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Tongchang is a kun, or county, in northeastern North Pyongan province, North Korea. It borders Pyoktong and Chagang's Usi county to the north, Unsan and Songwon to the east, Taechon to the south, and Changsong and Taegwan to the west.
The Pinandok Mountains pass through northern and eastern Tongchang, contributing the county's highest point, Tanpungdoksan (단풍덕산, 1159 m). The Changsong River flows from the northwest to the southeast, on its way to join the Taedong. The year-round local temperature is 7 °C, with an average of -10 °C in January and 22.8 °C in August. The average annual rainfall is quite high, at 1440 mm. Some 80% of the county's land is forested (of which 40% is coniferous, with mixed pine-oak woods predominating).
The dominant local industry is mining. The first gold mine there was opened in Taeyu-dong in 1896 by a French concern. In addition, silver and apatite are now mined. Tongchang has the least cultivable land of any county in the province, at 6.5% of its total area; most of that (80%) consists of dry fields unsuitable for rice. The chief local crop, therefore, is maize. There are numerous small-scale hydroelectric power stations.
[edit] References
- International Information Research Institute (국제정보연구소) (1999). "동창군", 北韓情報總覽 2000 [Bukhan jeongbo chong-ram 2000]. Seoul: Author, 837-838.
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