Gimje

Gimje is a city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea.

History
The Gimje area is located on the "great plains" of Korea and has been cultivated since ancient times. Nations of early date ascended in the year 200. The Baekje Kingdom invaded and incorporated several small mahan states in the 13th year of King Onjo's reign. The Baekje Kingdom changed its name to Byeogol, but when is not clear.

In the Joseon dynasty, Gimje first appeared in the year 1466 when Sejo of Joseon ruled. He promoted Gimje to an independent county. In 1628, Gwanghaegun of Joseon combined the nearby district of Mangyeong District into Gimje County.

The Baekje Kingdom was ruined by the Tang and Silla Kingdoms, and the Unified Silla Kingdom changed the city's name to Gimje city.

The Goryeo dynasty promoted Gimje city to Gimje District in the 21st year of King Injong’s reign.

City government has always highly regarded and promoted the cultivation of rice and other crop species. From the Baekje Kingdom through the 21st century, Gimje has been one of the best areas for growing rice.

Horizon Festival
Gimje is known as the region where the sky meets the ground, hence the festival of horizon or 'jipyeongseon.' It is held at Byeokgolje area, and more than one million tourists visit it each year. Gimje Horizon Festival hosts a wide range of programs including Samullori (traditional percussion quartet) contest, rural landscape drawing contest, celebratory performances, street parade, Ssireum (wrestling), and traditional weddings. Gimje is the only region where Koreans can see the horizon from a landlocked area. The festival was appointed an Excellent Festival for 4 years between 2004 and 2008. It also provides city residents a chance to experience traditional farming methods.

Twin towns – sister cities
Gimje is twinned with:
 * 🇯🇵 Kikuchi, Kumamoto, Japan (1985)
 * Nantong, Jiangsu, China (1997)
 * Gumi, North Gyeongsang, South Korea (1998)
 * Donghae City, Gangwon, South Korea (1999)

People from Gimje

 * Masutatsu Oyama, Zainichi Korean Karate master, founder of Kyokushin Karate (Real Name: Choi Yeong-eui,, Choe Yeong-ui)
 * Sin Chang-won, notorious South Korean criminal
 * Casanova Wong, South Korean martial artist (Taekwondo), martial arts actor and film producer (Real Name: Kim Yong-ho,, Gim Yong-ho)
 * Lee Jung-hyun, South Korean actress, singer and K-pop idol
 * Kim Se-jeong, South Korean actress, singer, dancer and K-pop idol, former member of K-pop girlgroups I.O.I, gugudan (in which she was the leader of the group), and the second gugudan's subgroup, gugudan SeMiNa.