The area around Haeju is known to have been inhabited since the
Neolithic period, as shellmounds, pottery, and stone tools have been found at Ryongdangp'o. During the early
Three kingdoms period, it was briefly governed by a small chieftain, when it was known as "Naemihol" (). In 757, however, it was conquered by the
Goguryeo kingdom, who later lost it to
Silla. It was under the
Goryeo dynasty's
King T'aejo that it received its current name. Sohyon Academy (소현서원) was a
Confucian academy founded near Haeju by the famous
Joseon dynasty scholar
Yi I (1536–84) after his retirement. It is situated in Unbyong Valley, a part of Soktamgugok (Nine valleys of pools and rocks). According to the North Korean government, their
southward offensive on the first day of the
Korean War on 25 June 1950 was a response to a two-day long bombing by the South Koreans and their surprise attacks on Haeju and other places. Early in the morning of 25 June, before the dawn counterattack in the North Korean account, the South Korean Office of Public Information announced that the Southern forces had captured Haeju. The South Korean government later denied capturing the town and blamed the report on an exaggerating officer.
Yugoslavia and the
Soviet Union proposed that North Korea would be invited to the
UN Security Council to present its side of the story. Both proposals were voted down. ==Geography==