Seomjin River
Hangul	섬진강
Hanja	蟾津江
Revised Romanization	Seomjin-gang
McCune–Reischauer	Sŏmjin'gang

The Seomjin River is a river in South Korea. It drains southeastern Jeollabuk-do as well as eastern Jeollanam-do and western Gyeongsangnam-do provinces, and flows into the Korea Strait. The Seomjin rises from Palgongsan and flows for 212.3 kilometers before reaching its final destination in Gwangyang, where it enters Gwangyang Bay.

The Seomjin watershed comprises some 4,896.5 km².^[1] This area includes both farmland and a great deal of pristine mountain country, including the Jirisan area. A wide variety of animals are found along the river, including the European otter, Lutra lutra. Principal tributaries include the Boseong River and Yocheon stream.

The name "Seomjin" literally means "toad ferry." This name is believed to date from Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea in the 1590s. According to legend, a swarm of toads blocked the Japanese army from crossing the Seomjin into northern Jeolla.

[edit] See also

• Rivers of Korea
• Geography of South Korea

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Simcheong Village website, discusses the Seomjin in detail
• Gwangyang City profile of the river
• (Korean) Naver Encyclopedia entry