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Sunch'ŏn () is a city in South Pyongan 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 ...
. It has a population of 297,317, and is home to various manufacturing plants. The city is on the
Taedong River The Taedong River () is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening the Soviet ...
.


History

In 1413, the name of the city became Sunchon, due to a renaming rule in the early
Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...
, where 'ju (州)' were changed to 'chon (川)' and became Sunchon-gun. The original name referred to a smooth repelling of invaders. In 1983, the county was elevated into a city and became Sunchon-si and a number of administrative districts were reorganised. Various other administrative division changes occurred until remaining in its current form from 2003. In December 1951, the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
aerial Battle of Sunch'ŏn was fought near Sunch'ŏn between the
Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...
and two North Korean allies –
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 ...
and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
.


Administrative divisions

Sunch'ŏn-si is divided into 21 ''tong'' (neighbourhoods) and 11 ''ri'' (villages):


Economy


Electricity generation

The city has a
thermal power station A thermal power station, also known as a thermal power plant, is a type of power station in which the heat energy generated from various fuel sources (e.g., coal, natural gas, nuclear fuel, etc.) is converted to electrical energy. The heat ...
, the Sunchon Thermal Power Plant, which has an estimated installed capacity of 20 MW, although in 2009, it generated only on average 10 MW over the year. For the 80 day campaign of the
8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea The 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea was held at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang from 5 to 12 January 2021. A total of 7,000 people participated in the congress including 5,000 delegates. The Party Congress took place in the ...
, it was reported that the generation equipment at this power station had been overhauled and restored to its original state. A campaign was waged to keep generation capacity at the maximum.


Cement industry

Sunchon has a developed industry. The Sunchon Cement Complex has the capability to produce millions of tons of cement each year for use within North Korea but also exported to other countries. The plant has participated in major construction projects, such as the plan for 10,000 flats in
Pyongyang Pyongyang () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is sometimes labeled as the "Capital of the Revolution" (). Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. Accordi ...
in 2021. It has direct access to the Sunchon Limestone mine and the Sunchon Gypsum mine.


Chemical industry

The city has a Vinylon factory, and other chemical factories producing
carbide In chemistry, a carbide usually describes a compound composed of carbon and a metal. In metallurgy, carbiding or carburizing is the process for producing carbide coatings on a metal piece. Interstitial / Metallic carbides The carbides of th ...
,
methanol Methanol (also called methyl alcohol and wood spirit, amongst other names) is an organic chemical compound and the simplest aliphatic Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with the chemical formula (a methyl group linked to a hydroxyl group, often ab ...
and various chemical fertilisers. One of the most important pharmaceutical companies of North Korea, the Sunchon Pharmaceutical factory produces
penicillin Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...
,
streptomycin Streptomycin is an antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium complex, ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex, endocarditis, brucellosis, Burkholderia infection, ''Burkholderia'' i ...
and rifampicin.


Agriculture

Due to a lack of an irrigation system, before liberation, Sunchon was only suitable for millets. This was extensively developed after liberation and the city now plants beans, corn, rice and barley. Various fruits and vegetables are also grown and a range of animals are raised.


Transportation

Sunch'ŏn Station is on the P'yŏngra and Manp'o lines 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 ...
. Taegon Line and various other industrial lines pass through the city. The city is on multiple important roads to Pyongyang, Kanggye, Pyongsong and Hamhung.


Culture

The city has various primary schools, secondary schools, vocational schools and universities. Other facilities include a library, a hospital and a sanatorium.


Sister cities

* Atuntaqui, Imbabura Province,
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...


See also

*
List of cities in North Korea The important cities of North Korea have self-governing status equivalent to that of provinces. Pyongyang, the largest city and capital, is classified as a chikhalsi (capital city), while three cities (see the list below) are classified as t'ŭk ...
*
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 ...


References


Further reading

*Dormels, Rainer. North Korea's Cities: Industrial facilities, internal structures and typification. Jimoondang, 2014.


External links


City profile of Sunchon
{{coord, 39, 25, 0, N, 125, 56, 0, E, type:city, display=title Cities in South Pyongan