Hyangsan County is a ''kun'', or county, in

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 was established, following the

division of Korea The division of Korea began with the defeat of Empire of Japan, Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allies of World War II, Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached ...

, from portions of Nyŏngbyŏn county. The area of

Myohyangsan The Mount Myohyang (Hangul: 묘향산 - "''Mysterious Fragrant Mountain''") is a mountain in North Korea. It is named after the mystic shapes and fragrances found in the area. It is a sacred site as, according to legend, it was the home of Kin ...

mountain, which stands on the county's border, has been developed as a tourist destination. Accordingly, there are numerous tourism-related institutions in the Myohangsan area.

Geography

The

and Pinandŏk ranges pass through Hyangsan. The terrain is primarily mountainous, with numerous peaks. The highest of these is Pirobong. There are also many streams, of which the chief are the Ch'ŏngch'ŏn and Kuryong Rivers. Some 77% of the county's area is occupied by forestland. The eastern side of Hyangsan is generally high, while the western side is lower; as one goes from east to west, the elevation of the peaks drops from above 1000 m to less than 300 m.

Administrative divisions

Hyangsan county is divided into 1 '' ŭp'' (town) and 20 '' ri'' (villages):

Economy

The chief local industry is agriculture, dominated by dry-field farming. The principal crops include maize, rice, and soybeans. In addition, there are also orchards and livestock farms; the chief fruit products are apples and pears.

Sericulture Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, ''Bombyx mori'' (the caterpillar of the domestic silkmoth) is the most widely used and intensively studie ...

is also practised, and there is some manufacturing.

Transportation

The

Manp'o Line The Manp'o Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the North Korean State Railway running from Sunch'ŏn on the P'yŏngra Line to Manp'o on the Pukpu Line. The line continues on from Manp'o to Ji'an, China.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍� ...

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. In addition, there are various roads.

Notes

External links