Editing Andong (section)

==History==
[[File:Korea-Andong-Dosan Seowon 3015-06.JPG|thumb|left|[[Dosan Seowon]]]]
Around 1 BC, Andong was founded by the [[Jinhan confederacy|Jinhan]] people, and it was known as Gochang. During the [[Three Kingdoms of Korea|Three Kingdoms period]], the area was controlled by the [[Silla]] kingdom. The [[Battle of Gochang]] in 930 was fought here between [[Hubaekje]] forces and the [[Goryeo]] army led by [[Taejo of Goryeo|Wanggeon]], who won control of the city and renamed it Andong.

After the ascent of the [[Joseon dynasty]] to the throne of Korea, Andong became a centre of [[Confucianism]]. The area was extremely conservative for a long time and produced many leading confucian scholars. [[Yi Hwang|Toe-gye Yi Hwang]] (1501–1570), one of the most prominent of all Korean scholars, came from Andong. Yi Hwang retired back to his homeland late in life and started the establishment of the great Confucian academy [[Dosan Seowon]] there, which was finished after his death. During this period Andong and its principal families were influential within Korean political circles, of which the three notable families were the Andong Kim, Andong Jang and Andong [[Gwon|Kwon]] clans.

After the 16th century Andong became less influential until the early 19th century, when a marriage of the local [[Andong Kim|Kim]] family resulted in strong influence on the royal family.

Andong was the site of intense fighting during the [[Korean War]] in the early 1950s, the [[Battle of Andong]]. Although the city was almost destroyed, it was quickly rebuilt. In 1976 the [[Andong Dam]] was built, providing the city with a reliable source of electricity.

In 1999, [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II]] of the United Kingdom celebrated her 73rd [[birthday]] in the city.<ref>{{cite news |date=June 6, 2016 |title=Queen Elizabeth cherishes memory of birthday party in Korea |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2016/06/120_206188.html |work=[[The Korea Times]]|access-date=June 20, 2018}}</ref> There is an exhibit dedicated to this historic visit at Hahoe folk village museum. [[Andong soju]] is made using traditional methods that are centuries old unlike its popular modern counterparts.  It is protected by government regulation to preserve authenticity and commands a steep premium in the marketplace.