| Hŭngnam | |
|---|---|
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 흥남구역 |
| Hancha | 興南區域 |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hŭngnam-kuyŏk |
| Revised Romanization | Heungnam-guyeok |
Hŭngnam was the third largest city in North Korea.[1] It is a port city on the eastern coast, in South Hamgyong Province, on the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). The city covers an area of 250 square kilometers. It is only eight miles from the slightly inland city of Hamhung.
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The population has been estimated at (variously) 200,000 or 450,000; the official North Korean population figure is 700,000 but this is disputed.[2]
The city is home to the Hungnam Fertilizer Complex, which has allegedly also been used to manufacture chemical weapons.[3] Other industrial facilities include the February 8 Vinalon Factory Complex. It is also home to Hungnam Chemical Engineering College.
Hungnam Station is on the Pyongra Line railway.
During the early 1940s, Hŭngnam was the site of Asia's first known cyclotron. It was constructed as part of the unsuccessful Japanese atomic program. After the surrender of Japan in 1945, this was seized by the Soviet military.[3]
Hŭngnam held a labour camp where prisoners were sentenced to hard labour, doing tasks such as packing lime fertilizer into bags for shipment.[4][5]
The port at Hŭngnam was the site of a major evacuation of both U.N. military and North Korean civilians during the Korean War in late December 1950. Approximately 100,000 troops and material and 100,000 civilians were loaded onto a variety of merchant ships and military transports over the weeks leading up to Christmas 1950, and were transported to safety in Pusan and other destinations in South Korea. This operation was the culmination of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir, in which the embattled UN troops fought their way out of a Chinese trap.
In late 2005, Hŭngnam was demoted from Hŭngnam-si (Hŭngnam City) to Hŭngnam-kuyok (Hŭngnam District) within Hamhung-si.[6]
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