Sŏnbong-guyŏk, formerly called Unggi (), is a subdivision of the

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 ...

n city of

Rason Rason (formerly Rajin-Sŏnbong; ) is a North Korean special city and ice-free port in the Sea of Japan in the North Pacific Ocean on the northeast tip of North Korea. It is in the Kwanbuk region and location of the Rason Special Economic Zone. ...

. It is located at the northeastern extreme of North Korea, bordering

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

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 lies on Unggi Bay, an extension of the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

(East Sea of Korea). A

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

mine is allegedly located there, as is a 200

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

oil-fired

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electr ...

. The word Sonbong means "Vanguard" in Korean. The Sonbong Revolutionary Site is dedicated to a visit by

Kim Jong-suk Kim Jong-suk (; 24 December 1917Suh Dae-sook. Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. – 22 September 1949) was a Korean revolutionary, anti-Japanese guerrilla, Communist activist, the first wi ...

in November 1945 "upholding the policy of building a new country advanced by President Kim Il Sung" after the

liberation of Korea Liberation or liberate may refer to: Film and television * ''Liberation'' (film series), a 1970–1971 series about the Great Patriotic War * "Liberation" (''The Flash''), a TV episode * "Liberation" (''K-9''), an episode Gaming * '' Liberati ...

. It includes the Sonbong Revolutionary Museum, a monument to the historic site, and the house where she stayed.

Administrative divisions

Sŏnbong-guyŏk is divided into 10 tong (neighbourhoods) and 6 ri (villages): * Sanghyŏn-tong (상현동 / 上峴洞) * Chunghyŏn-tong (중현동 / 中峴洞) * Hahyŏn-tong (하현동 / 下峴洞) * Songp'yŏng-tong (송평동 / 松坪洞) * Tuman'gang-tong (두만강동 / 豆滿江洞) * Ungsang-tong (웅상동 / 雄尙洞) * Uam-tong (우암동 / 牛岩洞) * Paekhang-tong (백학동 / 白鶴洞) * Wŏnjŏng-tong (원정동 / 元汀洞) * Hayŏp'yŏng-tong (하여평동 / 下汝坪洞) * Kulp'o-ri (굴포리 / 屈浦里) * Pup'o-ri (부포리 / 鮒浦里) * Sahoe-ri (사회리 / 四會里) * Chosal-li (조산리 / 造山里) * Hahoe-ri (하회리 / 下檜里) * Hongŭi-ri (홍의리 / 洪儀里)

Climate

Sonbong 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 ...

(

Dfb DFB may refer to: Music * Dem Franchize Boyz, an Atlanta hip hop group * Dysfunctional Family BBQ, a New York festival Sport * DFB-Pokal, a football cup competition in Germany Organisations * Furka Steam Railway (), Switzerland * German Footbal ...

) with mild to warm, rainy summers and cold, long winters. Seasons are somewhat moderated by the presence of the

Transportation

Sonbong is North Korea's rail link to Russia. A rail bridge crosses 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 ...

between the border rail stations of Tumangang Workers' District, Sonbong, and Khasan, Russia. This connection lies on one of two proposed paths for linking

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

by rail to the

Trans-Siberian Railroad The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...

and the rest of

Eurasia Eurasia ( , ) is a continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. According to some geographers, Physical geography, physiographically, Eurasia is a single supercontinent. The concept of Europe and Asia as distinct continents d ...

, the other being through

Sinuiju Sinŭiju (; ) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, Liaoning, China, across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North Pyongan Province, North P'yŏngan province. Part of the city is included in the Sinuiju Spe ...

. The rail link through Sonbong is lightly used, carrying only 10,000 passengers in 2005. Sonbong is one terminus of the

Hambuk Line The Hambuk Line is an electrified standard-gauge trunk line of the Korean State Railway in North Korea, running from Ch'ŏngjin on the P'yŏngra Line to Rajin, likewise on the P'yŏngra line.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no ...

railroad. It is also served by roads. There is a seaport and a wharf at

Sonbong Port Sŏnbong-guyŏk, formerly called Unggi (), is a subdivision of the North Korean city of Rason. It is located at the northeastern extreme of North Korea, bordering Russia and China. It lies on Unggi Bay, an extension of the Sea of Japan (East Sea ...

References

External links

Tumen River Area Development Program profile of the area
{{Rason Districts of Rason Uranium mines Mining in North Korea

Administrative divisions

Climate

Transportation

See also

References

External links