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Icheon

Coordinates: 37°16′N 127°26′E / 37.267°N 127.433°E / 37.267; 127.433
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Icheon
이천시
Korean transcription(s)
 • Hangul이천시
 • Hanja利川市
 • Revised RomanizationIcheon-si
 • McCune–ReischauerIch'ŏn-si
Flag of Icheon
Location in South Korea
Location in South Korea
Coordinates: 37°16′N 127°26′E / 37.267°N 127.433°E / 37.267; 127.433
Country South Korea
RegionSudogwon
ProvinceGyeonggi
Administrative divisions2 eup, 8 myeon, 4 dong
Government
 • MayorKyung Hee Kim (김경희)
Area
 • Total461.3 km2 (178.1 sq mi)
Population
 (September 2024[1])
 • Total223,422
 • Density485.8/km2 (1,258/sq mi)
 • Dialect
Seoul
Websiteicheon.go.kr

Icheon (Korean이천; 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.

Icheon is home to Hynix, the world's second largest memory chip maker.

Fires

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Major building fires occurred on 7 January 2008 and on 29 April 2020.

Geography

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Neighboring districts include Yeoju City, Gwangju City, Yongin City, and Anseong City 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

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Icheon-si is divided into 2 towns (eup), 8 townships (myeon), and 4 neighbourhoods (dong).

Hangul Hanja
Janghowon-eup 장호원읍 長湖院邑
Bubal-eup 부발읍 夫鉢邑
Sindun-myeon 신둔면 新屯面
Baeksa-myeon 백사면 栢沙面
Hobeop-myeon 호법면 戶法面
Majang-myeon 마장면 麻長面
Daewol-myeon 대월면 大月面
Moga-myeon 모가면 暮加面
Seolseong-myeon 설성면 雪星面
Yul-myeon 율면 栗面
Changjeon-dong 창전동 倉前洞
Jeungpo-dong 증포동 增浦洞
Jungni-dong 중리동 中里洞
Gwango-dong 관고동 官庫洞

Population and Business

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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

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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)
24.8
(76.6)
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
Percent 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

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  • City bird: Magpie
  • City flower: Azaleas
  • City tree: Pine

Ceramic village

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Master potter at work, Icheon.
Ceramic shops, Icheon.

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

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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

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University

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Twin towns – sister cities

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Icheon is twinned with:[10]

Notable people

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Population statistics". Korea Ministry of the Interior and Safety. 2024.
  2. ^ "Yeoju Line Set to Open in 2016". Kojects. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  3. ^ "Icheon Overview". Icheon.
  4. ^ "Climatological Normals of Korea (1991 ~ 2020)" (PDF) (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 January 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  5. ^ 순위값 - 구역별조회 (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  6. ^ "Climatological Normals of Korea" (PDF). Korea Meteorological Administration. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Icheon". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
  8. ^ Official pages of Icheon city
  9. ^ "UNESCO Creative City". Icheon.
  10. ^ "International Exchange Cities". icheon.go.kr. Icheon.
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