The Ungna Line () was a railway line of the

South Manchuria Railway The South Manchuria Railway (; ), officially , Mantetsu () or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operation of railways on the Dalian– Fengtian (Mukden)–Changchun (called Xinjing from ...

(''Mantetsu''), connecting Unggi with the important port 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. ...

History

Seeking to create a shorter route from Japan to Xinjing and

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

Manchukuo Manchukuo, officially known as the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of Great Manchuria thereafter, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China that existed from 1932 until its dissolution in 1945. It was ostens ...

, the South Manchuria Railway took over control of the

Chosen Government Railway Chosen or The Chosen may refer to: Books * ''The Chosen'' (Potok novel), a 1967 novel by Chaim Potok * ''The Chosen'', a 1997 novel by L. J. Smith * ''The Chosen'' (Pinto novel), a 1999 novel by Ricardo Pinto * ''The Chosen'' (Karabel book), a b ...

's Sangsambong–Unggi Domun Line in October 1933,朝鮮総督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), 1 October 1933 (in Japanese) 南満州鉄道株式会社全路線
creating the

North Chosen Line The North Chosen Line – specifically, the North Chosen West Line (北鮮西部線, ''Hokusen Seibu-sen''; 북선서부선, ''Bukseon Seobu-seon'') and the North Chosen East Line (北鮮東部線, ''Hokusen Tōbu-sen''; 북선동부선, ''Bukseo ...

. Although Unggi was a satisfactory port, a larger one was built at Najin, so Mantetsu built a new line to connect the North Chosen Line to the new port facilities. This line, the Ungna Line (Yūra Line in Japanese), was opened on 1 November 1935. At the same time, the Najinbudu Line was opened to connect the main railyard at Najin to the wharves at the port. Following the end of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

and the

partition of Korea The division of Korea began at the end of World War II on 2 September 1945, with the establishment of a Soviet occupation zone and a US occupation zone. These zones developed into separate governments, named the Democratic People's Republic of ...

, the Ungna Line was taken over by 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 ...

, which eventually merged it with several other lines to create the current

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 ...

between Najin and

Cheongjin Chŏngjin (; ) is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyong Province (함경북도) and the country's third-largest city. Sometimes called the City of Iron, it is located in the northeast of the country. History Prehistory According to a ...

.Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), Shinchosha, Tokyo, 2007

Route

References

{{Ungna Line Railway lines in Korea under Japanese rule Mantetsu railway lines Railway lines opened in 1935