Hwanggumpyong ( ko, 황금평, zh, s=黄金坪, t=黃金坪, p=Huángjīnpíng), formerly called Hwanggumpyong Island ( ko, 황금평도, zh, s=黄金坪岛, t=黃金坪島, p=Huángjīnpíng Dǎo), is a

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 ...

free-trade area A free-trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and ...

bordering

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 ...

. The area used to be a

tidal island A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of ...

in the

Yalu River The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...

. However, due to continuous deposition of river-borne sediments, the northern portion of the former island is now permanently connected with the Chinese city of Dandong. A steel mesh fence has been built to mark the land border between

and

. Due to ethnic Koreans living on the island at the time of a 1962 border treaty, both

and

agreed that the sovereignty of the island belongs to North Korea. The former

river island River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online. Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...

is now a North Korean

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

on the otherwise Chinese side of the river.

History

In June 2011, an agreement, negotiated by

Gao Jingde Gunter Gao Jingde (, also known as Ko King-tak) is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) of the People's Republic of China. In April 2010, he was vice-chairman of its Committee of Education, Science, Culture, He ...

, of Sunbase International Holdings Ltd, with China was made to establish a joint

on Hwanggumpyong and

Wihwa Island Wihwa Island ( ko, 위화도/威化島, ''Wihwado'', ) is a river island in the Yalu river, lying on the border between North Korea and China. It is now under the effective jurisdiction of North Korea, due to ethnic Koreans living on the island a ...

s, as well as the Chinese border area near Dandong. By 2013, the site had been prepared, and a free-trade area of over may be ready for operation in about two years. As of 2019, the free-trade area has not been very successful.

References

River islands of North Korea {{NorthKorea-geo-stub