Jinju is a mid-sized city with a population of 360,000 in the southeast of South Korea.
Jinju is over 1,300 years of history. The area of Jinju City is about 720 km2, of which the land ratio between the urban and the rural area is about 2:8. The population ratio of these areas, however, is about 8:2.
The Nam River cuts through the city in South Gyeongsang Province (Gyeongsangnam-do, with Changwon as capital) in the southeast of South Korea, where the cities of Sancheong and Hamyang belong as well. This area is economically disadvantaged compared to the eastern part of the province, where Changwon and Gimhae are located, due to slow industrialization. Despite the industrial downturn, the western part of Gyeongsang Province, including Jinju, has successfully preserved the academic and cultural traditions of South-eastern part of the Korean peninsula and its own identity.
The city was the location of the first (1592) and second (1593) sieges of Jinju by Japanese forces during the Imjin War in 1592. More recently, because of being the battlefield of the Korean War in the 1950s, the historical landscape of Jinju was seriously damaged except for the Jinju Fortress.
However, the city has well-preserved cultural assets in the field of crafts and folk arts and a beautiful nature scenery. The city also stands out as an educational and cultural node with a student population of over 90,000. It is home to six universities, including the Gyeongsang National University and has been responsible for cultivating human resources and inheriting traditional cultures.
In recent years, the national government has supported a hub of bio-industrial technological innovation in Jinju, and the transfer of public institutions such as LH Korea Land and Housing Corporation has brought a new economic vitality. In addition, a plan to build a national aerospace industrial complex in Sacheon and Jinju has been established. However, Jinju clearly recognizes that culture is one of the four pillars for sustainable development of the city, along with society, economy and environment, so the strategy for future development is not only focused in industrialization but in fostering the original identity of Jinju as a cultural city.
