Hoeryŏng () is a city in

North Hamgyong Province North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province. Geography The province is bordered by China (Jilin) to the north, S ...

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 ...

. It is located opposite

Jilin ) , image_skyline = Changbaishan Tianchi from western rim.jpg , image_alt = , image_caption = View of Heaven Lake , image_map = Jilin in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_al ...

Province,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, with the Tumen River in between. Sanhe (三合鎮), in Longjing City, is the closest Chinese town across the river. Hoeryŏng is the birthplace of

Kim Il Sung Kim Il Sung (born Kim Song Ju; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he led as its first Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader from North Korea#Founding, its establishm ...

's first wife and

Kim Jong Il Kim Jong Il (born Yuri Kim; 16 February 1941 or 1942 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second Supreme Leader (North Korean title), supreme leader of North Korea from Death and state funeral of Kim Il Sung, the de ...

's mother, Kim Jong Suk. The Hoeryong Revolutionary Site commemorates the birthplace. The former Hoeryŏng concentration camp ( Kwalliso No. 22) was located from the city. Birthplace of Kim Jong-suk

History

Hoeryŏng was one of the six posts/garrisons ( Chosŏngŭl: 육진,

Hanja 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. () ...

: 六鎭) established under the order of Sejong the Great of Joseon (1418 - 1450) to safeguard his people from the potentially hostile semi-nomadic

Jurchens Jurchen (, ; , ) is a term used to collectively describe a number of East Asian people, East Asian Tungusic languages, Tungusic-speaking people. They lived in northeastern China, also known as Manchuria, before the 18th century. The Jurchens wer ...

living north of the Yalu river. In 1952, some territories of Hoeryŏng (then a county), which included myoen of Poŭl and parts of myoens of Yonghung and Pyŏksŏng, were incorporated into the then newly created Yusŏn county. After the 1974 incorporation of Yusŏn county, the Yusŏn region became a up and was renamed as Yusŏn worker's region. In early May 2007, the newly appointed

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Kim Yong-il visited Hoeryŏng. At the time, the Prime Minister brought with him on his train one carriage worth of glass (made in South Korea) and 3 carriages worth of cement. After delivering the goods to the People's Committee of Hoeryŏng he ordered that the city of Hoeryŏng be decorated and adorned as much as a city where Mother Kim Jong Suk's birthplace should be.

Administrative divisions

Hoeryŏng-si is divided into 19 '' tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 28 '' ri'' (villages):

Economy

Hoeryŏng's main industries are mining machines and a paper mill. The area contains many mines. According to media reports, in 2017 ordinary residents in Hoeryong receive electricity for 3–4 hours per day. However, many people do not have electricity at all.

Civil unrest

It is reported that on 24 September 2008 only about 20% of Hoeryŏng's city residents attended a civilian defence-training programme held in Hoeryŏng City. The other 80% are thought to have stayed home or tended to private patch fields. As punishment, authorities from the Civilian Defence ordered non-attendees to pay KP₩5,000, however this fine was largely ignored.

2016 Flood

On 29 August 2016, as the result of Typhoon Lionrock, the Tumen River flooded, making many of the residents homeless and causing substantial property damage. The displaced residents moved to China.

Climate

Hoeryong has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

: ''Dwb'').

Notes

External links

''Hoeryong City'' picture album
at

Naenara Naenara () is the official web portal of the North Korean government. History Naenara was the first website in North Korea, and was created in 1996. Usage Naenara carries publications such as '' The Pyongyang Times'', ' magazine, '' Korea ...

Location of the four forts and the six postsHoeryong Hotel 회령려관 - the only hotel in Hoeryong that accommodates foreigners
* {{North Hamgyong Cities in North Hamgyong