Jeju

Jeju, also Cheju; city in South Korea on northern Jeju Island, the capital of Jeju Province, on Jeju Strait. In an agricultural area producing grain, soya beans, citrus fruit, sweet potatoes, and cotton, Jeju is also a fishing port. Woven goods, bamboo products, potash, and iodine are produced here. The city, a former penal colony, is the site of Jeju College (1952). In 1273 on the island of Jeju the Mongol leader Kublai Khan built ships to invade Japan. The island was made a separate province in 1946, and the city was chartered in 1955. From the 17th century, the island was called Quelpart by Western geographers. Under Japanese rule (1910-1945) the city was called Saishu. The island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Population 258,509 (1995).