Location of Hamhung

map of Hamhung city area

Hamhung (Hamhung-si) is North Korea's second largest city ( population 874,000 ), and the capital of South Hamgyong Province. In late 2005, nearby Hongnam was made a ward within Hamhung-si.It was the commercial and local administrative centre of northeastern Korea during the Yi dynasty (1392 - 1910). During the Japanese occupation it was known as Kanko . It began to develop rapidly as a modern industrial city with the construction in 1928 of a large nitrogenous fertilizer plant at its seaport, Hungnam, 7.5 miles (12 km) southeast, and of hydroelectric power plants on the nearby Pujon and Changjin rivers.

Hamhung naengmyun

Hamhung in famous for its naengmyun."cold noodles," is a Korean dish that is extremely popular during the summer. It consists of several varieties of thin, hand-made noodles (typically made from arrowroot (칡냉면/chilk naengmyeon) or buckwheat (메밀냉면/memil naengmyeon flour), and is served in a large bowl with a tangy iced broth, raw julienned vegetables, a slice of a Korean pear, and often a boiled egg and/or cold beef .

Hamhung Theater

The founder of the Choson (Yi) dynasty , Seonggye (이성계; 1335 - 1408)was born in Hamhung.

In 1946 there was a protest march against the Communist Party

Hamhung in the Korean War

Battle of Hamhung

The city was heavily destroyed (80 - 90%) during the Korean War. From 1955 - 1962, Hamhung was the object of a large-scale program of reconstruction and development by East Germany including the build-up of various construction-related industries and intense training measures for Korean construction workers, engineers, city planners and architects. The project ended two years earlier than scheduled and with a low profile because of the Sino-Soviet conflict and the opposing positions that North Korea and East Germany took on that issue.

From 1960 to 1967, Hamhung was administered separately from South Hamgyong as a Directly Governed City (Chikhalsi), but before 1960, and since 1967, the city has been part of South Hamgyong Province.

In 1995, Hamhung witnessed, thus far, the only documented challenge to the North Korean government when famine-ravaged soldiers began a march toward Pyongyang. The revolt was quelled and the unit of soldiers was disbanded.

Hamhung today

Hamhung is an important chemical industry center in the DPRK. It is an industrial city which serves as a major port for North Korean foreign trade. Production includes textiles (particularly vinalon), metalware, machinery, refined oil and processed food.

Kim Jong Il visits a factory in Hamhung

Links

Offical Webpage of DPR Korea

Links