Ryanggang

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Ryanggang Province

Korean name
McCune-Reischauer	Ryanggang-do S: Yanggang-do
Revised Romanization	Ryanggang-do S: Yanggang-do
Hangul	량강도 (양강도)
Hanja	兩江道
Short name	Ryanggang (Yanggang; 량강/양강; 兩江)
Statistics
Population	n/a
Area	14,317 sq km
Government	Province
Capital	Hyesan
Administrative divisions	1 cities (Si), 11 counties (Kun)
Region	Kwannam
Dialect	Hamgyŏng
Location map

Ryanggang (Ryanggang-do) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China on the north, North Hamgyong on the east, South Hamgyong on the south, and Chagang on the west. Ryanggang was formed in 1954, when it was separated from South Hamgyŏng. The provincial capital is Hyesan. In South Korean usage, "Ryanggang" is spelled and pronounced as "Yanggang."

Along the northern border with China runs the Yalu River and the Tumen River. In between the rivers, and the source of both, is Mount Paektu, a mountain revered by both the Koreans and Manchurians as the mythic origin of each people. The North Korean government claims that Kim Jong-il was born there when his parents were at a Communist resistance camp at the mountain. The North Korean-Chinese border for 20 miles east of the mountain is "dry, remote and mountainous, barely patrolled," making it one of the crossing areas for refugees from North Korea into China, although most, including refugees from Ryanggang itself, prefer to cross over the Tumen River.^[1]

Although all of North Korea is economically depressed, Ryanggang province, along with neighboring North Hamgyong and South Hamgyong provinces, are the poorest, forming North Korea's "Rust Belt" of industrialized cities with factories now decrepit and failing. The worst hunger of the 1990s famine years occurred in these three provinces, and most refugees into China come from the Rust Belt region.^[1]

An explosion and mushroom cloud was reportedly detected in Kimhyŏngjik-gun on September 9, 2004, the 56th anniversary of the creation of North Korea. This was reported a few days later on September 12. See Ryanggang explosion. [2]

[edit] Administrative divisions

Ryanggang is divided into 1 city ("Si") and 11 counties ("Kun").

Hyesan-si (혜산시; 惠山市)
Kapsan-gun (갑산군; 甲山郡)
Kimjŏngsuk-gun (김정숙군; 金貞淑郡)
Kimhyŏnggwŏn-gun (김형권군; 金亨權郡)
Kimhyŏngjik-gun (김형직군; 金亨稷郡)
Paegam-gun (백암군; 白岩郡)
Poch'ŏn-gun (보천군; 普天郡)
P'ungsŏ-gun (풍서군; 豊西郡)
Samjiyon-gun (삼지연군; 三池淵郡)
Samsu-gun (삼수군; 三水郡)
Taehongdan-gun (대홍단군; 大紅湍郡)
Unhŭng-gun (운흥군; 雲興郡)

[edit] References and notes

^ ^a ^b [1] Onishi, Norimitsu, "Tension, Desperation: The China-North Korean Border", October 22, 2006. The information cited in this footnote comes from the captions to the large illustrated map published with the newspaper article and available online with it.