Map of Korea (5): Hwanghae Province/Kaeson

Situated in the western and the southernmost part of the DPRK, Hwanghae Province is divided by the River Jenyong into "North" Hwanghae Province and "South" Hwanghae Province.

In the early years of the Ri Dynasty, the province was called "Punhaedo" (meaning "rich waters" in English).

Blessed with large plains, the province was an agricultural area originally but it turned into an industrial one as coal and iron ore mining began during the Japanese colonial rule.

Looking in the southeastern part of the province, there is “special city” Kaesong which had been the capital of Koryo, a powerful unified state which continued from the 10th to the 14th century.

Having been the heart of Koryo for nearly 500 years, the city has priceless cultural heritages including architectures, arts and craftworks.

Kaesong is also famed for “Kaesong Insam,” a cure-all Korean elixir which is traded as 20-30 times expensive as other ginsengs in the world.

The most part of the province is covered by low mountains with 500 or so meters high above sea level. Exceptionally, Mt. Omjin and Mt. Myorak, which stretch from the northeast to the southwest, are some 1,000 meters high above sea level as the map shows. There are 5-6 meter high ebb-and-flow in its coastal areas.

Jenyon city is conspicuous rice-growing area as it is known as "granary" of the DPRK.

Sariwon, a seat of government of North Hwanghae Province, is famous for its large-scale apple and pea orchards.

Blessed with such favorable conditions as arable land, mild temperature and water resources, the province has become a major agricultural area of the DPRK.

Located in the northeastern part of the province, the cities of Koksan and Suan are rich in rare materials such as gold and tungsten.

A great deal of iron ores are found in Un-yul city, seen in the northwestern part of the province, which are transported to and fabricated in such urban areas as Sariwon, Songrim and Pyongyang.

Dry beach areas, conspicuous along the western coastal lines, are animated with aquaculture businesses such as salt farming, laver farming and shell-fisheies.

Located in the northern part of South Hwanghae Province, the Sinchon Museum serves as a reminder of mass genocide of Koreans by the U.S. army during the 1950-53 Korean War.

In this tiny city of Sinchon alone, as many as 35,380 people, roughly a quarter of its total population, were killed by U.S. soldiers.

Mothers and children were separately shoved into manmade caves by the U.S. soldiers, who poured gasoline upon them, set fire and locked the entrance.

Crying in their caves with no-way-out, hundreds of thousands of mothers and children were wiped out in this cruel manner.

Chestnut in Onjin

Visitors can freely walk around the ancient capital Kaesong.

Mt. Kuwol is formed of many fanatically shaped peaks including Sahwang Peak (954 meters above sea level) which is the highest.

Sonchuk Bridge, historical heritage dates back to Koryo era.

Mt. Changsu is reputed as "Hwanghae Kumgang" (Hwanghae Diamond in English).

	South Hwanghae	North Hwanghae	Kaesong
Seat of Government	Haeju	Sariwon	Kaesong, special city
Area	8,294.2 sq km	8,153.7 sq km	1,308.6 sq km
Population	2,011,000	1,511,000	335,000
Annual Temperature	9-11	10.1	10.4
Annual Rainfall	800-1300mm	900-1400mm	1,401mm
Minerals	Iron, lead, copper, zinc, limestone, silica rock, tungsten, fluoric rock, boron rock, natural slate,
Agricultural Products	Rice, millet, barley, sweet potato, mint, tobacco, sesame seeds, watermelon, apple, grape, pear, jujube, maroon, ginger
Marine Products	Lant, salmon, oyster, little clam, clams, sea cucumber, bearded clam, dried kelp, laver