Jeju Province
Jeju Province, officially Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, is the southernmost province of South Korea, consisting of eight inhabited and 55 uninhabited islands, including Mara Island, Udo Island, the Chuja Archipelago, and the country's largest island, Jeju Island. The province is located in the Korea Strait, with the Korean Peninsula to the northwest, Japan to the east, and China to the west. The province has two cities: the capital Jeju City, on the northern half of the island and Seogwipo, on the southern half of the island. The island is home to the shield volcano Hallasan, the highest point in South Korea. Jeju and Korean are the official languages of the province, and the vast majority of residents are bilingual. Jeju Island was first settled by humans 8,000 to 10,000 years ago and the Tamna Kingdom is the earliest known civilization on the island. Beginning in the 5th century AD, the kingdom would become a tributary state of various Korean Kingdoms and briefly invaded by the Mongol Empire, before being annexed into the Goryeo in 1105 and later Joseon in 1392. Joseon ruled the island brutally and multiple uprisings occurred. Jeju Island, with the rest of mainland Korea, was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. Following Japan's surrender in World War II in 1945, the islands became part of South Jeolla Province in the United States Army Military Government in Korea, before becoming a separate province on August 1, 1946. On July 1, 2006, the islands were designated a Special Self-Governing Province; it is now one of three special self-governing provinces, the others being Gangwon State and Jeonbuk State.
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