Ulleungdo

Ulleungdo

NASA Landsat7 image of Ulleung-do (north oriented at top)
Location of Ulleung-do
Geography
Location	Sea of Japan (East Sea)
Coordinates	37°30′N 130°52′E / 37.500°N 130.867°E / 37.500; 130.867Coordinates: 37°30′N 130°52′E / 37.500°N 130.867°E / 37.500; 130.867
Highest elevation	984 m (3,228 ft)
Administration
South Korea
County	Ulleung County
Province	North Gyeongsang Province
Korean name Hangul Hanja Revised Romanization Ulleung-do McCune–Reischauer Ullŭng-do

Ulleung-do (also spelled Ulreungdo; Korean pronunciation: [ulːɯŋdo]) is a South Korean island 120 km (75 mi) east of the Korean Peninsula, formerly known as the Dagelet Island or Argonaut Island in Europe, Yulingdao (郁陵岛) in China, and Utsuryo (鬱陵島) in Japan. Volcanic in origin, the rocky steep-sided island is the top of a large stratovolcano which rises from the seafloor, reaching a maximum elevation of 984 metres (3,228 ft) at Seonginbong Peak. The island is 11.3 kilometres (7.0 mi) in length and 12.4 kilometres (7.7 mi) in width; it has an area of 73.15 km² (28.24 sq mi). It has a population of 10,426 inhabitants.

The island makes up the main part of Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea and is a popular tourist destination. The main city of Ulleung-do is the port of Dodong (도동/道洞), which serves as the main ferry port between Ulleung-do and the South Korean mainland. After tourism, the main economic activity is fishing, including its well-known harvest of squid, which can be seen drying in the sun in many places.

The island consists primarily of trachyandesite rock. A major explosive eruption about 9,350 years ago reached a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 6 and deposited tephra as far as central Honshū over 800 km (500 mi) away, while producing pyroclastic flows on the island and decapitating its top to form a caldera.

Archaeological evidence indicates that the island has been inhabited since the 1st millennium BC. The first confirmed historical reference to Ulleung-do is in the Samguk Sagi for the year 512. In that year, the Silla general Kim Isabu conquered the island, which had previously been the autonomous nation of Usan-guk. Some accounts relate that he used a number of wooden lions to intimidate the population, threatening to turn them loose unless they surrendered.