mujinju as his base, thereby bringing it under the influence of Later Baekje. Around this time, local Yeosu hojoks, such as Kim Chong, joined the Later Baekje forces. Conversely, the Dolsan area was under the control of Wang Bongkyu of Gangju.
Goryeo dynasty
In 940, the national administrative divisions were again reorganized into,,, and -the addition of 부/bu. As a result, the Yeosu region, which was previously known as Haeeup-hyeon and Yeosan-hyeon during the Unified Silla period, was renamed to Yeosu-hyeon and Dolsan-hyeon respectively. Although the name Yeosu appeared for the first time at this point, both areas were still under the jurisdiction of Seungpyeong-gun.Even in the early Goryeo period, remnants of militarized local powers remained in the regions. By the time of King Seongjong, the entire country had transitioned into a centralized governance system. Prior to this centralization, except for the western capital Seogyeong, Daedohobus, 'jin' s, 'ju' s, 'bu' s, 'gun' s, and 'hyun' s did not have residential governors dispatched from the central government. Instead, semi-autonomous organizations known as hyangho were entrusted with local administration, while central officers such as Geumyoo and Jo-jang, responsible for tax collection, and Jeonunsa, responsible for delivering the collected taxes to the central government, were periodically dispatched to tour the regions.
Starting in 983, residential governors were officially dispatched following the establishment of twelve 'mok's in the regions. These moksas were assigned to twelve provinces: Gwangju, Yangju, Chungju, Cheongju, Gongju, Jinju, Sangju, Jeonju, Naju, Hwangju, and Haeju. Their role was to oversee their respective provinces and the local administrative units within the counties and districts. The exact boundaries and the number of hyangjip under each mok were not documented.
In the South Jeolla Province region, the province of Muju —one of the nine provinces of Unified Silla—was dissolved and replaced by Naju and Seungju as part of the twelve mok. At this time, Yeosu was under the jurisdiction of Seungju.
In 995, the administrative divisions were reorganized once again. The nation was divided into four Daedohobus and ten provinces. Additionally, the twelve mok were transformed into twelve joldo-sa s. The ten provinces were Gwannae, Jungwon, Hanan, Gangnam, Haeyang, Yeongnam, Yeongdong, Sannam, Sakbang, and Paeseo. The Jeollanam-do region fell under Haeyang-do, and Yeosu was governed by Seungju Joldo-sa, overseeing Yeosu-hyeon and Dolsan-hyeon.
In 1018, another reorganization took place, dividing the country into four Daedohobus, eight moks, fifty-six 'ji-gun-sa' s, twenty-eight 'jin-jang' s, and twenty 'hyun-young' s. This reorganization resulted in Naju becoming one of the eight moks. At this time, Yeosu-hyeon and Dolsan-hyeon were incorporated into Seungpyeong-gun under Naju and continued to exist until the late Goryeo period. Dolsan-hyeon was temporarily abolished but was reestablished. In 1350 it was promoted to Juyeop,separated from Suncheonbu and became an independent administrative entity, continuing for 47 years until the early Joseon period in 1396. Additionally, during the Goryeo period, the Yeosu region included other areas such as Sam-ilpo-hyang, Jinrye-bugok, and Sora-po-bugok alongside Yeosu-hyeon and Dolsan-hyeon.