Hungnam
Encyclopedia
Hŭngnam was the third largest city in North Korea
.
It is a port city on the eastern coast, in South Hamgyong Province, on the Sea of Japan
(East Sea of Korea). The city covers an area of 250 square kilometers. It is only eight miles from the slightly inland city of Hamhung
.
. It was constructed as part of the unsuccessful Japanese atomic program
. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, this was seized by the Soviet military.
Hŭngnam held a labour camp where prisoners were sentenced to hard labour, doing tasks such as packing lime fertilizer into bags for shipment.
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 the Battle 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.
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
.
It is a port city on the eastern coast, in South Hamgyong Province, on the Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific...
(East Sea of Korea). The city covers an area of 250 square kilometers. It is only eight miles from the slightly inland city of Hamhung
Hamhung
Hamhŭng is North Korea's second largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. In late 2005, nearby Hŭngnam was made a ward within Hamhŭng-si. It has a population of 768,551 as of 2008.-Geography:...
.
Population
The population has been estimated at (variously) 200,000 or 450,000; the official North Korean population figure is 700,000 but this is disputed.Economy
The city is home to a large fertilizer complex, which has allegedly also been used to manufacture chemical weapons. It is also home to Hungnam Chemical Engineering College.History
During the early 1940s, Hŭngnam was the site of Asia's first known cyclotronCyclotron
In technology, a cyclotron is a type of particle accelerator. In physics, the cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to the direction of a uniform magnetic field, i.e. a magnetic field of constant magnitude and direction...
. It was constructed as part of the unsuccessful Japanese atomic program
Japanese atomic program
The Japanese program to develop nuclear weapons was conducted during World War II. Like the German nuclear weapons program, it suffered from an array of problems, and was ultimately unable to progress beyond the laboratory stage before the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Japanese...
. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, this was seized by the Soviet military.
Hŭngnam held a labour camp where prisoners were sentenced to hard labour, doing tasks such as packing lime fertilizer into bags for shipment.
The port at Hŭngnam was the site of a major evacuation of both U.N. military and North Korean civilians during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
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 the Battle of Chosin Reservoir
Battle of Chosin Reservoir
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Changjin Lake Campaign ,Official Chinese sources refer to this battle as the Second Phase Campaign Eastern Sector . The Western Sector is the Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River. was a decisive battle in the Korean War...
, 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
Hamhung
Hamhŭng is North Korea's second largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. In late 2005, nearby Hŭngnam was made a ward within Hamhŭng-si. It has a population of 768,551 as of 2008.-Geography:...
-si.
See also
- List of cities in North Korea
- Geography of North KoreaGeography of North KoreaNorth Korea is located in east Asia on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea shares a border with three states, including China along the Amnok River, Russia along the Duman River, and South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone...
- List of Korea-related topics