Musan County is a county in central

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 ...

. It borders 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, across the

Tumen River The Tumen River, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River (), is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea and Russia, rising on the slopes of Mount Paektu and flowing into the Sea of Japan. The river has ...

. It is divided into one ''ŭp'', six labor districts, and fifteen ''ri''. The county seat is the town of Musan, Musan ''ŭp''. Luguo and

Dehua () is a county located in central Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Quanzhou City and covers an area of with a total population of 300,000. History Dehua is rich in kaolin and famous for ceramic pr ...

are the closest Chinese cities across the river. The land of Musan is high and more than 90% is mountainous and uninhabited; much of it lies on the Paekmu Plateau, while the northwest makes up part of the

Musan Plateau Musan County is a county in central North Hamgyong province, North Korea. It borders the People's Republic of China to the north, across the Tumen River. It is divided into one ''ŭp'', six labor districts, and fifteen ''ri''. The county seat ...

. The

Hamgyong Mountains The Hamgyong Mountains ( ko, , , ''Hamgyeong Sanmaek''), officially known as the Gangbaekjeonggan and formerly known as the or , is a North Korean mountain range. It lies in the northeast quarter of the country, extending for about southwest an ...

pass along the county's northwest flank. Musan is the coldest region in North Hamgyong. The Musan area has long been known for iron ore mines, lumber, and potatoes. The

Musan mine The Musan mine(무산광산연합기업소) is a large iron mine located in north-east North Korea in North Hamgyong Province. Musan represents one of the largest iron ore reserves in North Korea and in the world having estimated reserves of 3 bill ...

, a major excavator of iron ore, is located here. Because many of the trees have been cut down for fuel, there are few trees left. Individual farmers in Musan raise cows, chicken, ducks, and rabbits. However, the government prohibits the people from using the cows for beef consumption. The cows are used for work only. Several railroads cross the county, including the

Musan Line The Musan Line is an electrified standard-gauge secondary trunk line of the Korean State Railway in Musan and Puryŏng counties, North Hamgyŏng Province, North Korea, running from Komusan on the Hambuk Line to Musan, where it connects to t ...

and

Paengmu Line The Paengmu Line is a partially electrified narrow gauge line of the Korean State Railway running from Paeg'am on the Paektusan Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line to Musan on the Musan Line, in the Ryanggang and North Hamgyŏng provinces of North Korea.Kokub ...

. Musan and the surrounding region was greatly affected by flooding in 2016 as the result of Typhoon Lionrock.

Administrative divisions

Musan 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), 6 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' districts) and 15 '' ri'' (villages): * Musan-ŭp * Chuch'o-rodongjagu * Ch'angryŏl-lodongjagu * Kangsŏl-lodongjagu * Mayang-rodongjagu * Namsal-lodongjagu * Sambong-rodongjagu * Chich'o-ri * Ch'ayu-ri * Ch'ilsŏng-ri * Hŭng'am-ri * Minbong-ri * Obong-ri * Okch'ŏl-li * Pakch'ŏl-li * P'ungsal-li * Rimgang-ri * Saegŏl-li * Sangch'ang-ri * Sŏho-ri * Tokso-ri * Un'am-ri

References

External links

{{North Hamgyong Counties of North Hamgyong nl:Musan