Icheon
City in Gyeonggi, South Korea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Icheon (Korean: 이천; Korean pronunciation: [i.tɕʰʌn]) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Together with Yeoju, Icheon is known as a center of South Korean ceramic manufacturing and is a UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art. Other famous local products include peaches and rice. Local institutions of higher learning include Korea Tourism College and Chungkang College of Cultural Industries. The city is also home to SK Hynix, the world's second largest memory chip maker.
South KoreaIcheon
이천시 | |
|---|---|
| Korean transcription(s) | |
| • Hangul | 이천시 |
| • Hanja | 利川市 |
| • Revised Romanization | Icheon-si |
| • McCune–Reischauer | Ich'ŏn-si |
Icheon Haenggung Palace | |
 Flag | |
 Location in South Korea | |
| Coordinates: 37°16′N 127°26′E | |
| Country | South Korea |
| Region | Sudogwon |
| Province | Gyeonggi |
| Administrative divisions | 2 eup, 8 myeon, 4 dong |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Kim Gyeong-hui (김경희) |
| Area | |
• Total | 461.3 km2 (178.1 sq mi) |
| Population (September 2024[1]) | |
• Total | 223,422 |
| • Density | 485.8/km2 (1,258/sq mi) |
| • Dialect | Seoul |
| Website | icheon.go.kr |
Geography
Neighboring districts include Yeoju, Gwangju, Yongin, and Anseong within Gyeonggi Province, as well as Eumseong County in North Chungcheong Province.
The Yeongdong Expressway and Jungbu Naeryuk Expressway pass through Icheon. In 2016, the city will connect into the Seoul Metropolitan Subway via Yeoju Line's Icheon Station.[2]
Administrative divisions
Icheon is divided into 2 towns (eup), 8 townships (myeon), and 4 neighbourhoods (dong).
Population and Business
There are 230,000 people living, including about 220,000 Koreans and 11,000 foreigners. More than 1,200 companies employ about 40,000 people.[3]
Climate
Icheon has a humid continental climate (Dwa in the Köppen climate classification).
| Climate data for Icheon (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1972–present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 14.5 (58.1) |
20.8 (69.4) |
25.7 (78.3) |
32.5 (90.5) |
33.7 (92.7) |
36.0 (96.8) |
38.3 (100.9) |
39.4 (102.9) |
34.5 (94.1) |
29.1 (84.4) |
25.4 (77.7) |
18.2 (64.8) |
39.4 (102.9) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) |
6.0 (42.8) |
12.2 (54.0) |
19.3 (66.7) |
24.4 (75.9) |
27.9 (82.2) |
29.4 (84.9) |
30.2 (86.4) |
26.0 (78.8) |
20.4 (68.7) |
12.1 (53.8) |
4.4 (39.9) |
17.9 (64.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −3.1 (26.4) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
5.4 (41.7) |
11.9 (53.4) |
17.6 (63.7) |
22.0 (71.6) |
24.7 (76.5) |
25.0 (77.0) |
19.8 (67.6) |
13.0 (55.4) |
5.8 (42.4) |
−1.2 (29.8) |
11.7 (53.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −8.5 (16.7) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
5.0 (41.0) |
11.2 (52.2) |
16.7 (62.1) |
20.9 (69.6) |
21.1 (70.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
7.0 (44.6) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
6.3 (43.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −26.5 (−15.7) |
−22.8 (−9.0) |
−12.1 (10.2) |
−4.9 (23.2) |
2.0 (35.6) |
6.5 (43.7) |
12.9 (55.2) |
12.1 (53.8) |
2.9 (37.2) |
−5.0 (23.0) |
−15.6 (3.9) |
−25.7 (−14.3) |
−26.5 (−15.7) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 19.2 (0.76) |
29.6 (1.17) |
42.9 (1.69) |
78.5 (3.09) |
93.2 (3.67) |
128.2 (5.05) |
364.3 (14.34) |
288.0 (11.34) |
153.1 (6.03) |
50.9 (2.00) |
45.1 (1.78) |
22.9 (0.90) |
1,315.9 (51.81) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 5.7 | 5.5 | 6.8 | 7.5 | 7.9 | 9.1 | 15.3 | 13.3 | 8.8 | 5.5 | 8.2 | 7.4 | 101 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 63.3 | 59.4 | 56.8 | 55.2 | 60.8 | 66.7 | 77.1 | 76.8 | 74.3 | 70.8 | 67.9 | 66.3 | 66.3 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 170.8 | 174.3 | 202.4 | 214.9 | 232.0 | 203.3 | 150.0 | 170.4 | 173.7 | 189.9 | 153.2 | 161.3 | 2,196.2 |
| Percentage possible sunshine | 54.0 | 55.3 | 51.8 | 53.4 | 50.5 | 42.5 | 31.5 | 37.9 | 44.4 | 54.0 | 49.9 | 52.9 | 47.5 |
| Source: Korea Meteorological Administration (percent sunshine 1981–2010)[4][5][6] | |||||||||||||
City symbols
- City bird: Magpie
- City flower: Azaleas
- City tree: Pine
Ceramic village
The Icheon Ceramics Village features 300-plus ceramics-making firms in the area of Sugwang-ri, Sindun-myeon, Saeum-dong, and a popular visitor attraction.[7] They use traditional skills and produce porcelains in some 40 traditional firewood kilns. This pottery is recognized both at home and abroad for its quality.
The Saeum-dong and Sindun-myeon areas also include a ceramics village with many ceramics stores. Potters have researched traditional methods and revived the manufacture of ceramics in the style of Goryeo celadon and Joseon white porcelain here. The village is the center of the effort to preserve these traditions.[8]
UNESCO
Icheon was designated as a UNESCO Creative City for Crafts and Folk Art, in in 2010. In 2018, the city was elected as the first designated city for Craft and Folk Art among South Korea's creative cities. It served as the designated city until September 2021.[9]
Education
Fires
Major building fires occurred on 7 January 2008 and on 29 April 2020.
Twin towns – sister cities
Jingdezhen, China (1997)
Kōka, Japan (2005)
Santa Fe, United States (2013)- Seto, Japan (2006)
- Wuxi, China (2005)
Limoges, France (2015)- Santa Clara, United States (2019)
Notable people
- Sŏ Hŭi: The historic figure of Goryeo dynasty who made a huge decision with Khitan people who was forcefully occupying northern areas of Korean peninsula.[citation needed]
- Kang Mi-na: South Korean singer, rapper, dancer, actress and K-pop idol, former member of K-pop girlgroup Gugudan and its subunits Gugudan 5959 and Gugudan SeMiNa.
- Choi Jeong: Baseball player who played for SK Wyverns/SSG Landers and South Korea national baseball team
- Kim Se-yong: ceramist.
- Chun Woo-hee: South Korean actress.
