The Taedong River (

Chosŏn'gŭl The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...

: ) is a large river 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 T ...

. The river rises in the

Rangrim Mountains The Rangnim Mountains are a mountain range stretching from north to south, west of the Kaema Highlands, in central North Korea. They are the source of several major rivers of North Korea, such as the Taedong and the Ch'ŏngch'ŏn. The mount ...

of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening the Soviet Connection" ''Asian Survey'' 27(1): pp. 56-63, page 62 In between, it runs through the country's capital,

Pyongyang 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 populat ...

. Along the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

are landmarks such as the Juche Tower and

Kim Il-sung Square __NOTOC__ Kim Il-sung Square is a large city square in the Central District of Pyongyang, North Korea, and is named after the country's founding leader, Kim Il-sung. The square was constructed in 1954 according to a master plan for reconstruct ...

. The river is 439 km or 272.7 mi in length, and is generally deep. It is the fifth-longest river on the

Korean peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

and the second-longest in North Korea.

is approximately 110 km upstream from the mouth, Sunchon 192 km upstream, and

Taehŭng Taehŭng County is a ''kun'', or county, in the northeastern corner of South P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It is bordered to the north by Ryongrim and Changjin, to the east by Yŏnggwang and Hamju, to the south by Yodŏk and Chŏngp'yŏng ...

414 km upstream. Because of its depth, it is widely used for river transport; it is navigable by large ships up to 65 km inland, although most commercial traffic stops at Songrim.

History

The kingdom of

Koguryo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

was founded on its shores. Many archeological sites dating to the

neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...

and

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

s have been found along the river, as well as relics and ruins from Koguryo. It was also once known as the Pae River (). The Taedong River basin is believed to be the location of the Taedonggang Culture, the historical centre of the Korean nation, when its ancient civilization flourished in 3000 BC.

Dams and bridges

In 1986, the government completed the 8-km-long West Sea Barrage, with three locks and 36 sluices, at the mouth of the Taedong River near Namp'o. The dam acts to control floodwater and to irrigate lands newly reclaimed from the Korea Gulf. The dam prevents mixing of the outgoing river water with seawater, leading to an increase of contaminants concentration. Other dams, such as the Nyongwon Power Station, have been built to provide energy to the country.(209) ''Korea Today'' No. 640
/ref> In Pyongyang, there are six bridges on the Taedong, including the Okryu Bridge, Rungra Bridge, and Taedong Bridge.

Gallery

File:Taedong_River,_Pyongyang,_from_the_Juche_Tower.jpg, Yanggakdo Island in the middle of the river in Pyongyang File:Pyongyang DPR Korea2b.jpg, The Taedong River flowing through

Image:Taedong_river_1889.jpeg, An image of the Taedong River from 1889 Image:North Korea-Pyongyang-01.jpg, The Taedong in Pyongyang Image:Taedonggang-guyŏk (Pyongyang).jpg, Another view of the river through Pyongyang Image:North Korea-Pyongyang-Grand Peoples Study House-01.jpg, The Grand People's Study House on the bank of the river. File:USS Pueblo 1.JPG, The captured vessel moored on the Taedong (now tied up on the Botong River beside the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum) File:Nampho1.jpg, The Taedong River in

Nampo Nampo (North Korean official spelling: Nampho; ), also spelled Namp'o, is the second largest city by population and an important seaport in North Korea, which lies on the northern shore of the Taedong River, 15 km east of the river's mouth ...

History

Dams and bridges

Gallery

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

See also