Samsu County is a
''kun'', or county, in
Ryanggang
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; ko, 량강도, ''Ryanggang-do'', ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, North Hamgyong on the east, South Hamgyong on the south, and Chagang on the west. Ryang ...
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 ...
. Prior to 1954, it was part of
South Hamgyŏng province.
Geography
On its northern border, Samsu shares 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 ...
with
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 ...
. It also shares a border with the province of
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 ...
. To the south, it occupies the northern tip of the
Kaema Plateau
The Kaema Plateau is a highland in North Korea. It is surrounded by the Rangrim Mountains, the Macheollyeong Mountains and the Bujeollyeong Mountains. Elevation varies between 700 and 2,000 meters and is approximately 40,000 square kilometers. ...
. The southern and western reaches of Samsu abound with mountains. Due to the rugged terrain, transportation is difficult.
The highest peak of Samsu is
Turungbong (두릉봉, 1921 m). The chief streams are the
Changjin
Changjin County is a mountainous county in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea.
Geography
Changjin lies on the Rangrim and Pujŏllyong ranges, and most of the county sits atop the Kaema Plateau. Due to this location, Changjin has a particul ...
,
Chungp'yŏng and Yalu rivers (this is probably the reason for its name, 삼수(三
水
Radical 85 or radical water () meaning "water" is a Kangxi radical; one of 35 of the 214 that are composed of 4 strokes. Its left-hand form, , is closely related to Radical 15, ''bīng'' (also known as 两点水 ''liǎngdiǎnshuǐ''), meaning "i ...
), which literally means 'three rivers'). Due to its high inland location, Samsu enjoys bitterly cold winters.
Administrative divisions
Samsu county is divided into 1 ''ŭp'' (town), 1 ''rodongjagu'' (workers' district) and 23 ''ri'' (villages):
Economy
The chief industries in Samsu are logging and farming. Despite the rugged terrain, rice cultivation is widespread; in addition,
slash-and-burn agriculture
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a farming method that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody plants in an area. The downed veget ...
is practiced in the high fields. Local crops include potatoes, maize, soybeans, oats and rye. The Yalu is used to ship rough logs downstream. There are also local deposits of gold ore.
Transportation
The
Pukbunaeryuk 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 ...
serves the county, as do various conventional roads. There are multiple roads going out to Kanggye and Hyesan, but all have checkpoints.
See also
*
Geography of North Korea
North Korea is located in East Asia in the Northern half of Korea, partially on the Korean Peninsula. It borders three countries: China along the Yalu (Amnok) River, Russia along the Tumen River, and South Korea to the south.
Topography and dra ...
*
Administrative divisions of North Korea
The administrative divisions of North Korea are organized into three hierarchical levels. These divisions were created in 2002. Many of the units have equivalents in the system of South Korea. At the highest level are nine provinces and fou ...
*
Ryanggang
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; ko, 량강도, ''Ryanggang-do'', ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, North Hamgyong on the east, South Hamgyong on the south, and Chagang on the west. Ryang ...
External links
*
{{coord missing, North Korea
Counties of Ryanggang