Yeonpyeongdo
37°40′0″N 125°41′47″E / 37.66667°N 125.69639°E
| Yeonpyeongdo | |
| Hangul | 연평도 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 延坪島 |
| Revised Romanization | Yeonpyeongdo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Yŏnpyŏngdo |
Yeonpyeong Island is a group of South Korean islands in the Yellow Sea, located about 80 km west of Incheon and 12 km south of the coast of Hwanghae Province, North Korea. The main island of the group is Daeyeonpyeong Island, also referred to simply as Yeonpyeong Island, with an area of 7.01 km² and a population of 1,176 (1999). The other inhabited island is Soyeonpyeong Island, with a small population and an area of 0.24 km².[1]
The island group constitutes Yeonpyeong-myeon, one of the subdivisions of Ongjin County, Incheon, South Korea.
Yeonpyeong lies near the Northern Limit Line and only 12 km from the North Korean coastline. Because of its location and the rich fishing in nearby waters, it has been a point of tension between the two Korean governments. South Korea has stationed 1000 soldiers on the islands, and two naval skirmishes have occurred nearby, in 1999 and 2002.[2][3]
Yeonpyeong Island is renowned for its Kumouuri - a specialty spiced crab unavailable elsewhere in South Korea.
On November 23, 2010, North Korean artillery began shelling Yeonpyeong and fired nearly 200 rounds at and near the island, injuring at least two civilians and damaging dozens of houses.[4] Two South Korean marines were reportedly killed in the shelling, with three others wounded.[5][6][7]
See also
References
- ^ Facker, Martin (June 23, 2009). "In Clash Between Koreas, Fishermen Feel First Bite". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- ^ Herskovitz, Jon (Mar 10, 2009). "Guns and crabs at Koreas' Cold War fishing zone". Reuters. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
- ^ Kim, Kwang-Tae (November 22, 2010). "SKorea: NKorea Fires Artillery Onto Island". Associated Press. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
- ^ "(URGENT) Four S. Korean soldiers wounded by N. Korean artillery fire: military officials". Yonhap News Agency. November 23, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
- ^ Branigan, Tania (2010-11-23). "Artillery fire on Korean border". guardian.co.uk. Guardian. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- ^ "Artillery fire on Korean border". BBC Online. BBC. 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
 | This South Korea location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |