Rason

Rason
Chosŏn'gŭl :	라선 특별시
Hancha :	羅先特別市
McCune-Reischauer :	Rason T'ŭkpyŏlsi
Revised Romanization :	Naseon Teukbyeolsi
Basic data
Surface:	798 km²
Residents:	196,954 (as of 2008)
Population density :	247 inhabitants per km²
Structure :	1 district ( Kuyŏk ); 1 county ( Kun );

Rasŏn is a port city in North Korea with 196,954 inhabitants. Rasŏn was called Rajin-Sŏnbong until 2000 and was a city province under central government until 2004. Since 2010 it has been a “special city”.

Rasŏn is an industrial center, free trade zone , cultural center and transport hub in an agricultural area. The largest city district is Rajin- kuyŏk with 66,224 inhabitants.

geography

Geographical location

The city is located in the northeast of North Korea, on the Sea of Japan . It is located in the Hamgyŏng-pukto province in the central part of Northeast Asia and borders the People's Republic of China and Russia along the Tumen River . This makes Rasŏn the only city in North Korea that borders on two neighboring states.

Of the total of 196,954 inhabitants, 158,337 live in urban areas (80 percent) and 38,617 in rural areas (20 percent). The population density is only 247 inhabitants per square kilometer. In comparison, there are 2,300 in Hamburg.

The former city province includes 108 square kilometers of arable land (13.5 percent), 543 square kilometers of forest (68 percent), 104 square kilometers of water (13 percent), 20 square kilometers of industrially used land (2.5 percent) and 16 square kilometers of residential land (2.0 percent ). The remaining seven square kilometers (1.0 percent) are used for other purposes. Farmland and forest together make up over 80 percent of the total area of the urban area.

Although the urban area is mostly mountainous, it has no high mountains or natural barriers. About 230 square kilometers of the area have an incline of less than 20 percent. The length of the coast is 120 kilometers. The former city province includes 21 islands, including Taecho, Shihae, Pipa, Kulpo and Uam islands. It has two of the largest natural lakes on the Korean Peninsula, West Bonpo and East Bonpo .

The largest cities in the former city province were (as of January 1, 2005): Rajin 66,224 inhabitants, Sŏnbong 27,331 inhabitants, Tumangang 9,461 inhabitants and Ungsang 8,410 inhabitants.

City structure

Rasŏn is divided into the district of Rajin-kuyŏk ( 라진 구역 ; 區域羅津 ) and the district of Sŏnbong-kun ( 선봉군 ; 先鋒郡 ).

climate

Rasŏn is in the temperate climate zone . The annual mean temperature of the city is 6.3 ° C, the mean temperature in January, the coldest month, −8.8 ° C, in August, the hottest month, 20.9 ° C. The daily mean temperature is above 5 ° C for 205 days, above 10 ° C for 156 days and below 0 ° C for 121 days. The annual average sunshine rate is 53 percent, with the highest rate in July and the lowest in February.

The average annual rainfall is 770 millimeters, with most rainfall in June and July and least in January and February. Precipitation in spring makes up 20 to 25 percent of total annual precipitation, summer 55 to 60 percent, autumn 10 to 13 percent and winter over ten percent. The northwest and southeast winds have an average annual speed of 3.3 meters per second. The annual average relative humidity is 70 percent.

The urban area was hit by floods as a result of a typhoon in August 2015 .

history

In December 1991 a free trade zone was established around the cities of Rajin and Sŏnbong. In 1993, the city of Rajin ( Rajin-si ; 라진 시 ; 羅津市 ) and the district of Sŏnbong ( Sŏnbong-gun ; 선봉군 ; 先鋒 ) were detached from the province of Hamgyŏng-pukto and placed in the large municipality of Rajin-Sŏnbong with an area of 798 square kilometers together, which is slightly larger than the floor area of the city of Hamburg .

The city province was placed in 1993 as a special administrative region under central administration by the government ( 직할시 , 直轄市 , revised: jikhalsi , McCune-Reischer: chhikhalsi ). In 2000, Rajin-Sŏnbong was renamed Rasŏn. In 2004, however, it was reintegrated into Hamgyŏng-pukto Province. On January 4, 2010, it received the title of “Special City” ( 특별시 , 特別市 , revised: teukbyeolsi , McCune-Reischauer: t'ŭkpyŏlsi ).

In 2010 a comprehensive renovation of the entire city center was announced, which will be characterized by a new city center , a north-south boulevard and new buildings.

Economy and Infrastructure

economy

Hotel in Rajin 2011

The free trade zone is part of the UNDP funding program for the Tumen River Economic Development Area (TREDA), in which the People's Republic of China , Russia, Mongolia and North and South Korea are involved. Until 2025, foreign companies will be given preferential conditions to invest in transit trade, industrial operations and tourism. The contact person is the Golden Triangle Bank .

The largest oil refinery in North Korea is located in Rason . Companies in the food and textile industries, wood and fish processing have settled here.

traffic

The city is a traffic junction with road and rail connections in the south of the country and in the north to Russia and the People's Republic of China.

It owns the port of Rajin with an annual handling capacity of three million tons and the port of Sŏnbong with a capacity of two to three million tons per year. These two deep sea ports do not freeze in winter, which guarantees operation all year round. Another six ports are located along the coast.

Because of its geographical proximity to the People's Republic of China, the seaport of Rajin is an important container transshipment point. Docks 3 and 4 were therefore leased and operated by China for 50 years. According to North Korean data, eight ships with 10,000 tons of displacement and an additional five ships with 5,000 tons of displacement can be handled at the same time. However, most of the goods handled are Chinese imports and exports and less North Korean trade.

Web links

Commons : Rasŏn - collection of images, videos and audio files

Picture gallery: Foreign investors race to North Korean city of Rason . The Washington Post, September 25, 2011.
North Korea's economic zone remains under construction . Daily News from August 22, 2012 (English).
Rainer Dormels: Rason - Special Economic Zone and Favored Ports near New Chinese Economic Development Areas , 2014 (PDF; 438 kB)

Individual evidence

↑ 2008 Census of Population of DPR Korea (PDF file; 1.4 MB), Central Bureau of Statistics , p. 18 Rason City (English).

↑ ^a ^b ^c Park In Ho: Rasun Becomes Special City. In: Daily NK . January 5, 2010, accessed July 18, 2012 .

↑ 북한 행정 구역 1 직할시 ㆍ 9 도 ㆍ 3 특급 시 . In: 한겨레 The Hankyoreh . Retrieved April 17, 2005, May 21, 2009 (Korean).

^ Rason architecture development concept being implemented. In: North Korean Economy Watch. Retrieved June 24, 2016 .

42.344483333333 130.38450277778Coordinates: 42 ° 21 ' N , 130 ° 23' E

[census-1] 2008 Census of Population of DPR Korea (PDF file; 1.4 MB), Central Bureau of Statistics , p. 18 Rason City (English).

[dailynk-2] Park In Ho: Rasun Becomes Special City. In: Daily NK . January 5, 2010, accessed July 18, 2012 .