Here in 1597 admiral Yi Sun-sin won the Battle of Myeongnyang, defeating a vastly superior Japanese fleet.

[2] Every year, on a variable day in the spring or summer, a narrow land pass (about 2.9 km long and up to 40 meters wide) opens for about an hour between the main Jindo Island and small Modo island as a result of tidal activity.

During the Mongol invasions of Korea of 1231–1270, the island served as a refuge for the Sambyeolcho Rebellion forces.

[10] The increase in local traffic meant the government needed to add the second bridge in 2005, which is of the same length, but wider at 12.5 meters.

[14] 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 the main Jindo island and the small Modo island to the south of Jindo.

[16][17] 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.

[1][18] The island has three art galleries, Sojun, Namjin and Sochi, containing collections of painters who worked here over the past centuries.