Myŏnggan County, formerly known as Hwasŏng 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. Unlike many Korean districts that date from the Joseon Dynasty, Hwasong was created after liberation. Yŏngan was established in 1952, separated from Myŏngch'ŏn. In 1967 Yŏngan was renamed to Myŏnggan, in 1981 to Hwasŏng, and in 2004 to Myŏnggan. Myŏnggan abuts the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). Most of the land is rugged, with only one small plain along the Hwasongchon stream. The highest point in the county is Kiunbong. There are no ports, and the coastline is distinctively monotonous. The chief streams of the county are the Ŏrangch'ŏn (

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

: 어랑천,

Hancha 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, whi ...

: 漁郎川) and Myŏngganch'ŏn (

: 명간천,

: 明澗川). More than 80% of the county is taken up by

forestland A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

. Myŏnggan is known for its pear orchards. In addition, livestock are widely raised. There are also coal mines in the county. Political Prison Camp No. 16 is a large prison labor colony in the western part of the county."On the Map: Five Major North Korean Prison Camps", ''Washington Post'', July 20, 2009
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Administrative divisions

Myŏnggan 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 22 '' ri'' (villages):

Notes

{{coord missing, North Korea Counties of North Hamgyong