Samsu County is a
''kun'', or county, in
Ryanggang
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; , ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) to the north, North Hamgyong to the east, South Hamgyong to the south, and Chagang to the west. Ryanggang was formed in 1954, when it w ...
province,
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 ...
. Prior to 1954, it was part of
South Hamgyŏng
South Hamgyong Province (, ''Hamgyŏngnamdo''; ) is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Hamgyong Province, remained a province of Korea until 1945, then became a province of North Kor ...
province.
Geography
On its northern border, Samsu shares the
Yalu River
The Yalu River () or Amnok River () is a river on the border between China and North Korea. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between China and North Korea. Its valle ...
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 ...
. It also shares a border with the province of
North P'yŏngan. To the south, it occupies the northern tip of 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 southern and western reaches of Samsu abound with mountains. Due to the rugged terrain, transportation is difficult.
The highest peak of Samsu is
Turungbong (두릉봉, 1921 m). The chief streams are the
Changjin
Changjin County is a mountainous county in South Hamgyong Province, North Korea.
Geography
Changjin lies on the Rangrim and Pujŏllyong ranges, and most of the county sits atop the Kaema Plateau. Due to this location, Changjin has a particul ...
,
Chungp'yŏng and Yalu rivers (this is probably the reason for its name, 삼수(三
水
Radical 85 or radical water () meaning "water" is a Kangxi radical; one of 35 of the 214 that are composed of 4 strokes. Its left-hand form, , is closely related to Radical 15, ''bīng'' (also known as 两点水 ''liǎngdiǎnshuǐ''), meaning "i ...
), which literally means 'three rivers'). Due to its high inland location, Samsu enjoys bitterly cold winters.
Administrative divisions
Samsu county is divided into 1 ''ŭp'' (town), 1 ''rodongjagu'' (workers' district) and 23 ''ri'' (villages):
Economy
The chief industries in Samsu are logging and farming. Despite the rugged terrain, rice cultivation is widespread; in addition,
slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...
agriculture is practiced in the high fields. Local crops include potatoes, maize, soybeans, oats and rye. The Yalu is used to ship rough logs downstream. There are also local deposits of gold ore.
Transportation
The
Pukbunaeryuk Line
The Pukbunaeryuk Line, also called the Hyesan–Manp'o Ch'ŏngnyŏn Line after the only completed stage of three planned stages, is an electrified standard-gauge secondary trunk line of the Korean State Railway in Chagang and Ryanggang Provinc ...
of the
Korean State Railway
The Korean State Railway is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of North Korea (), commonly called the State Rail () and has its headquarters at Pyongyang, P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Chang Jun-song.
History
19 ...
serves the county, as do various conventional roads. There are multiple roads going out to Kanggye and Hyesan, but all have checkpoints.
See also
*
Geography of North Korea
North Korea is located in East Asia in the Northern half of Korea, partially on the Korean Peninsula. It borders three countries: People's Republic of China, China along the Amnok River, Yalu (Amnok) River, Russia along the Tumen River, and Sou ...
*
Administrative divisions of North Korea
The administrative divisions of North Korea are organized into three hierarchical levels. These divisions were created in 2002. Many of the units have equivalents in the Administrative Divisions of South Korea, system of South Korea. At the ...
*
Ryanggang
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; , ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) to the north, North Hamgyong to the east, South Hamgyong to the south, and Chagang to the west. Ryanggang was formed in 1954, when it w ...
External links
*
{{coord missing, North Korea
Counties of Ryanggang