Munch'ŏn () 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 ...
n city located in
Kangwŏn Province. It lies on the coast of the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
and borders
Wonsan
Wŏnsan (), previously known as Wŏnsanjin (), Port Lazarev, and Genzan (), is a port city and naval base located in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea, along the eastern side of the Korean Peninsula, on the Sea of Japan and the provincial capital. ...
.
History
During the era of
Four Commanderies of Han
The Four Commanderies of Han (; ) were Chinese commanderies located in the north of the Korean Peninsula and part of the Liaodong Peninsula from around the end of the second century BC through the early 4th AD, for the longest lasting. The comma ...
, the region was known as the Xietoumei prefecture under
Lintun Commandery
Lintun Commandery was a commandery established in the Korean peninsula by the Chinese Han dynasty. Lintun Commandery was one of the Four Commanderies of Han along with Lelang Commandery, Xuantu Commandery and Zhenfan Commandery.
History
In BC 10 ...
. During the later han period, it was part of the kingdom of
Dongye Dongye may refer to:
*Eastern Ye, chiefdom in northeastern Korean peninsula from roughly 3rd-century BC to around early 5th-century AD
Towns in China
* Dongye, Wutai County, Shanxi
*Dongye, Yangcheng County
Dongye () is a town in Yangcheng Count ...
and became part of
Goguryeo
Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...
in the 3rd century. The region was called Maeguru at the time of King
Gwanggaeto the Great
Gwanggaeto the Great (374–413, r. 391–413) was the nineteenth monarch of Goguryeo. His full posthumous name means "Entombed in ''Gukgangsang'', Broad Expander of Domain, Peacemaker, Supreme King", sometimes abbreviated to ''Hotaewang'' ...
.
Before 1413, the region was part of Hamgyong province, then known as Munju county, but due to the naming changes that follows the convention of changing regional names that end with ju to end with chon(川) or san(山), it became the county of munchon. Munju was a sinized name of the Korean name 'Mulgol (물골, water valley or town)' where the korean word mul was substituted with mun that sounds similar to the korean.
In 1946, the region became part of Kangwon province. In 1972, after numerous subdivision changes, the county was abolished, and was incorporated into nearby counties. The county was once again restored in 1976, where some parts of it was incorporated into the city of Wonsan. In 1991, the county was promoted to a city.
Geography
Munch'ŏn sits on Yŏnghŭng Bay, a bay of the Sea of Japan, on lowland seacoast terrain. The
Masingryŏng Mountain Range is to the southwest. The
Sokko Mountain Range and
Ch'ŏllyŏng Mountain Range are also located here, and
Kulttuk Peak is the highest mountain in the region. The main river is the
Namch'ŏn River.
Climate
Munch'ŏn has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: ''Dwa'').
Administrative divisions
Munch'ŏn is divided into 16 ''
tong Tong may refer to:
Chinese
*Tang Dynasty, a dynasty in Chinese history when transliterated from Cantonese
*Tong (organization), a type of social organization found in Chinese immigrant communities
*''tong'', pronunciation of several Chinese char ...
'' and 14 ''
ri'':
Economy
Agriculture and fishery
Fishery
Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...
,
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
, and
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
are the main industries of the region.
Grain
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legum ...
is the main agricultural product.
The region is also known for its oysters.
Mining
Munch'ŏn has reserves of
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 ...
,
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
,
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...
,
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
,
dolomite Dolomite may refer to:
*Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral
*Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock
*Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community
*Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...
,
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
and
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
.
Anthracite
Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...
is also produced.
Transportation
Munch'ŏn-si is served by the
Kangwŏn Line of the
Korean State Railway
The Korean State Railway (), commonly called the State Rail () is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea and has its headquarters at P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun Song.
History
1945–195 ...
, with stations at
Koam-dong,
Okp'yŏng-dong and
Munch'ŏn-dong.
References
Further reading
*Dormels, Rainer. North Korea's Cities: Industrial facilities, internal structures and typification. Jimoondang, 2014.
External links
Korea Tourist Map English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese)
City profile of Munchon
{{Authority control
Cities in Kangwon Province (North Korea)