Native name: 모도 | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Modo | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Yellow Sea, East China Sea |
| Coordinates | 34°24′25″N 126°21′14″E / 34.407°N 126.354°E |
| Administration | |
South Korea | |
| Province | South Jeolla |
| County | Jindo County |
| Modo, Jindo | |
| Hangul | 모도 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 茅島 |
| Revised Romanization | Modo |
| McCune–Reischauer | Modo |
Modo Island is a small island in Jindo County, South Jeolla province, South Korea, just off the southwest corner of the Korean peninsula. It is located to the south-east of Jindo Island and is about 1.1 km long and 300 meters wide.
The tide-related sea level variations result in a land pass 2.9 km long and 10–40 meters wide opening for approximately an hour between Modo and Jindo islands. The event occurs roughly twice a year, around April–June.[1] It had long been celebrated in a local festival called "Jindo's Sea Way", but was largely unknown to the world until 1975, when the French ambassador Pierre Randi described the phenomenon in a French newspaper.[2][3] Nowadays, nearly half a million foreign and local tourists attend the event annually. It is accompanied by local festivals which include Ganggangsuwollae (Korean traditional circle dance), Ssitkim-gut (a shaman ritual, consoling the souls of the dead), Deul Norae (traditional farmers' songs), Manga (burial ceremony songs), Jindo dog show, Buknori (drum performance) and fireworks.[4][5]