Mokpo City

A city in Jeollanam-do and Gwangju Unified Special City . It is one of the three major port cities in the southwestern region, along with Gwangyang City and Yeosu City . This is where the Honam Line ends and the West Coast Expressway begins, and it also serves as a starting point for transportation.

During the Japanese colonial period in the 1940s, it was one of the four major port cities in Joseon along with Busan , Incheon , and Wonsan , and in the 1950s , with a population increase of well over 100,000 (110,000), it was once the 6th largest city in South Korea . However, the Achilles' heel of Mokpo Port was that the waterway was too narrow, the location was bad to use as a large-scale trade port , and the transportation infrastructure was too poor to receive support from the United States . In addition, Mokpo Port's cargo traffic volume was rapidly decreasing day by day. Therefore, the economy of Mokpo City, which depended on Mokpo Port , suffered a major blow, and while other large cities such as Busan Metropolitan City were incorporating numerous myeons one by one, Mokpo was limited to annexing only a part of Iro-myeon in Muan-gun , and because of this, Mokpo City did not grow into a large city .

Among the cities belonging to Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special City, it is the central city in the southwestern region with a long history of city elevation. However, the economic power of the province is overwhelmingly stronger in the eastern part, where various industrial complexes, including steel mills, are located, and Mokpo is a pure consumption city with almost no industrial complexes to be found, so the city's own economic power is destined to decline. Comparing the total regional product, Mokpo City is 4.5305 trillion won, while Yeosu City is 25.8706 trillion won, Suncheon City 6.125 trillion won, and Gwangyang City 10.602 trillion won. As of 2020, Mokpo City's property tax is 22.4 billion won, Yeosu City 50.7 billion won, Suncheon City 30.1 billion won, and Gwangyang City . It is the fourth following 27.9 billion won. Yeongam- gun, close to Mokpo-si There are HD Hyundai Samho and Daebul Industrial Complex in Samho-eup , and Yeongam- gun 's share of exports within Jeollanam-do is 10.4%. However, since the export share of the eastern part of Jeollanam- do exceeds 80%, no matter how you measure it, Mokpo City's economic power is far beyond that of the eastern region .

However, the fact that Namak New Town was able to come to the west largely played a role in the fact that it was a relatively underdeveloped area, and in terms of the size of the consumer city, it can be said to be larger than other cities in Gwangju, excluding Gwangju District 5 . The construction of urban infrastructure based on the small city area and resulting high population density makes it appear to be a much larger city than Yeosunguang . skyscraper[12] , there are more large supermarkets, outlets , and movie theaters compared to other cities. In addition, thanks to its title as ‘ No. 1 political area in Jeollanam-do ,’ it is also a core region encompassing politics in Jeollanam-do .

The area is Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. It is similar to Dong-gu . It is the smallest city in the non-metropolitan area, and Gyeonggi-do is the largest city in the country. It is the 6th narrowest city after Guri- si , Gwacheon-si , Gunpo-si , Gwangmyeong- si , and Osan-si .

It is a city that has been developing gradually since the Japanese colonial period, so the city is well-zoned. Daeseong-dong and the lower part of Yudalsan Mountain are not well-zoned, but to the south and east of Mokpo Station, which was developed by Japanese colonial rule, the roads extend straight in a square shape. In the past, sea water came to the vicinity of Mokpo Station , but most of the city reclaimed the sea. Hadang District and Namak New Town are both neighborhoods created by reclaiming land from the sea.

During the Three Kingdoms period , it was originally the territory of Chimmidarye , a confederation of small states centered around Mahan 's New America . Chimmidarye was powerful enough to independently dispatch envoys to China, but after being conquered by Baekje , Mulahyegun (勿阿兮郡) was established. After the fall of Baekje, it became the territory of Silla during the period of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms , and then changed to Muan-gun during the reign of King Gyeongdeok when the national name was changed to Hanwha Policy. Afterwards, it continued like this and developed into a city with the opening of Mokpo during the Enlightenment period , and became independent from Muan during the Japanese colonial period .

The name Mokpo first appears during the Later Three Kingdoms period . It was during the Taebong era that Wang Geon , a general under Gung Ye , arrived at a port called Mokpo with the Taebong navy and entered into a marriage of convenience with the local baron O Da-ryeon. He then subjugated the entire southwestern part of Jeollanam-do and threatened Mujinju, the base city of Later Baekje, the current Gwangju Metropolitan City. did. (However, there is a theory that the location of Mokpo at that time was within Naju City, not the current Mokpo City .)

It is unclear exactly where the name ‘Mokpo’ originated. There is a theory that the word 'mok' in the front is simply interpreted as a tree, and that it was named because it was a port with many trees . Another theory is that it was named because there was a lot of cotton , and there is another theory that it came from the fact that magnolias grow a lot . In addition, there are many theories, such as that it originated by transliterating dialect or customary place names into Chinese characters, but there is currently no way to confirm. However, the most influential view is that the name Mokpo was written in Chinese characters to mean a port (mokgae) located on the 'road' from the West Sea to the mainland via the Yeongsangang River.

Afterwards, the name Mokpo began to be used to refer to the area at the mouth of the Yeongsangang River, and the name was confirmed when Mokpojin (木浦鎭) was established in the current Mokpo-si area during the reign of King Taejong of the Joseon Dynasty. Meanwhile, the Mokpo area was Mokpojin and Mokpo-myeon, which were part of Muan-gun , and the administrative center of the town was not Mokpo, but the area within the current Muan-eup .

It began as a port city as it is today on October 1, 1897, when the Korean Empire opened Mokpo Port and Muan-gun was promoted to Muanbu . Formally, it was the first port to be opened voluntarily by the government rather than by treaty with a foreign country. The old downtown of Mokpo, which corresponds to Yudal-dong and Manho-dong, was formed at this time and was a planned city reclaimed by foreign capital such as Japan, so the roads were well formed in a grid pattern.

1910 In the Japanese colonial period , the Muan Ministry was renamed Mokpobu[16] In 1914 , when the administrative district was reorganized, the remaining regions of Mokpo were separated into Muan -gun , except for the opening of the port (now Yudal -dong, Manho -dong, Daeseong -dong, and Mokwon -dong). This is the first promotion in Jeollanam -do , which is ahead of Gwangju (only promoted to wealth in 1935). At that time, the wealth was designated as the opening of the port and the opening market where many Japanese lived. Muan -gun Office was in Mokpo. In 1932 , Jukgyo -ri (including the coastal areas called Yudalsan and Backs), Sanjeong -ri (including Mokpo City Hall), Yongdang -ri (near Mokpo City Hall and Mokpo Sanggo), and Mokpo -ri, were included in Mokpo. In 1944, the population was 69,000, one of the 15 largest cities on the Korean Peninsula and the seventh largest city in the south of the 38th.[17] In 1949, it was renamed Mokpo City, such as Gwangju , Suncheon , and Yeosu .

Immediately after liberation, the population increased, but Mokpo did not grow much as trade with the People's Republic of China, which was founded when the Kuomintang army was defeated in the Chinese Civil War in 1949 and fled to Taiwan, and with Japan after liberation were cut off. Still, due to the fact that it was a port city at the time, it gained a reputation as the 6th largest city in the country (South Korea).

The shallowing of Mokpo Port due to sediment flowing in from the Yeongsan River was having a negative impact on the development of Mokpo. Accordingly, in 1962, Mokpo City began construction of a seawall connecting the current Dongmyeong-dong intersection to the western side of Daesamhak Island, and built an outer port by turning the entire Samhak Island into land. In addition, a 4th housing complex was built using a loan on land created by connecting the northern part of Daesamhak Island to the current Jeil Middle School with a seawall. As a result, Samhakdo Island has been converted into a park to this day, but has not been fully restored. The dark history of Samhakdo

1963, Iro-myeon, Muan-gun (excluding Seokhyeon-ri, Daeyang-ri, and Okam-ri)[18] After being incorporated into Mokpo City, the area of ​​Mokpo City was expanded. However, while Busan incorporated several myeons of Dongrae-gun and Seoul Metropolitan City incorporated several myeons of Gyeonggi-do , Mokpo City incorporated one myeon of Muan-gun, and that was not even completely incorporated. The remaining area of ​​Iro-myeon was incorporated into Samhyang-myeon, then Seokhyeon-ri was incorporated in 1973, and Daeyang-ri and Okam-ri were incorporated in 1987.

When Shinan-gun was divided from Muan-gun in 1969 , the existing Muan-gun Office within Mokpo-si was converted to Shinan-gun Office (later moved to Aphaedo), and the new Muan-gun Office was established in Muan-myeon, Muan-gun (later Muan-eup ).

In the 1970s, Mokpo was going through some major changes, and the road connecting Plaza No. 1, Plaza No. 2, and Plaza No. 3 was opened at this time. Previously, the road connecting Daeseong-dong - Sanjeong Elementary School - the small road in front of Jeonnam Jeil High School - Iro Market - Guldari was the main road in Mokpo. In 1972, the first modern industrial complex was established in Sangdong. However, its scale was very small and consisted mainly of light industries such as Honam Rubber and Haengnam Gi. In 1974, Mokpo City Hall , located in the former Japanese Consulate, was moved to the current Yongdang-dong government building, and Mokpo Maria Association High School was opened next to it. The police station, fire station, and courthouse, which were located at the site of the church across from the Industrial Bank of Korea, were also relocated to the Yongdang-dong government building during this period. The Mokpo Post Office, which was located at the current site of the Yudalsan Post Office, and MBC, which was located at the foot of Yudal Mountain, completed their relocation to Yongdang-dong in 1987 and 1989, respectively. While other competing cities that expanded their city areas at a similar time already completed these changes in the mid-1970s, Mokpo completed these changes in the late 1980s.

Therefore, Mokpo continued to remain in a state of no development without any significant changes until the early 1990s. However, in 1989, under President Roh Tae-woo's instructions, Yeongam- gun faced Mokpo . The establishment of the Daebul Industrial Complex in Samho-eup and the construction of the Halla Shipyard in 1995 provided an opportunity to break away from the city's stagnant development. In 1993, the development of the Hadang district, which had been in progress for more than 20 years, was completed, and the Hadang district grew into a representative new downtown of Mokpo. With the full opening of the West Coast Expressway in 2001 and the KTX operating to Mokpo in 2004, travel time to and from the metropolitan area was significantly shortened. In 2006, the Jeonnam Provincial Office opened in the adjacent Namak New Town , Samhyang -myeon , Muan-gun, and in 2007, Mokpo Airport in Yeongam-gun was closed and Muan International Airport was opened.

As a port city, it was one of the major naval bases of the Republic of Korea Navy , and at the beginning of the Korean War, then- President Syngman Rhee and members of the Republic of Korea government withdrew to Busan on a naval ship through here. Even after the armistice, the Republic of Korea Navy continued to be stationed there, placing the Mokpo Maritime Area Defense Command (Mokbangsa) under the 3rd Fleet Command . In 2008, the 3rd Fleet Command was located in Nam -gu, Busan. The Mokpo Sea Area Defense Command was disbanded as it was moved from Busan Naval Base ( Busan Port ) in Yongho- dong to Mokpo Port in Samho-eup, Yeongam-gun across the Yeongsan River.

 more detailsMokpo City/Geography documentcastPlease note.

Around 2000 , the number reached 250,000, and after reaching the peak, there is a continuous downward trend. # In particular, Mokpo City and Muan County, a nearby region, rather than population outflow to the metropolitan area , Samhyang-eup , Ilo-eup and Yeongam-gun The population outflow to Samho-eup is more serious.[24] This is because there are many jobs in the area, including local public institutions such as the Jeollanam-do Provincial Office in Namak New Town , located across Samhyang-eup and Ilo-eup , and HD Hyundai Samho in Samho-eup .[25]

For this reason, Mokpo's population decline rate is higher than that of Shinan-gun, a county made up of numerous remote islands.[26] The original downtown of Mokpo City is Busan. Because the city is showing a more severe phenomenon of hollowing out of the original downtown than Jung-gu, the city is implementing various policies such as support for childbirth and child support, but the population collapsed below 200,000 in May 2026 . Still, if you look at the entire Jeonnam region, it is the second largest population after Suncheon City and Yeosu City , and is unrivaled in first place in the western part of Jeollanam-do .

Also, as of June 26. The number of registered foreigners residing in Mokpo is 5,585 , the fourth largest after Yeongam -gun , Jeollanam-do , Yeosu -si, and Naju-si .[27]

 more detailsMokpo City/Transportation documentcastPlease note.

Originally, it was a region with a super strong railroad, but with the opening of the West Coast Expressway , road strength progressed, and with the opening of the Honam High-Speed ​​Railroad , it moved into an area with strong railroad competition.

 more detailsMokpo City/Economy documentcastPlease note.

Unlike the past when it was a port city, the current Mokpo City has a strong identity as a consumer city. Of course, it is not as good as in the past, but the fishing industry is maintained at a certain scale.

A big advantage is that the city is not large, so all the major tourist attractions are gathered in one place, making it easy to see almost everything even with a short distance. Most things to see can be explored on foot or by taxi, with most things to see within a reasonable distance. As it served as an export port in the past and was home to many Japanese people, many buildings from the Japanese colonial period remain. The former Japanese Consulate in Mokpo, designated as Mokpo Modern History Museum Building 1 and Building 2, respectively.[84] and the Mokpo branch of the former Dongyang Cheoksik Co., Ltd. are famous. Both buildings are near Mokpo Station and can be accessed on foot or by taxi. In addition, various modern buildings are preserved throughout the old city center.

Yudalsan Mountain is a major tourist attraction, and there is Culture Street, a museum-filled area facing the sea. National Research Institute of Maritime Cultural Heritage (formerly National Maritime Heritage Exhibition Hall)[85] ), Mokpo Natural History Museum, and Namnong Memorial Hall are nearby, and Mokpo Culture and Arts Center and Mokpo Literature Museum are also nearby. Gatbawi Rock near here was designated as Natural Monument No. 500 in 2009.

You can move to islands famous for tourist destinations such as Heuksando and Hongdo through the coastal passenger ship terminal close to Yudalsan . You can enjoy a variety of seafood at a fairly low price at nearby raw fish restaurants, and there are many seafood that are only caught in Mokpo.

A cable car was promoted as part of the Yudalsan tourism project and was scheduled for completion in 2018. However, the cable car pillar collapsed around 12 PM on June 1, 2018, and completion was postponed. About a year later, on September 6, 2019, the Mokpo Marine Cable Car opened. With a total length of 3.23km, it has been evaluated as the best route in Asia, surpassing Vietnam's Vinpearl Cable Car, with an overwhelming ride distance and attractions, and has now been designated as Mokpo's representative tourist course.

As a religious facility, the Sanjeong-dong Martyrs Memorial Cathedral, built in November 2021, is worth mentioning. It is also known by its name at the time of construction, St. Michael's Cathedral. It was promoted to a quasi-basilica, making it the highest-ranking Catholic cathedral in the country.



The city promoted a project to create a marine fountain by drawing seawater. However, civic groups opposed the marine fountain on the grounds that the higher the water is sprayed, the more likely it is that the sea water will spread to the surrounding area and cause salt damage to the surrounding soil . Mokpo University 's experiment results showed concerns about salt damage, but the city continued to promote it. 60 Minutes Tracking also covered this . However, in the summer of 2010, when the marine fountain was actually completed and presented at the Marine Culture Festival, the negative public opinion that had been negative about it disappeared as it was unexpectedly pretty . The Ocean Fountain is named "Dancing Sea Fountain" and performs every day from April to November, except on days when it rains or has strong winds. During breaks, stories and requested songs are also told. It is a must-visit course for tomorrow's tourists visiting Mokpo, as it has good reviews from people from outside the country . However, nearby residents are getting sick of it after seeing it a few times.

Previously, it was an international slow city, but it is not currently a slow city as it has not been extended as it has not been re-certified after June 22, 2024 . #

Compared to other local cities, the level of high school students is neither particularly good nor bad. However, because the nearby city of Gwangju ranks high on the national CSAT average, some students graduate from middle school in Mokpo and go to high school in Gwangju, while others go to Jeonnam Foreign Language High School or Jeonnam Science High School . Also, there are many cases where students are accepted to Seoul National University due to regional balance, but fail at the lowest level.

Compared to other regions, there are very few public high schools and many private ones. The first high school was Mokpo Provincial Commercial Training School (currently Moksang High School ) in 1920 .[88] It can be said that the cultivation of humanities education began in earnest with the opening of Mokpo Middle School, the predecessor of Mokpo High School, in the 1940s, and the opening of Mokpo Girls' High School in the late 40s. Since then, from the late 50s to the early 70s, private schools such as Yeongheung High School, Muntae High School, and Hongil High School have been springing up, and the conditions and land for establishing public schools have not been prepared, so no public schools have been established since Mokpo Jeil Girls' High School. Currently, Moksang High School , Mokpo High School , Mokpo Girls' High School , and Mokpo Jeil Girls' High School are operating as general schools, and Mokpo Technical High School is the only public school operating as a specialized school. On the other hand, private schools include Mokpo Hongil High School, Mokpo Mariahoe High School, and Mokpo Deokin High School for boys; Mokpo Jeongmyeong Girls' High School, Mokpo Hyein Girls' High School, and Mokpo Girls' Commercial High School are girls' schools; and Yeongheung High School, Muntae High School, and Mokpo Culinary Science High School are coeducational schools.[89]

As for middle and high schools in this region, since the implementation of the high school equalization policy, private schools are strong and public schools are very weak. Prior to 2005, in the era of non-standardization of high schools, public schools were strong and private schools were weak. During this period, Mokpo High School , a public school, reigned at the top, followed by Mokpo Girls' High School , also a public school, Yeongheung High School , Muntae High School , and Jeonnam Jeil High School, which were private schools. As the selection of students with excellent GPA began, private high schools led by Yeongheung High School, Muntae High School, and Hongil High School offered scholarships and dormitories to private and public middle schools under the same foundation to attract excellent students and make good GPA scores . Although the status of Mokpo High School was shaken when it began to send universities frequently, it still produced many students entering prestigious universities through regular admissions during the period when the majority of students were admitted on a regular basis, and maintained its prestige . It has been on a downward trend since then. In the end, the last generation of non-standardization, 2007 entrance exam candidates, 2004 admissions students, humanities majors, Gwangju Jeonnam senior[90] And the last one that produced the chief of Gwangju Jeonnam in the natural world has not been produced.

Another public high school, Mokpo Commercial High School, is on a downward trend after being changed to Jeonnam Jeil High School, which is for general students.[91]

As mentioned above, private high schools such as Yeongheung High School , Muntae High School , Mokpo Deokin High School , and Mokpo Hongil High School are doing well while Mokpo High School is struggling after the leveling . After the leveling, until around 2012, Yeongheung High School and Hongil High School were competing for the upper hand in having graduates from prestigious universities. However, due to a bad situation on campus, the atmosphere had calmed down a lot, and Hongil High School took advantage of the gap to grow and is now referred to as the most prestigious high school in 2014. A student who received a perfect score in the College Scholastic Ability Test in 2013 in the science department also graduated from Hongil High School. Since then, the entrance exam scores in 2014 have also shown to surpass those of regular high schools. In 2015, it showed incredible potential in the rolling admissions, and in terms of CSAT scores, it produced a top student in the Jeonnam Department of Liberal Arts and Sciences, establishing itself as a prestigious private school in the Jeonnam region.

Middle school students in the Mokpo area should think carefully about school. For reference, it is a hit and run because it is a high school leveling area. Of course, in some private middle schools, students with lower grades in their school are never allowed to use the same foundation high school, and after driving them all out to public high schools such as Mokpo High School or Moksang High School (former Jeonnam Jeil High School), they deliberately applied only less than or close to the maximum number. After making it, there are rumors that a 'playful' is taking place by appealing to the top students of other middle schools, attracting top students.[92]

The current problem with education in Mokpo City is the imbalance in the number of students due to the hollowing out of the original city center. Old downtown of Mokpo City + Hadang District[93] + The population of Jeonnam Provincial Office is continuously moving eastward through Hadang downtown to Namak New Town, and is unable to keep up, causing a serious decline in the number of students in schools in the original downtown. Seobu Elementary School received the buff from Bukhang and currently has about 850 students, which is close to 1,000. Although the original downtown area has already been in serious trouble for a long time, the aftereffects are spreading in the 2010s when Namak New Town was developed. Elementary schools in the inner city, such as Yudal, Sanjeong, Yeondong, Nam, Jungang, and Bukgyo, barely maintain one or two classes per grade, and Seosan Elementary School is almost an island elementary school with less than 10 students per grade. Even elementary schools in the Hadang district and Bukhang area, which worked hard to expand schools and open new schools in the 1990s and early 2000s, are running out of classrooms. There is. In addition, not only is the housing site being developed , but the birth rate is also falling, and the number of new elementary school students has decreased by more than 1,000 during the development of Namak New Town, so the decline in the number of students is expected to worsen.[94]

For elementary schools, even small schools need to be maintained due to issues such as commuting distance, but for middle and high schools, new schools are only built every time a new downtown is created, and no measures are taken to organize or relocate existing schools, so schools in the old downtown are suffering the effects of the phenomenon of avoidance of going to schools in the original downtown. In addition, due to the impact of high school standardization, private middle schools are recognized as a stepping stone to entering newly prestigious private high schools, and the application rate has fallen, so only public middle schools are turning into mini schools. The total number of students at Mokpo Girls' Middle School in 2021, which has attracted a dedicated school route called Mokpo Bus No. 13-1 , is 122 students in 6 classes (including 3 students in 1 special class).[95] In addition, the three public boys' schools in the original downtown area ( Mokpo Jeil Middle School , Mokpo Yudal Middle School , and Cheongho Middle School) , which boasted history and tradition, are also experiencing a serious decline in classes. In the case of Mokpo Jeil Middle School, Yeongheung Middle School, which was once the only male middle school in the Hadang area, which had 1/4 of Mokpo's population , became co-educational in 1999.[96] Until 2005, when Hadang Middle School opened, there were only 0.5 schools that male students could go to, which fell apart due to their location near the new city center, but even in these schools, the number of classes is decreasing.[97]

In any case, despite this imbalance in demand, schools in the original downtown are maintained even by reducing the number of classes. However, if you are unlucky in the hit-and-run lottery, someone will advance from the new downtown to an unwanted middle school in the original downtown. There are many complaints from residents in the new downtown or Okam district of Namak New Town about this, and every year, a large number of students who were going to the old downtown use disguised transfers to Namak Middle School in Namak District of Namak New Town, which is under the jurisdiction of Muan- gun . There was also a situation where a student had to apply for a school transfer. Accordingly, in 2013, a situation occurred in which teachers at Namak Middle School requested the local office of education to suspend allocation, saying they were concerned that the quality of education would deteriorate due to overcrowded classes. Related Articles In addition, high schools in the inner city are also taking a direct hit from the concentration of students in private schools and the hollowing out of the city center due to the high school standardization policy .

In the end, Cheongho Middle School, unable to withstand the decline in the number of students, moved to the Yongyong district, a new housing development district, and at the same time converted to a co-educational school. Related article Moksang High School mentioned above is also pursuing relocation to the Okam district. Related articles [98]

Mokpo High School and Mokpo Girls' High School are scheduled to be integrated and open as a new integrated Mokpo High School on the university site in the Ogam District of Namak New Town in March 2028 . # In fact, by 2037, there is a high possibility that only three general high schools will remain in Mokpo City due to population decline due to a decrease in birth rate and population outflow.[99] It can be said that consolidation between schools is inevitable. This is a problem that is occurring not only in Mokpo City but also in most regions of Korea excluding the metropolitan area.

The university is Mokpo National University Mokpo Campus.[100] , Mokpo Maritime University , and Mokpo Catholic University , and the junior college is Mokpo Science University .

There are also cases where students come from other areas near Mokpo to study in Mokpo. In particular, since most of the area near Mokpo is like an island, there are no high schools on the island, so some students come to Mokpo altogether, while others come to Mokpo for reasons such as quality education or special athletic training. Even though Mokpo is said to be dead, there is still no city like Mokpo in the southwestern part of Jeollanam-do. Many students who came to the city like this often entered Mokpo High School . The dormitory facilities were well-equipped, and the reason people came to study in the city in the first place was to get into a popular school, but after standardization, it became a thing of the past, and the current Mokpo High School had dormitory rooms left over, so the four-bed rooms were changed to three-bed rooms.

In order to retain talented individuals from Mokpo who go to Gwangju , Mokpo City operates a system that provides full scholarships for four years to high school graduates from Mokpo City who are accepted to Seoul National University . Students with skills are worth a try!

Among the 22 cities and counties in Jeollanam-do , it is the only area where the 'Eup and Myeon Area and Island and Remote Area Education Promotion Act' does not apply. It is obvious that this is clearly stated in the name of the law, but its application is limited to towns and villages . However, Mokpo is the only city in Jeollanam-do where urban-rural integration has not occurred, so there are no towns or villages at all. If you are going to argue about this, you should blame the law that is uniformly applied only to towns and villages, and not accept that it is discriminating by region compared to other cities in Jeollanam-do that have already integrated urban and rural areas. Even in the Yeosun mine area, the downtown area is not covered at all, so that's the end of it.

There are two libraries: Mokpo City Library, operated by Mokpo City, and Mokpo Public Library, under the Jeollanam-do Office of Education. The public library is located in the North Port area, which has a large population in the original city center, and is easily accessible by taking buses 13 and 60. However, the downside is that it is difficult for first-time visitors to access because it is located in the middle of a residential area and enters along a back road, and for young students, it is dangerous to pass by due to vehicles driving in the alley. The city library is the worst in terms of accessibility, and there is no public transportation connected to the library, so there are few users. Problems with the operation of the city library have been raised several times by the city council, and facilities are not being improved well as the operation is still outsourced to the private sector. The city library's presence is so low that even this is being forgotten. We are solving the problem in a superficial way by operating small libraries and mobile libraries. The children's library and English library under the city library are located near Cheongho Market, but their location is somewhat ambiguous.

In cities where universities are located, conflicts arise over the use of libraries by middle and high school students and nearby residents, while in Mokpo City, although the number of universities is quite high compared to the population, use of university libraries is quite rare, perhaps due to the poor location of the schools. Mokpo National University is outside Mokpo, and Mokpo Maritime University can be reached further towards the sea in the original city center. Mokpo Catholic University is also located at the edge of downtown Mokpo, so it is not often visited. Mokpo Science University has a good location, but it is not a preferred location because you have to climb a long hill. Although it is not within the administrative district of Mokpo City, if you live in the Okam district, you can use the Jeonnam Provincial Library right next door, making it easier to use the library.

It was a prosperous port city during the Japanese colonial period , and many buildings built during the Japanese colonial period remain to this day . The buildings that stand out near Mokpo Girls' Middle School and in the old town below Yudalsan Mountain , which was once a Japanese district, are the cradle of Japanese colonial-era architecture and modern architecture . They are all quasi-cultural properties and old buildings. However, since this is a cultural property, it was not intentionally preserved to preserve it, and the area has hardly been developed since then, so it has remained in its original form to this day.[101] For example, many more Japanese people lived in Gyeongseong, Busan, Daegu, and Daejeon than in Mokpo, but all remnants of Japanese colonial rule disappeared with the wave of development after liberation. On the other hand, Mokpo's development was slow after liberation, so many of these old houses remain.

The former Japanese consulate building near the monument at the starting point of National Road 1-2 was completed in 1900 and was used as the Mokpo District Office during the Japanese colonial period . It has been used as the Mokpo Cultural Center since 2014, and has been used as the Mokpo Modern History Museum 1 in 2014. This building, designated Historic Site No. 286, is a modern building of the enlightenment period with high historical and architectural value.

The Mokpo Modern Museum is operated in a total of two buildings . Rather than relics, they mainly exhibited documents and photographs at the time, and reproduced some of the Mokpo streets during the Japanese colonial period . However, in the case of executing the independence forces in the second building, there are some photos that are really naked.

There is a Mokpo branch building of Honam Bank, in which 24 influential Korean capitalists from Gwangju and Mokpo participated, and after liberation, it was used as the Mokpo branch of Choheung Bank. Recognized for its value as the only modern financial building currently existing in Mokpo, it was registered and managed as Registered Cultural Property No. 29 on May 31, 2002. It is currently used as the Mokpo Cultural Center.

As remnants of Japanese colonial rule, several artificial caves can be seen on the islands across from the coast near Mokpo Maritime University . This was artificially created by the Japanese military during the Pacific War to protect military supplies and soldiers from American bombings, and has been preserved to this day.

At Yudal Elementary School, a taxidermy of a tiger known as the last tiger of Joseon is on display. And on the playground side, there is a bomb shelter in case of bombing. Currently, the entrance is blocked and cannot be entered, but there is a model that roughly reproduces the appearance at the Mokpo Cultural Center.

Due to the history of many Japanese people living there, most of the elderly people in the old town area who spent their youth during the Japanese colonial period can speak Japanese at a native level.

Because of its geographical proximity, many people from Jeju Island live here. In particular, there were many migrants who landed after the April 3 Incident . Examples include Park Young-soo and Bu Jwa-hyeon . Surnames that are common in Jeju Island also account for a significantly higher proportion in Mokpo City.

Along with Tongyeong , it is also a city that boasts the best Dadohae scenery. Climb Yudal Mountain in the evening and see the Dadohae sea dyed red by the setting sun, a world-class experience. Although it is not Dadohaehaesang National Park, it is a city where you can enjoy the national park without having to go to the island.

It was the city with the last remaining Primus Cinema in the country. It was operated as Primus Cinema until January 31, 2016, and was later converted to Megabox.

The libraries include Mokpo City Library, Mokpo Public Library, Mokpo Children's Library, and Jeollanam-do Provincial Library . Mokpo City Library is located at a high altitude, so many students get tired while going to the library.

The largest general hospital in Mokpo City is Mokpo Korean Hospital (575 beds), followed by Se-an General Hospital (376 beds), Mokpo Christian Hospital (357 beds), Mokpo Central Hospital (341 beds), and Mokpo City Medical Center (299 beds). Among these, Se-an General Hospital has a larger psychiatric ward than the general ward, so although it is a general hospital, there is a tendency to view it differently. Currently, a strong push is being made to attract a medical school along with Mokpo National University , but the establishment of a medical school continues to be unsuccessful due to the fact that it is a small and medium-sized city and the government atmosphere restricts the establishment of a medical school. However, as there is talk of merging Mokpo National University and Suncheon National University in 2024 and there is talk of expanding the number of medical school seats, the possibility of establishing a medical school is increasing.

The three major general hospitals , Mokpo Korean Hospital , Mokpo Central Hospital , and Mokpo Christian Hospital, have rapidly grown to the level of general hospitals or been newly created since the 1990s . Originally, the largest hospital in Mokpo was St. Columban Hospital in Daeseong-dong. Because it was located on a hill, it was inaccessible by public transportation and only accessible by taxi, but since it was virtually the only general hospital, many patients visited the hospital. Since there were no pharmacies around the hospital, there was a lot of profit from prescriptions, but when the division of medicine was implemented and Mokpo Korean Hospital and Mokpo Christian Hospital expanded and relocated, profits plummeted to the point where wages were not paid, and the hospital closed down due to a labor-management dispute.

Mokpo Korean Hospital was a mid-sized hospital established in 1988 with 77 beds next to Gwangju Bank in Plaza No. 3. It was so famous that surgical emergency patients came to this place, and even before the expansion, many trauma patients came here. It grew rapidly after moving to its current location in the early 1990s, and is currently designated as a regional emergency medical center by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Mokpo Christian Hospital was also a mid-sized hospital established in 1991 at the Dongmyeong-dong intersection with 70 beds. It moved to its current location in Hadang in 1997 and grew by accepting patients from the Hadang area. Although it only legally met the requirements of a general hospital in 2008 , it has grown rapidly since then and is the only hospital in the Mokpo area to be included in the hospital rankings selected by the Korean edition of Newsweek . Mokpo Central Hospital , located across from the Seokhyeon-dong bus garage and easily accessible by public transportation, is a general hospital established in 1999 . The history of the hospital itself is short, but if you go back to the days of Yudal Otolaryngology, it can be said to have a long history. In any case, the history of the three major general hospitals is not that long, and hospitals are still in operation on the site of the old Korean Hospital and Christian Hospital, so you can roughly guess their size at the time. Se-an General Hospital opened as Mokpo City Hospital only in 2008, so it has the disadvantage of being less well-known and not located on a major road, despite being located in the original city center, making accessibility difficult. Mokpo City Medical Center , along with St. Columban Hospital, was a central medical institution in Mokpo, but after moving to its current location in 1978 and until remodeling in 2014 , the building was old, public transportation was poor, and the site was small, making it less popular. While most public hospitals are affiliated with metropolitan governments, Mokpo City Medical Center has been operated by the city since 1914 . As a result, it is bound to lack competitiveness compared to public hospitals operated by metropolitan governments, which is regrettable in Mokpo City, which does not have a tertiary general hospital.

There is no medical school or hospital, and only in 2003 did Mokpo Dongshin University Oriental Medicine Hospital come into Hadang. The location is the best and the building is not old, but the general opinion is that the facilities are inferior to those of hospitals affiliated with Oriental medicine universities.

It is the location of FC Mokpo, a semi-professional soccer team that participates in the K3 League , the third division soccer league in Korea . Additionally, the Mokpo City Hall women's hockey team is an industrial team, and was founded in 1982 , making it the oldest existing women's hockey team. Founded in 1984, it has been leading the development of domestic women's hockey along with KT and the Gyeongbuk Sports Council (formerly Gyeongju City Hall).

Sports facilities include Mokpo Stadium , Mokpo International Soccer Center , Mokpo Indoor Gymnasium, Mokpo Indoor Swimming Pool, Mokpo Baseball Stadium, and KBS Sports World. The regular sports facilities are not bad, as it has a national soccer center and a sports center operated by a KBS subsidiary. The lack of accessibility to all facilities is a drawback, but since there are almost no regular league games, it does not seem to be a big problem.

The most recently built facility is Mokpo Stadium, which was built on a site just south of the International Soccer Center and opened in 2023. The first event held after opening was the 104th National Sports Festival . Yudal Stadium, which was used before Mokpo Stadium, was a small public stadium with a capacity of 11,000 people and no spectator chairs compared to the size of the city with a population of 250,000. However, in the 1990s, it hosted some K-League games between Yugong Elephant and Jeonnam Dragons. Mokpo Indoor Gymnasium has also been used as a local touring venue for basketball festivals and the Volleyball Super League. Since the launch of KBL , Nasan Flamance's semifinal playoff game has been held.[102]

Due to the presence of Mokpo City Hall professional team and high school girls' hockey teams, Mokpo International Football Center has a field hockey field with a small seating area.

Although the level of facilities is a little low, it has enough facilities to hold professional games, but compared to the population size, sports facilities are really inadequate, and the only sports park facilities are Bususan Sports Park and the small Sanjeong Sports Park behind Bukhang Jungang Heights. Accessibility to these places is also not good. There are two social baseball facilities: Mokpo Baseball Stadium next to the soccer center and baseball fields in the Okam District. Mokpo Baseball Stadium is an artificial turf field, and the Okam District Stadium is a dirt floor.

Mokpo Girls' Commercial High School's volleyball team is famous as an academy sports team. Kim Joo-ha and Yeom Hye-seon are from Mokpo and graduated from Mokpo Girls' Commercial High School, and each team has one player from Mokpo Girls' Commercial High School. For men's volleyball, there was the Mokpo High School volleyball team. Although he is not a graduate of Mokpo High School, coach Kang Seong-hyung is a member of the volleyball team at Cheongho Middle School. Additionally, Yoon Bong-woo (Korean Air), who became the first V-League male player to advance to Japanese professional volleyball, is a graduate of Mokpo High School (he transferred to Beolgyo Commercial High School due to the disbandment of the volleyball club while attending school).

As for basketball , there was a basketball team at Mokpo Commercial High School in the past. There were several players from Mokpo Commercial High School who played an active role in the KBL 1st team, such as Kyunghee University coach Kim Hyeon-guk , Park Jong -cheon , Baek In-seon , and Seung-yeon Woo.

In baseball , there are few players from Mokpo, but Choi Hyang-nam , who was born in Shinan-gun and graduated from Sanjeong Elementary School and Yeongheung Middle and High School , is the most successful case. There was also Oh Chul-min, who was nominated for the first round of Haitai by joining the Olympic national team, but did not succeed in the professional game. Born in Yeongheung High School, the most famous baseball figures among baseball fans are Moon Seung-hun and Choo Pyeong-ho , who are active as KBO referees . In the 1970s, there was a baseball club at Mokpo Commercial High School, but before Gwangju became a direct-controlled city, it was disbanded in 1985 after being pushed out of the regional preliminary round and barely participating in the national competition. As an aside, Doosan Bears legend Jaehoon Jeong is from Mokpo. However, as soon as he was born, he moved to Seoul and was treated as a Seoulite.

In terms of soccer , the soccer teams of Jeil Middle School and Mokpo Technical High School are in constant operation, and there are famous players such as Lee In -gyu, who played for Jeonnam Dragons and Gwangju FC , and Jeong Ho-yeon , who plays for Suwon Samsung , recently known as a favorite student of famous coach Lee Jeong-hyo in the K League .

Judo teams are operated at middle schools such as Cheongho Middle School and Hongil Middle School, and teams are also being developed at Mokpo High School and Hongil High School. In particular, Hwang Hee-tae, an Asian Games gold medalist who was specially hired as a martial arts police officer and served as the national team coach, is from Mokpo High School.

Field hockey teams from Jungang Girls' Middle School and Mokpo Girls' High School are still in operation, and many of the players who graduated from these schools play for Mokpo City Hall professional teams.

It is the location of local broadcasting companies covering the southwestern part of Gwangju, Jeollanam-do, including KBS Mokpo Broadcasting Station , Mokpo MBC , and Mokpo Far East Broadcasting . The main transmitting stations are Yangeulsan Transmitting Station located in Mokpo City and Daedunsan Transmitting Station located in Haenam-gun. However, due to the geographical feature of the plain area along the Yeongsan River , broadcasting stations in the Gwangju area are easily transmitted.[103] For this reason, KBS Mokpo 1st Radio's standard FM broadcasting began only in December 2001, the latest among all regional stations, and some Gwangju-area FM stations with outputs of 3kW or more, such as kbc MyFM , Gwangju CBS , and TBN Gwangju Traffic Broadcasting , did not install relay stations in Mokpo. Even radio waves from Gwangju Far East Broadcasting , Global Gwangju Broadcasting and Gwangju Oneum Broadcasting with 1kW output , and KFN radio with 0.5kW output are captured.[104]

 more detailsMokpo City/Politics documentcastPlease note.

Nearby Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Muan-gun Samhyang-eup and Yeongam-gun There is the 96th Infantry Brigade of the Republic of Korea Army in Samho-eup , the 3rd Fleet Command of the Republic of Korea Navy stationed at Yongdang Pier in Mokpo Port , and the 609th Education and Training Squadron located at Mokpo Airport , but there are no military units within the jurisdiction of Mokpo City. The reserve forces training center also has to go to Muan-eup.