Taegwan County is a ''kun'', or county, in northeastern

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 province's interior, and is bounded by Tongch'ang on the east, Kusŏng and T'aech'ŏn to the south, Ch'ŏnma to the west, and Ch'angsŏng and Sakchu to the north. It was created in 1952 from portions of Sakchu county.

Geography

Taegwan's borders are mountainous, with the

Kangnam Mountains The Kangnam Mountains are a mountain range of North Korea, in the central part of the country's northern region. They run parallel to the Amnok River which forms the border with China. They lie west of the Rangrim Mountains, which is the drainage ...

rising in the north and the

Chonma Mountains Cheonma or Chonma may refer to: * Cheonma, or Chonma ( ko, link=no, 천마, , Sky Horse, 天馬), a winged-horse, and traditional pattern of Korea Places * Chonma County ( ko, link=no, 천마군, Cheonma-gun, 天摩郡), North Pyeongan, North Ko ...

in the west. The

Taeryong River Taeryong River is a river of North Korea. The river is a tributary of the Ch'ongch'on River. See also *Rivers of Korea The Korean peninsula is mainly mountainous along its east coast, so most of its river water flows west, emptying into the Ye ...

(대령강) flows through the county's centre, joined in its course by many fast small streams.

Administrative divisions

Taegwan county is divided into 1 '' ŭp'' (town), 1 '' rodongjagu'' (workers' district) and 22 '' ri'' (villages):

Climate

Taegwan enjoys a relatively rainy climate, with an average annual rainfall of 1300 mm. The average temperature is 7 °C, fluctuating between an average of -11.2 °C in January and 22.5 °C in August.

Economy

Some 83% of the county's area is forested; only 8.5% is cultivated. Most of these are dry fields, with

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 ...

the chief crop. Forestry, including lumber as well as the harvesting of wild herbs and fruits, is a major local industry; Taegwan is home to the province's largest lumber base, which specializes in wood for mining and construction applications. Gold and graphite are mined in the county, and a small hydroelectric generator harnesses the Taeryŏng River's stream. It is also home to a ballistic missile factory called ''No. 301 Factory'' and an operating missile base to the north of town.

Transportation

The P'yŏngbuk 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 ...

passes through the county, on its way between Chŏngju and Ch'ŏngsu.

Education

Educational institutions in Taegwan include the Taegwan Technical School.

References

External links

* {{coord missing, North Korea Counties of North Pyongan