Jeonbuk State emerged in 1896 from the northern part of theold Jeolla province, one of theEight Provinces of Korea. OriginallyNorth Jeolla Province, it was renamed Jeonbuk (a shortening of North Jeolla) on 18 January 2024 concurrent with the territory gaining more autonomy and being classified as self-governing rather than as a regular province. The special bill on the creation of the special autonomous province of North Jeolla is a project put forward by thePeople Power Party in August 2022 in accordance with Article 6 of the special law on the establishment of special autonomous provinces. It is the 3rd after the provinces ofJeju andGangwon to obtain this status.
Jeonju is the capital and largest city of Jeonbuk, with other major cities includingIksan,Gunsan andJeongeup.
Jeolla Province, including North Jeolla, was the first province/state out of theEight Provinces system to have its 1000th year anniversary in 2018, as the name 'Jeolla-do' was established in 1018,duringHyeonjong of Goryeo's 9th year in power.[2]
During the Three Kingdom Period, this region came to belong toBaekje when it absorbed Mahan.When Baekje established theJeongbang administrative system (정방제) to govern the local area, the central region (Goseopseong–Gobu area) acted as the core of the province.[3]
After the fall ofBaekje by theSilla and ChineseTang dynasty allied forces in 660 (20th year ofKing Uija), it came under Tang control. It became a part of Silla when Tang wasexpelled in 676 (16th year ofKing Munmu).[3]
When there were nine states and five small capitals inUnified Silla in 685, there were Wansan-ju (presentJeonju) and Namwon-gyeong (presentNamwon) in Jeonbuk State in existence.[3]
In 892, when GeneralKyŏn Hwŏn foundedHubaekje (later Baekje), this area was the center of the country for about 50 years. In 936, during the Hubaekje rule ofKyŏn Sin-gŏm, it was conquered byWang Geon and became part of hisGoryeo Dynasty. From 900 to the time when Hubaekje was conquered by Goryeo, Wansan-ju (present Jeonju) had been its capital, and the country ruled the whole Jeolla-do region.
In 996 (14th year ofKing Seongjong), this region was named Gangnam province and the Korean government established the four states (Jeonju-Jeonju province, Yeongju-Gobu, Sunju-Sunchang, and Maju-Okgu) in the North Jeolla region.[3]
Gangnam-do (Jeonbuk) and Haenam-do (South Jeolla Province) were combined and titled as Jeolla-do in 1018 (9th year of King Hyeonjong's reign).
During theJoseon period, as the administrative districts of the whole nation were organized in theEight Provinces system in 1413 (13th year ofKing Taejong's reign), Jeolla-do took charge of vast areas of one prefecture, four autonomous counties, four protectorates, 12 counties, and 31 counties covering present Jeollanam-do, Jeollabuk-do andJeju Province.[3]
In 1963, Geumsan-gun was incorporated into Chungnam, and Wido-myeon of Jeonnam was incorporated into Jeonbuk. Jeongju-eup and Namwon-eup were raised to cities in 1981 and Gimje-eup was raised to city status in 1989. Wansan District and Deokjin District were established in Jeonju-city in the same year.
Due to establishment of cities in the mixed type of city-farming area in 1995, Okgu, Jeungeup, Namwon, Gimje and Iksan-Guns were combined. Gimje and Iksan-guns were merged and Gunsan, Jeonju, Namwon, Gimje and Iri cities were integrated. Through repeated reorganizations of administrative districts, now the region consists of the administrative districts of six cities and eight counties.
Failures in the hosting of the25th World Scout Jamboree in July 2023 led to political controversy, adding to long-term concerns about a lack of development alongside population decline and aging. As a result of a law passed in December 2023, on 18 January 2024 the North Jeolla became a special self-governing province and was renamed Jeonbuk State (Jeonbuk being an abbreviation of North Jeolla). This new status increases the autonomy of the province's government, being able to approve projects requiringenvironmental impact assessments and tailor its own immigration and tourism policies.[4]
On September 30, 2024, North Jeolla Province, alongside the Korean Heritage Service (국가유산청), announced that they will be opening a multi-use cultural space institution, "Godo-Hannune Iksan Sagyeyousan center/고도 한눈애(愛) 익산 세계유산센터', or the 'Iksan ancient city world heritage center', in October 1st,2024.[5][6]
Jeonju International Sori Festival is a high-quality worldwide music art festival based on Pansori, Korea's Intangible Cultural Heritage. It is designed to promote Korean music to the world and exchange diverse musical heritages of many nations though sounds as meditation. The festival was selected as one of the "Best 25 International Festivals" by the UK music magazineSonglines in 2012 and 2013.[9]
The Jeollabuk-do World Calligraphy Biennale was launched in favor of popularizing and globalizing Korean calligraphy in 1997. Since then, the art of calligraphy, the quintessence of Chinese character culture in East Asia, has gained global interest among calligraphers and the public over the years.[10]
In the 1960s the Honam highway (which has been upgraded to theHonam Expressway) was built. This created an industrial belt, connecting the cities ofIri (now calledIksan) andGunsan (a port city) with the provincial capital ofJeonju.
Public transportation networks serve Jeonju and other cities in Jeollabuk-do includingGunsan Airport.[11]
According to the census of 2005[12] of the people of Jeonbuk 37.7% followChristianity (26.3%Protestantism and 11.4%Catholicism) and 12.8% followBuddhism. 49.5% of the population is mostly not religious or followMuism and other indigenous religions.
Based on the provisional figures for 2019,GRDP isKRW 495.9 billion and per capita GRDP is KRW 28.7 million.
The main industry is the service industry, with 68.3% in theservice industry, 21.2% in the mining industry, 9.7% in the construction industry, and 0.8% in agriculture and fishing. Rice, barley, peaches, ginseng, peppers, ginger, walnuts, and dried persimmons are mainly produced.[13]
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