North Hamgyong Province

North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province.

Geography

The province is bordered by China (Jilin) to the north, South Hamgyong to the southwest and Ryanggang to the west. To the east is the Sea of Japan. The province is home to the Musudan-ri rocket launching site and the Hoeryong concentration camp. In 2004, Rason was reabsorbed back into the province and since 2010, Rason has been a special city of North Korea.

Economy

In critical studies of North Korea, North Hamgyong has a reputation as a neglected and underdeveloped region even by the country's standards. It was where the 1990s famine hit hardest, and food shortages persist even in the 2020s. The majority of North Korean defectors who live in South Korea came from the province after crossing the relatively shallow Tumen River into China. Therefore, the conditions of the province, which analyst Fyodor Tertitskiy has described as "not only a very grim, but also a very boring place," tend to be projected onto the whole country, even though they are not representative.

Administrative divisions

North Hamgyong is divided into three cities (si) and 12 counties (kun). These are further divided into villages (ri) in rural areas and dong (neighborhoods) in cities. Some cities are also divided into wards known as "kuyŏk", which are administered just below the city level.

Cities

• Chongjin (Capital)
  청진시/Template:Linktext
• Hoeryong
  회령시/Template:Linktext
• Kimchaek
  김책시/Template:Linktext

Counties

Hwadae County 화대군/Template:Linktext Kilju County 길주군/Template:Linktext Kyonghung County 경흥군/Template:Linktext

Kyongsong County 경성군/Template:Linktext Kyongwon County 경원군/Template:Linktext Musan County 무산군/Template:Linktext

Myongchon County 명천군/Template:Linktext Myonggan County 명간군/Template:Linktext Onsong County 온성군/Template:Linktext

Orang County 어랑군/Template:Linktext Puryong County 부령군/Template:Linktext Yonsa County 연사군/Template:Linktext

In popular culture

• Cha Ki-seong (played by Kim Joo-hyuk), the main antagonist of the 2017 South Korean action comedy film Confidential Assignment is revealed to be a native of Hoeryong, one of the main cities of North Hamgyong Province.
• One of the main characters of Netflix's South Korean thriller series Squid Game, Kang Sae-byeok (played by Jung Ho-yeon) is a North Korean defector who is originally from North Hamgyong Province and lived there before defecting with her younger brother Kang Cheol to South Korea.

See also

• Punggye-ri Nuclear Test Site
• 2006 North Korean nuclear test
• Administrative divisions of North Korea