Sinch'ŏn County is a county in

South Hwanghae Province South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaenamdo; , lit. "south Yellow Sea province") is a province in western North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital ...

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 ...

Geography

Sinch'ŏn is bordered to the north by

Anak Anak (; he, , homophone to a word for "giant, long neck, necklace"; ) is a figure in the Hebrew Bible. His descendants are mentioned in narratives concerning the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites. According to the Book of Numbers, Anak was a ...

, to the west by Samch'ŏn and T'aet'an, to the south by Pyŏksŏng and

Sinwŏn Sinwŏn County is a county in South Hwanghae province, North Korea. Administrative divisions Sinwŏn county is divided into 1 '' ŭp'' (town), 1 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' district) and 18 '' ri'' (villages): Transportation Sinwŏn county is s ...

, and to the east by Chaeryŏng. Most of the land in Sinch'ŏn is composed of flat plains, with mountains forming its borders. The highest point is Mt. Ch'ŏnbong, at 627 meters. There are several famous hot springs in Sinch'ŏn, including the Sinch'ŏn and Kŭlloja Springs. The county is also home to the famous Chahyesa Buddhist temple, founded in 1572.

History

The

Koryo dynasty Goryeo (; ) was a Korean kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

named the area occupied by Sinch'ŏn as Sinju. It received its current name under the

Yi dynasty The House of Yi, also called the Yi dynasty (also transcribed as the Lee dynasty), was the royal family of the Joseon dynasty and later the imperial family of the Korean Empire, descended from the Joseon founder Yi Seong-gye. All of his descendant ...

in 1413. In 1909 Sinch'ŏn was annexed to Munhwa, now no longer extant. The county's current form was settled in the 1952 redistricting changes, in which its eastern part was annexed to newly formed Samch'ŏn county. At the beginning of the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

in 1950, the town of Sinch'ŏn was allegedly the site of a massacre of civilians by occupying U.S. forces (see

Sinchon Massacre The Sinchon Massacre () was a massacre of civilians between 17 October and 7 December 1950, in or near the town of Sinchon (currently part of South Hwanghae Province, North Korea). North Korean sources claim the massacre was committed by t ...

). North Korean sources claim the number of civilians killed over the 52-day period at more than 35,000 people, equivalent to one-fourth of the population then of Sinchon county. The North Korean government has operated the

Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities The Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities (Korean: 신천박물관) is a museum dedicated to the Sinchon Massacre, a massacre of North Korean civilians during the Korean War which the North Korean government claims was carried out by South K ...

in Sinch'ŏn Town since 1958, displaying relics and remains from the incident. South Korean historians dispute this account, saying the deaths were at the hands of right-wing security forces. No evidence has been found to support North Korean allegations that an American general directed the massacre.

Transportation

The county is served by the Ŭllyul 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 Paeksŏk, Sinch'ŏn Onch'ŏn, Sinch'ŏn, and Hwanghae Ryongmun stations. There is also a highway which runs through Sinch'ŏn-ŭp.

Divisions

The county is divided into one town (''ŭp'') and 31 villages (''ri'').

Twin cities

Sinchon is twinned with

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Serbia, and is situated on ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

since 1976.

References