Onsŏng is a county ( ''kun'') in

North Hamgyong 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 ...

Province, North Korea, located near the border with China. The administrative center is the town ( ''ŭp'') of Onsong. Onsong is the site of the former

Onsong concentration camp The Onsong concentration camp was an internment camp in Changpyong, Onsong County, North Hamgyong, North Korea. It housed approximately 15,000 political prisoners. The camp was officially known as Concentration Camp (Kwan-li-so) No. 12. Although ...

, now closed.

History

Onsong was one of the six post/garrisons () established under the order of

Sejong the Great of Joseon Sejong (; 15 May 1397 – 8 April 1450), commonly known as Sejong the Great (), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He is regarded as the greatest ruler in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangul, the n ...

(1418–1450) to safeguard his people from the hostile Chinese

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

and Manchurian/ Jurchen nomads living in

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

Geography

Onsong lies along the

Tumen River The Tumen River (, , ; Korean pronunciation: tumaŋaŋ">Help:IPA/Korean">tumaŋaŋ, also known as the Tuman River or Duman River, is a long river that serves as part of the boundary between China (left shore), North Korea (right) and Russi ...

, which forms the border with

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 ...

. To the north of Onsong is

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. Onsong also contains the northernmost point in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, at 43°0'39″ N. Liangshui (), in Tumen prefecture, is the closest Chinese town across the river. The land of Onsong is mainly mountainous, although a part is flatland. It has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

, and is the region of Korea with the longest winter, except the

Kaema Plateau The Kaema Plateau is a highland in North Korea. It is surrounded by the Rangrim Mountains, the Macheollyeong Mountains and the Bujeollyeong Mountains. Elevation varies between 700 and 2,000 meters and is approximately 40,000 square kilometers. ...

. The highest peak is Yŏndubong.

Economy

Being mountainous in nature, Onsong is not well suited to agriculture. Ironically, however, it has the highest ratio of rice paddies to dry fields of any district in

Province. Logging is prevalent in the Tumen River basin.

Lignite Lignite (derived from Latin ''lignum'' meaning 'wood'), often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35% and is considered the lowest ...

coal is also produced.

Transportation

Onsong is served by roads and railroads. In winter, it is also possible to cross the frozen

into China. Onsong has a 4 km long, single overhead bidirectional trolleybus line linking from the railway station to the Wangjaesan Grand Monument, although no trolleybuses are observed on the line since at least 2004. The overhead is nonetheless at least appearing to be in a good condition. The system formerly had two Jipsan 88 trolleybuses, though they were converted from the similar, but unrelated Jipsan 88 bus.

Administrative divisions

Onsŏng County is divided into 1 town ("Ŭp"), 10 workers' districts ("Rodongjagu") and 15 villages ("Ri"):

Notable personalities

Shin Rip Sin Rip (; 16 November 1546 – 7 June 1592), sometimes Shin Rip or Shin Rib, was a Korean general and a member of the Pyeongsan Sin clan. Biography He passed the Korean national military examinations at the age of 22. Sin earned prominence ...

, the prefect of Onsong before the

Imjin War The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

*Hyok Kang, the author of the autobiographical '' This is Paradise!: My North Korean Childhood''

References

External links

Location of the four forts and the six posts
* {{Coord, 42, 57, 20, N, 129, 59, 30, E, display=title Counties of North Hamgyong China–North Korea border crossings