Sinŭiju (''Sinŭiju-si'', ; known before 1925 in English as Yeng Byen City) is a city in
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 Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and ...
which faces
Dandong,
Liaoning,
China across the international border 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 betwe ...
. It is the capital of
North P'yŏngan province. Part of the city is included in the
Sinŭiju Special Administrative Region, which was established in 2002 to experiment with introducing a market economy. In recent years, the city, despite lagging behind the development in the capital Pyongyang, has seen a small construction boom and increasing tourism from China.
Geography
Sinŭiju is bordered by the
Amnok River, and by
P'ihyŏn and
Ryongch'ŏn counties. The city's altitude is 1 metre (4 feet) above sea level. There are several islands at the mouth of the Amnok River -
Wihwa-do,
Rim-do,
Ryuch'o-do and
Tongryuch'o-do.
Administrative divisions
Sinuiju city is the heart of the
Sinuiju Special Administrative Region. The city is currently divided into 49 ''
tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 9 ''
ri'' (villages):
History
Developed as a major settlement during the
colonial rule at the terminus of a railway bridge across the Amrok River, Sinuiju is located 11 km (7 miles) south by southwest of
Ŭiju, the old city from whose name Sinŭiju (meaning “New Ŭiju”) derives. As an open port, it grew commercially with the logging industry which uses the Amnok River to transport lumber. Additionally, a chemical industry developed after the hydroelectric Sup'ung Dam was built further up the river.
In the course of the
Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top: ...
, after being driven from P'yŏngyang, Kim Il Sung and his government temporarily moved its capital to Sinŭiju
- although as UNC forces approached, the government again moved - this time to
Kanggye.
Also, the city sustained heavy damage from aerial bombardment as part of the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army S ...
's
strategic bombing of North Korea; 95 percent of the city was destroyed. However, the city has since been rebuilt.
In 2018, a master plan for the redevelopment of the city was unveiled and shown to
Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's se ...
, which would have featured many high rise buildings and parks, centered around the road leading to the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Ultimately, this plan has yet to be fulfilled, with the only major work completed being the repaving of roads leading to the statues and the red coloured, circular apartment building behind and the Sinuiju Youth Open Air Theatre's completion, although the industrial areas in the city have seen some reconstruction.
Economy
An important light industry centre in North Korea, Sinŭiju has a plant manufacturing enamelled ironware as well as a textile mill, paper mill and an afforestation factory. Its southwest harbour has a shipyard, although the shipyard's main function is seemingly to dismantle ships for scrap metal and other usable materials rather than building new ships. The area has recycling plants which recycle a wide range of material, including products that are banned for recycling in China. The Sinŭiju Cosmetics Factory is located in South Sinŭiju (Namsinŭiju).
Trade with China
A substantial portion of North Korea's international trade, both legal and illegal, passes through Sinuiju and Dandong, across 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 betwe ...
.
Central market
Since 2002, commercial life has been centred on the Chaeha-dong Market.
Based on a satellite image taken on 30 October 2012, the market has been destroyed and is being made into a new park.
Transportation
Sinŭiju can be reached from
P'yŏngyang
Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 population ...
by air, railway and road. It can be reached from Dandong in China by crossing the Amnok River by bridge or boat. Foreign tourists on excursion boats from Dandong are sometimes permitted to approach within a few meters of the city's coastline, as long as they do not land.
Air
Sinŭiju's airport has a single turf runway 03/21 measuring 991 metres by 61 metres (3250 feet by 213 feet).
[Landings database page](_blank)
"Landings.Com", accessed 06 Aug 2010, Air Koryŏ operates passenger and cargo flights from P'yŏngyang.
Rail
Sinŭiju Ch'ŏngnyŏn Station is the northern terminus 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 ...
's
P'yŏngŭi Line from P'yŏngyang; the district is also served by several other stations on the P'yŏngŭi line, as well as the
Tŏkhyŏn and
Paengma lines. It is also connected with the Chinese city of
Dandong in
Liaoning Province (China) by the
Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, which is long from end to end, and through the
Manchuria Railway
Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endodemonym "Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East ( Outer M ...
links up with the
Trans-Siberian railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway (TSR; , , ) connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway line in the world. It runs from the city of Moscow in the west to the city of Vladivostok in the eas ...
. The factories of the city of Sinŭiju are provided with railway service via the
Kang'an Line.
Urban transit
Sinuiju has a trolleybus line that runs from the city centre to the railway station. It was reopened in October 2020 with new trolleybuses derived from the Pyongyang Chollima-321 trolleybus. It formerly had another line running from the Sinuiju Chongnyon Station to Ragwon Machine Complex that closed between 2005 and 2009 with the reconstruction of the highway with a shifted alignment.
Climate
Sinŭiju has a monsoonal
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...
(
Köppen ''Dwa'') with hot, humid and stormy summers and cold, dry winters with little snowfall.
Places of interest
Facilities in Sinŭiju include Sinŭiju High School, Sinŭiju Commercial High School, Eastern Middle School, Sinŭiju Light Industry University, Sinŭiju University of Medicine and the Sinuiju University of Education. Scenic sites include the Tonggun Pavilion, Waterfall, and Hot Springs.
There also is a
Ferris wheel overlooking 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 betwe ...
, reportedly broken.
Notable people
*
Sohn Kee-chung,
South Korean Olympic athlete and
long-distance runner
Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely aerobic in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength.
Within endurance running comes two d ...
*
Yi Sung-sun,
South Korean street knight
*
Yushoku Cho
Yushoku Cho, as Korean name Jang U-sik (張祐植, 장우식, 18 January 1914 ~ 1971) was a Korean speed skater. He competed in two events at the 1936 Winter Olympics.
He competed at the Japan Ice Championship on January 25, 1935, when he was a ...
,
Japanese speed skater
See also
*
List of cities in North Korea
The important cities of North Korea have self-governing status equivalent to that of provinces. Pyongyang, the largest city and capital, is classified as a chikhalsi (capital city), while three cities (see the list below) are classified as t'ŭk ...
*
Geography of North Korea
*
Sinuiju Incident
*
Sinuiju North Korean Leader's Residence
Notes
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
City profile of SinuijuNorth Korea Uncovered, (North Korea Google Earth) see a mapping of Sinuiju's main infrastructure, power lines, railroad, detention center, and Kim Jong Il residence, plus a whole lot more.
{{Authority control
Cities in North Pyongan
China–North Korea border crossings
Port cities and towns in North Korea