Sinchon County

Sinchon County 신천군
County
Korean transcription(s)
• Hanja	信川郡
• McCune-Reischauer	Sinch'ŏn-gun
• Revised Romanization	Sincheon-gun

Country	North Korea
Province	South Hwanghae Province
Administrative divisions	1 ŭp, 31 ri

Sinch'ŏn County is a county in South Hwanghae province, North Korea.

Geography

Sinch'ŏn is bordered to the north by Anak, to the west by Samch'ŏn and T'aet'an, to the sough by Pyŏksŏng and Sinwŏn, and to the east by Chaeryŏng. Most of the land in Sinch'ŏn is composed of flat plains, with mountains forming its borders. The highest point is Mt. Ch'ŏnbong, at 627 meters. ^[1]

There are several famous hot springs in Sinch'ŏn, including the Sinch'ŏn and Kŭlloja Springs. The county is also home to the famous Chahyesa Buddhist temple, founded in 1572.

History

The Koryo dynasty named the area occupied by Sinch'ŏn as Sinju. It received its current name under the Yi dynasty in 1413. In 1909 Sinch'ŏn was annexed to Munhwa, now no longer extant. The county's current form was settled in the 1952 redistricting changes, in which its eastern part was annexed to newly formed Samch'ŏn county.

At the beginning of the Korean War in 1950, the town of Sinch'ŏn was allegedly the site of a massacre of civilians by occupying U.S forces (see Sinchon Massacre). North Korean sources claim the number of civilians killed over the 52-day period at over 35000 people, equivalent to one-fourth the county of Sinchon's population at the time.^[2] The North Korean government has operated the Sinchon Museum of American War Atrocities in Sinch'ŏn Town since 1958, displaying relics and remains from the incident.^[3]

Transportation

The county is served by the Hwanghae Railway Line, which stops at Pyoksok, Sinchon Onchon, Sinchon, and Hwanghae Hongmun Stations. There is also a highway which runs through Sinch'ŏn Town.

Divisions

The county is divided into one town (ŭp) and 31 villages (ri). ^[4]

	Chosŏn'gŭl	Hancha
Sinch'ŏn Town	신천읍	信川邑
Changjae-ri	장재리	長財里
Chinam-ri	지남리	指南里
Ch'ŏngsan-ri	청산리	青山里
Hoam-ri	호암리	虎岩里
Hwasan-ri	화산리	花山里
Kŏnsan-ri	건산리	乾山里
Kŭlloja-ri	근로자리	勤勞者里
Myŏngsa-ri	명사리	明沙里
Myŏngsŏk-ri	명석리	明石里
Onch'ŏn-ri	온천리	溫泉里
Paeksŏk-ri	백석리	白石里
Palsan-ri	발산리	鉢山里
Panjŏng-ri	반정리	泮亭里
Poku-ri	복우리	福隅里
Raengjŏng-ri	랭정리	冷井里
Rimok-ri	리목리	梨木里
Ryongdang-ri	룡당리	龍塘里
Ryongsan-ri	룡산리	龍山里
Sach'ang-ri	사창리	司倉里
Saekil-ri	새길리	새길 里
Saenal-ri	새날리	새날 里
Sŏkdang-ri	석당리	石塘里
Sŏkkyo-ri	석교리	石橋里
Songo-ri	송오리	松梧里
Sŏwŏn-ri	서원리	書院里
Tongryŏng-ri	동령리	東嶺里
Torak-ri	도락리	道樂里
Uryong-ri	우룡리	牛龍里
Usan-ri	우산리	牛山里
Wolsŏng-ri	월성리	月城里
Wŏnam-ri	원암리	猿岩里

References