Pyŏktong County is a ''kun'', or county, in northern

North P'yŏngan North Pyongan Province (Phyŏnganbukto; , also spelled North P'yŏngan), is a western province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former P'yŏng'an Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, th ...

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 lies in the valley of 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 ...

, and borders China to the north. Within North Korea, it is bounded by Tongch'ang in the south, Ch'angsŏng in the west, and

Usi USI or Usi may stand for: * Usi (food), a starch dish of the Urhobo people of Nigeria * Uši, an album by Czech band Uz jsme doma * Usi County, a county in westernmost Chagang province, North Korea * USI Tech, a suspected ponzi scheme * USI Wirel ...

county in

Chagang Chagang Province (Chagangdo; ) is a province in North Korea; it is bordered by China's Jilin and Liaoning provinces to the north, Ryanggang and South Hamgyong to the east, South Pyongan to the south, and North Pyongan to the west. Chagang was f ...

province to the east. It was separated from Usi in 1952, as part of a nationwide reorganization of local government.

Geography

The terrain is steep and mountainous, with the Kangnam and Pinandŏk ranges both passing through the county. The highest point is Piraebong, at 1470 metres. There are various small streams, including the Tongch'ŏn (동천), Songgyech'ŏn (송계천), and Namch'ŏn (남천). These are used to transport cut lumber; and the Namch'ŏn is also used to generate hydroelectric power. Due to the rugged terrain, only seven percent of Pyoktong's area is cultivated, while 80% is

forest 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' ...

ed.

Administrative divisions

Pyŏktong county is divided into 1 '' ŭp'' (town) and 19 '' ri'' (villages):

Climate

The average year-round temperature is 7.1 °C, plunging to a mean of -12.5 °C in January and rising to 23 °C in August. The climate is relatively dry, with an average annual rainfall of 992 mm.

Economy

Forestry is the chief local industry. The farms produce

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...

s, sweet potatoes, potatoes, gochu peppers, and

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant ''Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to whi ...

. Livestock are also raised; Pyŏktong ranks second nationwide in sheep production.

References

External links