Geonip-dong

The origin of the name is unclear, but there are various theories. One source dates it back to Silla, saying the name geonip was created as a reference to the members of the Go family of Jeju entering Jeju from Silla.[2]

Geonip first started as Geonip district in 1914.[2] Geonip-dong was incorporated into Jeju City in 1955 and became a dong.The neighborhood originally started as a fishing town, but was commercialized asa result of opening of the nearby Port of Jeju[3]

Geonip-dong is commonly referred to as a mountainous area because it is a village centered on the Sanjicheon in the west, and it is a rare example of several neighborhoods centered on 'Goeunimor(고으니모르)', which is the border point with Hwabuk, to the east, forming a single natural village and forming a legal-status neighborhood. It is divided into 20 Tongs and 113 bans.[3]

The neighborhood hosts the museum of Gim Man-deok(built in 1978), the Sarabong mountain and the Mochungsa shrine.[4][3] It also has the Jeju National Museum.[1] In 2023,the April 3rd incident history museum opened in the town's old alcohol factory site that was formerly used as a concentration camp for the victims.[5]