Changsŏng County is a ''kun'', or county, in northern North Phyŏngan 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 ...

. It is bordered by Pyŏktong to the east,

Tongchang Tongchang County is a ''kun'', or county, in the northeast of the far western North Pyŏngan province, North Korea. It borders Pyŏktong and Chagang's Usi county to the north, Unsan and Songwŏn (in Chagang province) to the east, Thaechŏn to ...

and

Taegwan Taegwan County is a ''kun'', or county, in northeastern North P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It lies in the province's interior, and is bounded by Tongch'ang on the east, Kusŏng and T'aech'ŏn to the south, Ch'ŏnma to the west, and Ch'a ...

to the south, Sakchu to the west; to the north, it faces

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

across the Yalu (Amrok) River.

Name

Changsŏng appears as "Changseong" in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Revised Romanization Revised Romanization of Korean () is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. It was developed by the National Academy of the Korean Language from 1995 and was released to the public on 7 July 2000 by South Korea's Min ...

and as Changcheng in Chinese records, as during its occupation by Mao Wenlong's forces during the

Manchu conquest of China The transition from Ming to Qing, alternatively known as Ming–Qing transition or the Manchu conquest of China, from 1618 to 1683, saw the transition between two major dynasties in Chinese history. It was a decades-long conflict between the em ...

Geography

Changsŏng's terrain is steep and mountainous, sloping generally downward from the southeast toward the Yalu. 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 ...

and Pandŏk Mountains both pass through the county. The highest point is Piraebong, at 1470 m. The county is drained by various tributaries of the Yalu, including the Yŏngjuchŏn (영주천) and Namchangchŏn (남창천), as well as by the Changsŏng River, a tributary of the Taeryŏng. The Yalu itself has been blocked by the Suphung Dam to create Suphung Lake.

Administrative divisions

Changsŏng county is divided into 1 '' ŭp'' (town). 1 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' district) and 15 '' ri'' (villages):

Climate

Annual rainfall in Changsŏng is 1000 mm, with an annual average temperature of 7.3 °C (the average fluctuating from -11.6 °C in January to 22 °C in August). Temperatures are of course much colder in the mountains, with the snows atop Piraebong not melting until late May. Fog is common near Suphung Lake. Some 80% of the county's land is forested, while only 6.1% is under cultivation.

Economy

Sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, ''Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively studie ...

is widely practised; other crops include maize, rice, peanuts, gochu peppers, sweet potatoes, and various fruits. Changsŏng also leads the county in the production of sheep. Various products, including lumber and medicinal herbs, are harvested from the forests. In addition, gold, tungsten, and coal are mined from the hills. Local manufactured products include

gochujang ''Gochujang'' (, from Korean: , ) or red chili paste * is a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking. It is made from gochu-garu (chili powder), glutinous rice, ''meju'' (fermented soybean) powder, ''yeotgireum'' ...

and alcohol.

Transportation

There are no railroads, but a road does connect Changsŏng to Sakchu, Tongchang, and Pyŏktong. Freight and passenger traffic is also carried by ships plying Lake Suphung; the lake is also used to transport raw lumber.

Notes

References

External links

* {{coord, 40.4216, N, 125.2455, E, source:wikidata, display=title Counties of North Pyongan