Changgang County is a ''kun'', or county, in north-central

Chagang Chagang Province (Chagangdo; ) is a province in North Korea; it is bordered by China's Jilin and Liaoning provinces to the north, Ryanggang and South Hamgyong to the east, South Pyongan to the south, and North Pyongan to the west. Chagang was f ...

province,

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

. Originally part of

Kanggye Kanggye () is the provincial capital of Chagang, North Korea and has a population of 251,971. Because of its strategic importance, derived from its topography, it has been of military interest from the time of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910). Hist ...

, it was made a separate county in 1949. It borders Hwapyong and

Rangrim Rangrim County (Chosŏn'gŭl: , literally ''Wolf Forest County'') is a ''kun'', or county, on the eastern flank of Chagang province, North Korea. It was created in 1952 from portions of Changgang and Changjin, as part of a general reorganization ...

to the east,

and

Sijung Sijung County is a ''kun'', or county, in Chagang province, North Korea. It borders Kanggye and Changgang to the east, Manpo to the north and west, and Wiwon to the south. Formerly part of Kanggye, Sijung became a separate county in 1952 as ...

to the west,

Songgan Songgan County is a ''kun'', or county, in central Chagang province, North Korea. It borders Rangrim to the east, Wiwon to the west, Kanggye to the north and Chonchon and Ryongrim to the south. It was formed in 1952 from parts of Chonchon and Ch ...

to the south, and

Chasong Chasŏng County is a county ( kun) in Chagang Province, North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares bo ...

to the north. The terrain of Changgang is rugged and mountainous, with the

Kangnam Mountains The Kangnam Mountains are a mountain range of North Korea, in the central part of the country's northern region. They run parallel to the Amnok River which forms the border with China. They lie west of the Rangrim Mountains, which is the drainage ...

in the northeast and the Chogyuryong Mountains in the southwest. The highest peak is Kumpasan (금파산, 1918 m) along the northern border.

History

Early history

No artefacts from the paleolithic or neolithic periods have been found, but human existence during these periods is suspected based on discoveries from the neighboring

Chasong County Chasŏng County is a county ( kun) in Chagang Province, North Korea. The city is immediately south of the Chinese-North Korean border. Its approximate population to 7 km from the city center is 8,317. The average altitude is 1279 feet, or 3 ...

.Human existence during the Bronze age is attested from the pottery from the

Mumun pottery period The Mumun pottery period is an archaeological era in Korean prehistory that dates to approximately 1500-300 BC. This period is named after the Korean name for undecorated or plain cooking and storage vessels that form a large part of the pottery ...

,Black pottery,stone axes Bronze daggers,and crescent stone knives found in Gongwidong and Pungryongdong( The dongs that existed when it was still part of greater Kanggye county. Modern day. Kanggye City and

Sijung County Sijung County is a ''kun'', or county, in Chagang province, North Korea. It borders Kanggye and Changgang to the east, Manpo to the north and west, and Wiwon to the south. Formerly part of Kanggye, Sijung became a separate county in 1952 as part ...

). In the early iron age,

Knife money Knife money is the name of large, cast, bronze, knife-shaped commodity money produced by various governments and kingdoms in what is now China, approximately 2500 years ago. Knife money circulated in China between 600 and 200 B.C. during the Zh ...

from the Ancient chinese state of

Yan Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed inde ...

was found in Nonamdong(Dong which was part of Kanggye county, modern day Ronam-ri,

Kanggye county

Changjin county

Birth of Changgang County to current day

Changgang county was born from the merger of Changjin county and Kanggye county in 1949.In 1952, Dong mun myeon of Changgang county became part of the newly created

Rangrim County Rangrim County (Hangul, Chosŏn'gŭl: , literally ''Wolf Forest County'') is a Administrative divisions of North Korea, ''kun'', or county, on the eastern flank of Chagang province, North Korea. It was created in 1952 from portions of Changgang a ...

, Gokhamyeon and Oroimyeon became part of the newly created

, and part of Gongbuk myeon became part was divided between the administration of Kanggye city and

Songgan County Songgan County is a ''kun'', or county, in central Chagang province, North Korea. It borders Rangrim to the east, Wiwon to the west, Kanggye to the north and Chonchon and Ryongrim to the south. It was formed in 1952 from parts of Chonchon and C ...

Administrative divisions

Changgang county is divided into 1 ''

ŭp An ''eup'' or ''ŭp'' () is an administrative unit in both North Korea and South Korea similar to the unit of town. In South Korea Along with "Myeon (administrative division), myeon", an "eup" is one of the divisions of a county ("County#Kore ...

'' (town), 3 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' districts) and 10 '' ri'' (villages):

Economy

There are soft-drink, clothing and pharmaceutical factories in the county. Rice is grown along the Chongsong River (종성강); various other agricultural produce are grown in the large areas of land which

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

suggested be cleared in a 1974 letter. 75% of the county is for agricultural purposes, most of which are fields. Animals are raised in the county, utilising mountains and fields for grazing. Logging takes place in the county, with production and processing of the wood taking place in the county. The largest industry in the county is

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...

generation, followed by mining.

Zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

graphite Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...

fluorite Fluorite (also called fluorspar) is the mineral form of calcium fluoride, CaF2. It belongs to the halide minerals. It crystallizes in isometric cubic habit, although octahedral and more complex isometric forms are not uncommon. The Mohs sca ...

and

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

is mined. The county has a number of small to medium sized hydropower stations, fed by larger hydropower stations such as the Kanggye Youth Power Plant.

Transport

Changgang is served by road and rail, with the

Kanggye Line The Kanggye Line is an electrified narrow-gauge line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea running from Kanggye on the Manp'o Line to Rangrim,Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), primarily hauling forest products ...

passing through the southeast. Roads from Kanggye and

Hyesan Hyesan () is a city in the northern part of Ryanggang province of North Korea. It is a hub of river transportation as well as a product distribution centre. It is also the administrative centre of Ryanggang Province. As of 2008, the population o ...

, Kanggye and Rangrim, Changgang and

Manpo Manpo () is a city of northwestern Chagang Province, North Korea. As of 2008, it had an estimated population of 116,760. It looks across the border to the city of Ji'an, Jilin province, China. History Manp'o was incorporated as a city in October ...

, Kanggye and

Taehung Taehŭng County is a Administrative divisions of North Korea, ''kun'', or county, in the northeastern corner of South Pyongan Province, South P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It is bordered to the north by Ryongrim County, Ryongrim and Changjin C ...

, Changgang and Wonpyong run through the county.

References

External links

Satellite view
* Counties of Chagang {{coord, 41.1247, N, 126.7790, E, source:bgwiki_region:KP_type:city, format=dms, display=title