Kaechon
Kaech'ŏn
개천시 Kaechon | |
|---|---|
| Korean transcription(s) | |
| • Chosŏn'gŭl | 개천시 |
| • Hancha | 价川市 |
| • McCune-Reischauer | Kaech'ŏn-si |
| • Revised Romanization | Gaecheon-si |
 Map of South Pyongan showing the location of Kaechon | |
| Lua error in Module:Mapframe at line 703: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value. | |
| Coordinates: Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Country | North Korea |
| Province | South P'yŏngan |
| Administrative divisions | 26 tong, 11 ri |
| Area | |
• Total | 738 km2 (285 sq mi) |
| Population (2008) | |
• Total | 319,554 |
| • Density | 433/km2 (1,120/sq mi) |
| • Dialect | P'yŏngan |
| Time zone | UTC+9 (Pyongyang Time) |
Kaech'ŏn or Kaechon (US: /ˈɡeɪtʃʌn/ GAY-chun,[1] Korean: [kɛtsʰʌn]; Hangul: 개천시, Hanja: 价川市) is a city in South P'yŏngan province, North Korea.
Geography
[edit | edit source]The Myohyangsan, Changansan, Ch'ŏnsŏngsan, and Ch'ŏngryongsan mountain ranges come together in Kaech'ŏn. The highest peak is Paekt'apsan. The most important rivers are the Ch'ŏngch'ŏn River and the Taedong River. The area of the city is 61% forested.
Administrative divisions
[edit | edit source]Kaech'ŏn-si is divided into 26 tong (neighbourhoods) and 11 ri (villages):
|
|
Economy
[edit | edit source]Water resources are abundant, and several reservoirs are located in Kaech'ŏn.
Agriculture has been extensively developed, including livestock and fruit orchards. Machining and metalworking are the dominant industries, mining has also become more prominent.
Transportation
[edit | edit source]Kaech'ŏn is served by the Korean State Railway's Kaech'ŏn Line and the Manp'o Line trunk lines, as well as the Choyang Colliery Line and Chunhyŏk Line secondary lines.
Tourism
[edit | edit source]Tourist sites in Kaech'ŏn include Songam Cavern, Taeripsa Temple with its 9-level stone pagoda, the fortresses of Changhamsŏng, T'osŏng, and Kosasansŏng, Namsa dolmen, and the group of dolments at Mukpangsan. There are also Yŏnpung Lake, which was constructed in 1956, and Yongwŏn Cavern, which was discovered in 1966 and is preserved as North Korea's Natural Monument No. 43.
The Kaechon Revolutionary Site is associated with Kim Il Sung's 250 Mile Journey for National Liberation. A statue was erected there on the occasion of the Day of the Sun, April 15, in 2001.[2]
Prison camps
[edit | edit source]There are two large prison camps in Kaech'ŏn, both known for very harsh conditions:
- Political Prison Camp No. 14 is a prison labour colony around 20 km (12 mi) southeast of the city centre at the banks of Taedong River. Shin Dong-hyuk was born in the camp, tortured there, and finally saw his mother and brother executed before he escaped.[3]
- Re-education Camp No. 1 is a prison building complex around 2.5 km (1.6 mi) east of the city centre. Lee Soon-ok was imprisoned for six years in the camp and gave testimony before the United States Senate.[4]
See also
[edit | edit source]Lua error in mw.title.lua at line 392: bad argument #2 to 'title.new' (unrecognized namespace name 'Portal').
Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
Further reading
[edit | edit source]- Dormels, Rainer. North Korea's Cities: Industrial facilities, internal structures and typification. Jimoondang, 2014. Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]
- City profile of Kaechon Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 153: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).