Kyŏngwŏn County is a ''kun'', or county, in

North Hamgyong North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province. Geography The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, ...

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 ...

, located at , formerly known as Saebyŏl. It is bordered by the

People's Republic of 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 ...

to the north and east,

Kyonghung Kyŏnghŭng County is a ''kun'', or county, in North Hamgyong province, North Korea. Formerly known as Ŭndŏk County (), from 1977 to 2010. The county borders the People's Republic of China to the northeast. With the exception of the southwest, i ...

to the southeast,

Hoeryong Hoeryŏng () is a city in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea. It is located opposite Jilin Province, China, with the Tumen River in between. Sanhe (三合鎮), in Longjing City, is the closest Chinese town across the river. Hoeryŏng is the bir ...

to the southwest, and

Onsong Onsŏng County is a county ( ''kun'') in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea, located near the border with China. The administrative center is the town ( ''ŭp'') of Onsong. Onsong is the alleged site of the former Onsong concentration camp, now ...

to the west. The western region of Kyongwon is mountainous, while the east is relatively flat. The highest point is Chungsan. The largest river is the Tumen, which flows along the eastern border. Numerous tributaries of the Tumen also flow through the county. Approximately 75% of the county is forested. Aside from agriculture, livestock raising and sericulture are widespread. The chief local crops are rice, corn, and soybeans.

Bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...

is also mined. Railroads passing through Kyongwon include the Hambuk and

Kogonwon Line The Kogŏnwŏn Line is a non-electrified standard-gauge secondary line of the Korean State Railway in Kyŏngwon County, North Hamgyŏng Province, running from Singŏn on the Hambuk Line The Hambuk Line is an electrified standard-gauge trun ...

s. It is also connected by Shatuozi Border Road bridge to the Chinese city of

Hunchun Hunchun (; Chosŏn'gŭl: 혼춘; Hangul: 훈춘) is a county-level city in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, far eastern Jilin province. It borders North Korea (North Hamgyong province) and Russia (Primorsky Krai), has over 250,000 inha ...

in the

Yanbian Yanbian (; Chosŏn'gŭl: , ''Yeonbyeon''), officially known as the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, is an autonomous prefecture in the east of Jilin Province, China. Yanbian is bordered to the north by Heilongjiang Province, on the west by ...

autonomous prefecture.

History

Under

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

period Kyongwon was invaded by Jurchens tribes in 1409. Therefore, to safeguard his people from the hostile Chinese and

Jurchen people Jurchen (Manchu: ''Jušen'', ; zh, 女真, ''Nǚzhēn'', ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian Tungusic-speaking peoples, descended from the Donghu people. They lived in the northeast of China, later known as Manchu ...

(later known as

Manchus The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and Q ...

) living in

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer Manc ...

, King

Sejong the Great of Joseon Sejong of Joseon (15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), personal name Yi Do (Korean language, Korean: 이도; Hanja: 李祹), widely known as Sejong the Great (Korean language, Korean: 세종대왕; Hanja: 世宗大王), was the fourth ruler of th ...

ordered to establish there one of the six post/garrisons (

hangul The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

:육진

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

:六鎭) in 1433. In 1977 the county's name was changed to Saebyol, but it was later reverted.

Administrative divisions

Kyongwon County is divided into 1 town (" ŭp") 21 villages (" ri") and 3 worker's districts ("rodongjagu", abbreviated as "gu"). ''Note: The Korean syllabe "som" (섬) in Ryudasom-ri, is converted into hanja "do" 島 because both of them means island in that case.''

External links

Location of the four forts and the six posts
*

References

{{North Hamgyong Counties of North Hamgyong

History

Administrative divisions

See also

External links

References