- Chongjin
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Ch'ŏngjin City 230px
Kim Il Sung statue in ChongjinKorean name Chosŏn'gŭl 청진시 Hancha 淸津市 McCune–Reischauer Ch'ŏngjin-si Revised Romanization Cheongjin-si Statistics Population (2006 (est.)) 327,000 Government Capital of North Hamgyŏng; former Directly Governed City* Administrative divisions 7 wards ("Kuyŏk") Region Kwanbuk Dialect Hamgyŏng Notes - Administered as a Directly Governed City from 1960—1967 and 1977—1985.
Ch'ŏngjin (청진시, Ch'ŏngjin-si; Korean pronunciation: [tɕʰɔŋdʑin-ɕi]) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyŏng Province and the country's third largest city. From 1960 to 1967 and again from 1977 to 1985, Ch'ŏngjin was administered separately from North Hamgyŏng as a Directly Governed City (Chikhalsi). Prior to 1960, from 1967 to 1977, and since 1985, the city has been part of the North Hamgyŏng Province.
Contents
Administrative divisions
Ch'ŏngjin is divided into 7 wards ("Kuyŏk").
- Ch'ŏngam-guyŏk (청암구역; 青岩區域)
- P'ohang-guyŏk (포항구역; 浦港區域)
- Puyun-guyŏk (부윤구역; 富潤區域)
- Ranam-guyŏk (라남구역; 羅南區域)
- Sinam-guyŏk (신암구역; 新岩區域)
- Songp'yŏng-guyŏk (송평구역; 松坪區域)
- Sunam-guyŏk (수남구역; 水南區域)
Originally Chongjin was only a small fishing village, located in northeastern Korea. In 1908, the Japanese, in order to facilitate a sea route for the northeast Chinese and Korean resources, opened this small fishing village as a trade port. In 2003, the government of North Korea formed a northeast Korean trade port here. The People's Republic of China and Russia have set up their Consulates in Chongjin. It is unique for a North Korean city to have a foreign consulate. Chongjin is the administrative centre of the North Hamgyong Province.
Geography
Chongjin is located in the northeast of North Korea, in North Hamgyong Province, near the East Korea Bay in the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). Chongjin divides into 7 districts: the Central Business District expands to the south, and the coast section is near the lively Sosongchon River mouth. The city is 50 miles from the Chinese border, and its proximity is allowing a growing market of Chinese goods sold on the streets. Outside of the capital Pyongyang it has one of the largest markets for goods in the country.
Climate
Climate data for Chongjin Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 9
(48)9
(48)19
(66)28
(82)33
(91)33
(91)34
(93)34
(93)32
(90)28
(82)20
(68)13
(55)34
(93)Average high °C (°F) −2
(28)0
(32)4
(39)11
(52)16
(61)18
(64)21
(70)25
(77)20
(68)15
(59)7
(45)1
(34)11.3
(52.4)Average low °C (°F) −9
(16)−7
(19)−2
(28)3
(37)9
(48)13
(55)18
(64)19
(66)14
(57)7
(45)0
(32)−6
(21)4.9
(40.9)Record low °C (°F) −22
(−8)−17
(1)−14
(7)−6
(21)1
(34)6
(43)9
(48)10
(50)4
(39)−6
(21)−12
(10)−18
(0)−22
(−8)% humidity 60 61 64 67 72 83 87 83 75 64 61 61 69.8 Avg. precipitation days 9 7 7 9 13 19 19 16 10 7 9 10 135 Source: Weather Reports Economy
Chongjin is one of the DPRK’s important steel and fiber industry centers. It has a shipyard, locomotive plant, and a rubber factory. Near the port area are the Chongjin Steel Co., Chemical Textile Co., May 10 Coal Mine Machinery Factory and Kimchaek Iron & Steel; however industrial activities in the city have been severely handicapped due to a lack of resources. Despite this however, Chongjin is estimated to have a 24 per cent share of the DPRK's foreign trade and is home to a resident Chinese consul who serves Chinese Traders operating in the north east of the country.[1]
Because of the heavy concentration of industries in the area, Chongjin is also the DPRK's air pollution black spot. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the subsequent shortage of oil to generate electricity, many factories have been shuttered. One of the first senior U.N. officials permitted to visit the area, Tun Myat, observed in 1997 when the North Korea economic crisis reached its peak, "Chongjin was like a forest of scrap metal, with huge plants that seem to go on for miles and miles that have been turned into rust buckets. I've been all over the world, and I've never seen anything quite like this."
The area has little arable land, so the famine in the 1990s hit the residents of Chongjin particularly hard. During the late 1990s, the city's residents experienced some of the highest death rates from famine, which might have been as high as 20 percent of the population.[2]
In Chongjin Political Prison Camp, a large prison complex in Susong-dong (northern part of Chongjin), more than 3,000 political prisoners are forced to manufacture bicycles and other consumer goods.[3]
Shipping
Chongjin's port has established itself as a critical componenent of busy international shipping trade with neighbouring parts of Northeast and Southeast Asia. Of DPRK's eight international shipping ports, Chongjin is thought to be second most economically important (after Nampho port on the west coast)[4] and serves as a base of trade to Russia and Japan. Chongjin also boasts a seamen's club which serves to cater for foreign crews as well as a meeting base for North Koreans and foreigners engaged in the shipping trade.[1]
Transport
Air
Chongjin Airport is equipped with a 2 km runway on a military and civilian dual purpose air station (CHO). North Korea planned to upgrade an old airport near Hamhung as late as 2003, so that it would have a 4 km runway, and would act as the nation's second international airport. However, it is still not yet completed.
Rail
The Wonson-Rason Railway and Chongjin-Rason Railway (Pyongra Line) electric railways connect Rason and capital Pyongyang.
Urban transit
Chongjin is the only city in North Korea other than Pyongyang to operate a tram system. These trains are all second-hand from Pyongyang. Originally, it was planned to be a 32 km system, but only phase 1 (6 km) and phase 2 (7 km) were completed. Phase 3 (8 km) was not completed due to lack of funds. Also, due to electricity shortages, the trams run infrequently. Besides trams, trolley buses also operate, but these are operated only two hours a day. Private taxis do not exist.
Culture
There are several state-run higher educational facilities located here: Chongjin University of Technology, Chongjin Mine University, Chongjin University of Education no. 1, University of Education no. 2, Chongjin University of Agriculture, Chongjin University of Medicine and Chongjin University of Light Industry: plus an aquatic product research centre.
Famous scenic sites include hot springs and Mt. Chilbosan. It also has a zoo, but currently has no animals in it. Chongjin's most famous product is processed squid. The city is also home to the football team, the Ch'ŏngjin Chandongcha.
Chongjin was the subject of an extensive profile by Barbara Demick of the Los Angeles Times in 2005,[5] and featured heavily in a 2009 book by the same author entitled Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, which was largely based upon the stories of refugees who had escaped from Chongjin to South Korea.[6]
Civil unrest
Chongjin has played host to at least two incidents of civilian merchant protest between 2008 and 2009:
- On March 4, 2008 it is reported that a group of women merchants (of unspecified number) protested in response to tightened market controls. Reports suggest that rising grain prices had initiated the protests which claimed the government was attempting to block "peddling in the market". In response to this protest, the Labor Department of Chongjin City "posted a proclamation allowing peddling in the market".[7]
- On August 24, 2008 a clash occurred between foot patrol agents and female merchants, which turned into a "massive protest rally". It was reported that the Chongjin City issued verbal instructions relaxing the enforcement activity until the time of the next grain ration.[7]
Military coup
Eyewitness accounts claim that in Autumn 1995, the entire 6th Army Corps belonging to the North Korean People's Army, stationed in the centre of Ranam-guyŏk district, abandoned Chongjin city en masse during one overnight period.[8] . Despite not being reported by the state-run newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, eyewitness accounts describe a convoy of approximately three thousand men accompanied by dozens of trucks and tanks gathering close to Ranam station before leaving the city.[8]
Following this event, it is thought that many residents rumoured that the Army had failed to successfully seize control of Chongjin city in coordination with an assassination of leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang by fellow plotters.[8] Other sources partially counter these claims citing that Kim Jong-il's interference over financial activities of the Army was the principal cause for the alleged disbandment. It is thought that the 6th Army has been subsequently replaced by the 9th Army from Wonsan.[8]
Gallery
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Ranam Shinto Shrine during Korea under Japanese rule's period.
References
- ^ a b Smith, Hazel (2009).North Korean Shipping:A Potential for WMD Proliferation?, Asia Pacific Issues. No. 87. Retrieved on 2010-12-28.
- ^ Demick, Barbara (2010). Nothing to Envy. Real Lives in North Korea. W11 4QR London, UK: Granta Publications. pp. 145. ISBN 9781847081414.
- ^ KINU White paper on human rights in North Korea 2009 (Chapter G. Human Rights Violations Inside Political Concentration Camps (Kwanliso), page 125)
- ^ Asia Trade Hub, www.asiatradehub.com/n.korea/ports.asp.
- ^ Demick, Barbara (3 July 2005). "Glimpses of a Hermit Kingdom". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/chongjin-north-korea.
- ^ Demick, Barbara (2010). Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea (UK ed.). Granta Publications. ISBN 9781847081414.
- ^ a b Good Friends, “North Korea Today,” No. 113 (Mar. 14, 2008)
- ^ a b c d Demick, Barbara (2010). Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea (UK ed.). Granta Publications. pp. 182–183. ISBN 9781847081414.
See also
Metropolitan cities of North Korea Directly governed city Provincial capitals Cities (not included above) North Hamgyong Capital Chongjin
Cities Counties Categories:- Cities in North Hamgyong
- Chongjin
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