Wolmido
37°28′20″N 126°36′08″E / 37.472311°N 126.602314°E
| Wolmido | |
 | |
| Korean name | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | |
| Hanja | |
| Revised Romanization | Wolmido |
| McCune–Reischauer | Wŏlmido |
Wolmido (월미도), also known as Wŏlmi-do, is an island 1 kilometer (0.62 mi) off the coast of South Korea near Incheon. It was connected to the mainland by a highway in 1989, and was later connected by a monorail which opened in late 2019.[1][2] It is a weekend destination and tourist area, with restaurants, the theme park Play Hill and the areas Meeting Square, Arts Square, Performance Square, and Good Harvest Square.[3]
The Korean Traditional Garden at Wolmi Park (월미공원) was established in 2001 after the relocation of the Army base which had been located there for 50 years.[3]
History
On September 10, 1950, the U.S. Army began five days of bombing Wolmido, where North Korean Army troops were stationed, in preparation for the Incheon Landings. On September 15, 1950, South Korean and United Nations troops, commanded by U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur, landed on Wolmido Island and retook Incheon before pushing onto Seoul. The landing turned the tides after the South Korean and UN forces had been pushed back to Busan early in the Korean War.
Several hundred civilians were killed in the dropping of 93 napalm bombs. The battle was inspiration for the North Korean war film Wolmi Island produced in 1982.[4]
An Army base was established at the site of what became Wolmi Park (월미공원) after the base's relocation. The site was turned into a garden and opened to the public in 2001.[3]
References
- ^ "Where the Sky and the Sea Are Open to the World". Korea Tourism Organization. n.d. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
- ^ "Wolmido Monorail: Incheon, South Korea". The Monorail Society. Archived from the original on 2011-06-17. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ a b c "Incheon » Jung-gu » Wolmido Island". Korea Tourism Organization. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2012.
- ^ "Wolmido residents demand joint investigation into Korean War massacre". The Hankyoreh. September 16, 2009. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) Additional on March 25, 2012