Silmido
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| Silmido | ||||||||
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 Map of Silmido and environs. |
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Silmido is an uninhabited island in the Yellow Sea, off the west coast of South Korea. It has an area of about .25 km². It lies within the borders of Incheon metropolitan city, and is about 5 kilometers southwest of Incheon International Airport. Silmido lies just offshore of the larger, inhabited island of Muuido, which is connected to the mainland by ferry.
[edit] Silmido Incident
Silmido became historically significant in the 1960s, when it was used as the training ground for an elite military corps trained to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Il-sung. Traces of the training facilities can still be seen. Under circumstances that have still not been fully brought to light, the members of the corps mutinied and went to Seoul in 1971, where they were killed or committed suicide.
Silmido is well-known today as the principal setting of the 2003 movie of the same name, which is loosely based on the Silmido Incident. Thanks to the movie's success, the island has become a fairly popular tourist destination.
