Sunheung

Sunheung is a township administered as part of the municipality of Yeongju in North Gyeongsang, South Korea. The present local government administers an area of 54.35 square kilometers (20.98 sq mi).

Sunheung Township
A detail from a 1904 map of Korea, showing "Sun-heung" as the largest town northwest of the provincial capital Andong
Korean name
Hangul	순흥면
Hanja	順興面
Literal meaning	The Township of Following Prosperity
Revised Romanization	Sunheung-myeon
McCune–Reischauer	Sunhŭng-myŏn

Located in Sunheung is Sosu Seowon, a Neo-Confucian Academy built in the 16th century and today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Name

Sunheung is an anglicization of the McCune–Reischauer romanization Sunhŭng. Its official romanization in South Korea is Sunheung. In 19th century sources, Sunheung appears as Sioun-heng-fu,^[1] from a French transcription of the Korean placename and the Chinese pronunciation of its status as the seat of a district or commandery. Although the name literally means "Adhering to", "Obeying", or "Following Prosperity" or "Success", Sunheung is also bongwan of a Korean clan in the area which included the influential Korean Confucianist An Hyang.

History

Under the late Joseon dynasty, Sunheung was a district capital overseeing the plains and hinterland around Mount Taebaek. Its mountains were the site of Korea's first foreign mining concern, a silver mine whose permit was revoked by the royal court in Seoul after a few months of operation in the early 1850s.^[1][2]

See also

• List of South Korean townships
• Ahn (Korean surname)#Sunheung Clan (Dominant Clan)