Imsil County (Korean임실군; RRImsil-gun) is a county in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. Imsil County is a county in central South Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is an area upstream of the Seomjingang River in the Noryeongsan Mountains, and there is a basin that runs southeast to Namwon. The county office is located in Imsil-eup, and the administrative district is 11 myeon, 1eup.

Imsil
임실군
Korean transcription(s)
 • Hangul임실군
 • Hanja
 • Revised RomanizationImsil-gun
 • McCune-ReischauerImsil-gun
From the left: Imsil Hyanggyo, Imsil Catherdal, Bongcheon Station
Flag of Imsil
Official logo of Imsil
Location in South Korea
Location in South Korea
Country South Korea
RegionHonam
Administrative divisions1 eup, 11 myeon
Area
 • Total596.88 km2 (230.46 sq mi)
Population
 (September 2024[1])
 • Total25,693
 • Density45/km2 (120/sq mi)
 • Dialect
Jeolla

It is approximately 30 minutes south of Jeonju by car or bus. Domestic Korean cheese was first produced in Imsil County. Imsil County encompasses several important towns, mountains and natural areas.

Imsil-gun has 14 elementary schools and an English center.

History

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Proto–Three Kingdoms period

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Imsil belonged to the Mahan State, as New Wunsin State.[2]

Three Kingdoms period

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The County was Inghil-gun in Baekje.[2]

Unified Silla Period

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Imsil-gun belonged to Namwon-bu. Ingil-gun was renamed Imsil-gun in 759. The stone pagoda at Imsil Jingusaji Temple Site was also built during the Unified Silla period.[2]

Today

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The building was relocated in 2010.[2]

Tourism

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Imsil Cheese Village

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Imsil Cheese Village (Korean: 임실치즈테마파크) is located near the town of Imsil (within the county of Imsil). It offers vacation programs for children and tourists to learn how to make cheese.

The cheese produced there is called Imsil cheese, following the county name. Imsil cheese is the unusual mission legacy of a Catholic priest from Belgium who took the Korean name of Ji Junghwan. He arrived in the farming village of Imsil, in the mid-1950s, when the economy was still shattered from the Korean War. He started a farmers’ milk cooperative, which eventually became the Imsil Cheese Factory. The factory still exists today and produces high-quality cheese and yogurt for the Korean market.

A pizza franchise using Imsil cheese has become a widespread business in South Korea since 2004, under the name of Imsil Cheese Pizza.[3] Nearby livestock farms produce the dairy products required for the manufacture of the cheese.

Okjeongho Lake

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Okjeongho Lake

Okjeongho Lake (Korean: 옥정호) is an artificial lake created by the construction of the Seomjingang River Dam. There is a walking trail by the lake.[4] In the upper reaches of the Seomjingang River, Okjeongho Lake has a large temperature difference between night and day, so fog rises.[5]

Education

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Yewon Arts University is located in Imsil.

Climate

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Climate data for Imsil (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1970–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.1
(61.0)
21.9
(71.4)
25.1
(77.2)
30.6
(87.1)
33.8
(92.8)
34.7
(94.5)
37.1
(98.8)
37.5
(99.5)
33.4
(92.1)
29.8
(85.6)
25.8
(78.4)
18.3
(64.9)
37.5
(99.5)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 3.8
(38.8)
6.5
(43.7)
12.1
(53.8)
18.7
(65.7)
23.7
(74.7)
27.1
(80.8)
29.1
(84.4)
29.8
(85.6)
26.0
(78.8)
20.6
(69.1)
13.4
(56.1)
6.0
(42.8)
18.1
(64.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) −2.5
(27.5)
−0.3
(31.5)
4.6
(40.3)
10.7
(51.3)
16.3
(61.3)
20.8
(69.4)
24.1
(75.4)
24.4
(75.9)
19.5
(67.1)
12.5
(54.5)
6.0
(42.8)
−0.4
(31.3)
11.3
(52.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −8.0
(17.6)
−6.2
(20.8)
−2.0
(28.4)
3.2
(37.8)
9.3
(48.7)
15.5
(59.9)
20.5
(68.9)
20.4
(68.7)
14.4
(57.9)
6.2
(43.2)
−0.1
(31.8)
−5.9
(21.4)
5.6
(42.1)
Record low °C (°F) −24.4
(−11.9)
−21.8
(−7.2)
−13.8
(7.2)
−7.1
(19.2)
−0.8
(30.6)
4.2
(39.6)
10.6
(51.1)
8.8
(47.8)
2.6
(36.7)
−4.9
(23.2)
−17.0
(1.4)
−21.9
(−7.4)
−24.4
(−11.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 28.5
(1.12)
36.9
(1.45)
53.8
(2.12)
83.6
(3.29)
85.9
(3.38)
142.4
(5.61)
312.0
(12.28)
312.1
(12.29)
138.3
(5.44)
58.1
(2.29)
50.7
(2.00)
33.3
(1.31)
1,335.6
(52.58)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 9.2 7.4 8.7 8.8 8.8 10.9 16.0 15.3 9.1 6.4 8.3 9.6 118.5
Average snowy days 9.9 7.2 2.6 0.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 2.5 6.7 29.5
Average relative humidity (%) 73.4 68.6 65.8 63.3 66.7 72.9 79.3 78.8 76.9 74.4 73.5 74.2 72.3
Mean monthly sunshine hours 154.3 168.8 203.1 219.8 234.2 179.9 148.5 169.0 175.1 190.7 155.7 143.5 2,142.6
Percent possible sunshine 51.9 56.2 54.7 59.2 54.5 44.2 37.6 44.6 51.3 59.8 54.8 51.4 51.3
Source: Korea Meteorological Administration (snow and percent sunshine 1981–2010)[6][7][8]

Twin towns – sister cities

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Imsil is twinned with:

References

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  1. ^ "Population statistics". Korea Ministry of the Interior and Safety. 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "History". Imsil-gun.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-01-12. Retrieved 2008-01-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Official Page
  4. ^ "Okjeongho Lake (옥정호 (물안개길))". Korea Tourism Organization.
  5. ^ "Okjeongho Lake". Imsil-gun.
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ 순위값 - 구역별조회 (in Korean). Korea Meteorological Administration. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Climatological Normals of Korea" (PDF). Korea Meteorological Administration. 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2016. Retrieved 8 December 2016.
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35°36′47″N 127°16′46″E / 35.6130555656°N 127.279444454°E / 35.6130555656; 127.279444454