Puryŏng County is a ''kun'', or county, in
North Hamgyŏng 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 borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
.
Geography
Most of the county is mountainous, being traversed by the
Hamgyŏng Range and its outlying spurs. The highest point is
Kosŏngsan (
Chosŏn'gŭl
The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...
: 고성산,
Hancha
Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period.
() ...
: 姑城山), 1,754 meters above sea level. Many other high peaks are also found in the county. The chief stream is the Susŏngch'ŏn (
Chosŏn'gŭl
The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...
: 수성천.
Hancha
Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period.
() ...
: 輸城川).
90% of the county is forested. Rare mammals inhabit the area, including the
marten
A marten is a weasel-like mammal in the genus ''Martes'' within the subfamily Guloninae, in the family Mustelidae. They have bushy tails and large paws with partially retractile claws. The fur varies from yellowish to dark brown, depending on ...
,
brown bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear native to Eurasia and North America. Of the land carnivorans, it is rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear, which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on av ...
, and
Amur leopard
The Amur leopard (''Panthera pardus orientalis'') is a leopard subspecies native to the Primorye region of southeastern Russia and northern China. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as in 2007, only 19–26 wild leopar ...
. The climate is affected by both maritime and continental influences.
Administrative divisions
Puryŏng County is divided into 1 ''
ŭp'' (town), 3 ''
rodongjagu'' (workers' districts) and 5 ''
ri'' (villages):
Economy
The local economy is dominated by metalworking, mining, and electric power. Deposits of gold, copper,
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock that was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tecton ...
, and
limestone
Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...
are found in the county. The intermontane valleys are home to grain farms where corn, soybeans, rice, wheat, barley,
proso millet
''Panicum miliaceum'' is a grain crop with many common names, including proso millet, broomcorn millet, common millet, hog millet, Kashfi millet, red millet, and white millet. Archaeobotany, Archaeobotanical evidence suggests millet was first ...
, and millet are harvested. Rice fields make up 2% of the county's area.
Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the cultivation of silkworms to produce silk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of the Bombyx mori, domestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkwo ...
is also practiced.
Transportation
Puryŏng lies on the
Hambuk and
Musan lines of the
Korean State Railway
The Korean State Railway is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea (), commonly called the State Rail () and has its headquarters at Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun-song.
History
19 ...
, and is also served by roads.
History
Puryŏng was one of the six post/garrisons () established under the order of
Sejong the Great of Chosŏn (1418–1450) to safeguard his people from the hostile Chinese and Manchurian nomads living in
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...
.
Notables personalities
*Ri Chi-si (), the prefect of Puryŏng ()
See also
*
Geography of North Korea
North Korea is located in East Asia in the Northern half of Korea, partially on the Korean Peninsula. It borders three countries: People's Republic of China, China along the Amnok River, Yalu (Amnok) River, Russia along the Tumen River, and Sou ...
*
Administrative divisions of North Korea
The administrative divisions of North Korea are organized into three hierarchical levels. These divisions were created in 2002. Many of the units have equivalents in the Administrative Divisions of South Korea, system of South Korea. At the ...
External links
Location of the four forts and the six posts*
{{coord missing, North Korea
Counties of North Hamgyong