- Hŭngnam
Infobox Korean name|context=north
|caption=
hangul=흥남구역
hanja=興南區域
rr=Heungnam-guyeok
mr=Hŭngnam-kuyŏkHŭngnam was a port city on the eastern coast of
South Hamgyong Province,North Korea , on theSea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). It is only eight miles from the slightly inland city ofHamhung . The population is estimated at about 200,000, and the city covers an area of 250square kilometer s.Fact|date=February 2007 The city is home to a large fertilizer complex, which has allegedly also been used to manufacture chemical weapons. [cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/dprk/hungnam.htm|work=Global Security.org|title=Weapons of Mass Destruction: Hungnam|accessdate=2006-01-24] It is also home toHungnam Chemical Engineering College .History
During the early 1940s, Hŭngnam was the site of Asia's first known
cyclotron . It was constructed as part of the unsuccessfulJapanese atomic program . After the surrender of Japan in 1945, this was seized by the Soviet military. [cite web|url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/dprk/hungnam.htm|work=Global Security.org|title=Weapons of Mass Destruction: Hungnam|accessdate=2006-01-24]The port at Hŭngnam was the site of a major evacuation of both U.N. military and North Korean civilians during the
Korean War in late December 1950. Approximately 100,000 troops and material and 100,000 civilians were loaded onto a variety of merchant ships and military transports over the weeks leading up to Christmas 1950, and were transported to safety in Pusan and other destinations in South Korea. This operation was the culmination of theBattle of Chosin Reservoir , in which the embattled UN troops fought their way out of a Chinese trap.In late 2005, Hŭngnam was demoted from Hŭngnam-si (Hŭngnam City) to Hŭngnam-kuyok (Hŭngnam District) within
Hamhung -si. [cite web|url=http://nk.chosun.com/map/map.html?ACT=geo_03|title=행정구역 개편 일지|work=NKChosun (Korean language site)|accessdate=2006-04-29]Notes
ee also
*
List of cities in North Korea
*Geography of North Korea
*List of Korea-related topics
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