| Yosu (Yosu-si) is a city in South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Old Yosu City, which was founded in 1949, and Yeocheon City, founded in 1986, were merged into a new city in 1998.
The city of Yosu consists of the Yosu peninsula as well as 317 islands (49 inhabited, 268 uninhabited). Lying about midway along the southern coast of South Korea, it is separated from Namhae County in South Gyeongsang Province to the east by a natural waterway, and the Bay of Suncheon to the west and northwest, the city of Suncheon sprawling along its banks. The city has three different City Halls. On April 1, 1998, the cities of Yosu and Yeocheon, along with Yeocheon County merged to form the unified city of Yosu. As of October 14, 2007 plans are being set up and a referendum is being planned for a merging of the cities of Yosu, Suncheon and Gwangyang into a new metropolitan city, taking advantage of the Gwangyang Bay Free Economic Zone, Yosu's Expo 2012 bid and port facilities, Suncheon's educational institutes and Gwangyang's POSCO plant.
History
Wonchon-hyeon/Dolsan-hyeon was the name given to Yosu in the 16th year of King Seong(538 A.D.) who was the king of Baekje Dynasty. The name changed to Haeub-hyeon/Yeosan-hyeon in 757 and to Yosu-hyeon/Dolsan-hyeon in 940. Beginning in 1479, the Joseon Dynasty's Naval Headquarters for eastern sector of Cholla Province was located there. As such, it was the first base where Admiral Yi Sun-sin's fleet was based at during the Imjin War. In 1897, Yosu was renamed Yosu-myeon and included in the new county of Yosu-gun. In 1914, Yosu-gun merged with Dolsan-gun, further increasing its territory. Naturally, Yosu-myeon grew in its territory. In 1931, Yosu-myeon became Yosu-eup. In 1949, Yosu became a city. In 1998, Yosu city merged with Yeochon city and Yeochon-gun. So they made a unified city, Yosu.
Sights
In the harbour there is a full-size model of one of Admiral Yi's turtle ships, iron-clad vessels which were used to defeat the Japanese navy. There is a beach with volcanic 'black' sand near Yosu that is popular with Korean tourists. It is also possible to take ferries to many local islands for an authentic taste of rural Korea.
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