Hŭngnam
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| Image:Fertilizer Factory Hungnam.jpg Fertilizer factory in Hungnam. |
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Hŭngnam was a port city on the eastern coast of South Hamgyong Province, North Korea, on the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea). It is only eight miles from the slightly inland city of Hamhung. The population is estimated at about 200,000, and the city covers an area of 250 square kilometers.[citation needed] The city is home to a large fertilizer complex, which has allegedly also been used to manufacture chemical weapons.[1] It is also home to Hungnam Chemical Engineering College.
[edit] History
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.[2]
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. [3]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Weapons of Mass Destruction: Hungnam. Global Security.org. Retrieved on 2006-01-24.
- ^ Weapons of Mass Destruction: Hungnam. Global Security.org. Retrieved on 2006-01-24.
- ^ 행정구역 개편 일지. NKChosun (Korean language site). Retrieved on 2006-04-29.
[edit] See also
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