Sonbong County, formerly called Unggi (
Chosŏn'gŭl
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's Revised Romanization of Korean, standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system f ...
: 웅기,
Hancha
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, whi ...
: 雄基), is a subdivision of the
North Korean city of
Rason. It is located at the northeastern extreme of North Korea, bordering
Russia and
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 lies on
Unggi Bay, an extension of the
Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). A
uranium mine is allegedly located there, as is a 200
megawatt oil-fired
power plant. The word Sonbong means "Vanguard" in Korean.
The Sonbong Revolutionary Site there is dedicated to a visit by
Kim Jong-suk in November 1945 "upholding the policy of building a new country advanced by President Kim Il Sung" after the
liberation of Korea
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...
. It includes the
Sonbong Revolutionary Museum, a monument to the historic site, and the house where she stayed.
Administrative divisions
Sonbong County is divided into 1 town ("Ŭp"), 2 worker's districts ("Rodongjagu") and 10 villages ("Ri"):
* Sŏnbong-ŭp (선봉읍/先鋒邑)
*
Tuman'gang-rodongjagu (두만강로동자구/豆滿江勞動者區)
* Ungsang-rodongjagu (웅상로동자구/雄尙勞動者區)
* Chosal-li (조산리/造山里)
* Hahoe-ri (하회리/下檜里)
* Hayŏp'yŏng-ri (하여평리/下汝坪里)
* Hongŭi-ri (홍의리/洪儀里)
* Kulp'o-ri (굴포리/屈浦里)
* Paekhang-ri (백학리/白鶴里)
* Pup'o-ri (부포리/鮒浦里)
* Sahoe-ri (사회리/四會里)
* Uam-ri (우암리/牛岩里)
* Wŏnjŏng-ri (원정리/元汀里)
Climate
Sonbong has a
humid continental climate (
Dfb) with mild to warm, rainy summers and cold, long winters. Seasons are somewhat moderated by the presence of the
Sea of Japan.
Transportation
Sonbong is North Korea's rail link to Russia. A rail bridge crosses the
Tumen River between the border rail stations of
Tumangang Workers' District, Sonbong, and
Khasan, Russia. This connection lies on one of two proposed paths for linking
South Korea by rail to the
Trans-Siberian Railroad and the rest of
Eurasia, the other being through
Sinuiju. The rail link through Sonbong is lightly used, carrying only 10,000 passengers in 2005.
Sonbong is one terminus of the
Hambuk Line railroad. It is also served by roads.
There is a seaport and a wharf at
Sonbong Port.
[
]
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 (Special cities of North Korea, capital city), while three cities (see the list ...
* Geography of North Korea
References
External links
Tumen River Area Development Program profile of the area
{{Rason
Counties of North Korea
Uranium mines
Mining in North Korea
Rason