P'yŏngch'ŏn-guyŏk
Guyŏk of Pyongyang
Korean transcription(s)
 • Hangul평천구역
 • Hanja平川區域
 • Revised RomanizationPyeongcheon-guyeok
 • McCune–ReischauerP'yŏngch'ŏn-guyŏk
Pyongyang Thermal Power Plant in P'yŏngch'ŏn-guyŏk
CountryNorth Korea
Direct-administered cityP'yŏngyang-Chikhalsi
Administrative divisions17 administrative dong
Area
 • Total8.4 km2 (3.2 sq mi)
Population
 (2008)[1]
 • Total181,142
 • Density22,000/km2 (56,000/sq mi)

P'yŏngch'ŏn-guyŏk (Phyongchon District)[2] is one of the 18 guyŏk (political districts or wards) of P'yŏngyang, North Korea. It is bordered by the Taedong River in the south and the Pothonggang Canal in the north and Potong River in the west, and to the east by Chung-guyŏk, from which it is separated by the yard area of P'yŏngyang railway station.

History

The name of the district, passed down from the former Pyongchon-myon, means a flat area, which water flows through.[3]

It was newly established as a guyŏk in October 1960 by the P'yŏngyang City People's Committee through a mandate of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea.[3]

In 1963, a part of Pyongchon-dong was separated to form Haeun-dong, a part of Kansong-dong was separated to form Ryukkyo-dong and parts of Puksong-dong and Pongji-dong were split off to form Pongnam-dong and Ansan-dong.

In 1967, Ryukkyo-dong was divided into two administrative dong and a part of Pyongchon-dong was separated to create Saemaul-dong.

In 1972, Pyongchon-dong and Saemaul-dong were both divided into two administrative dong.

In 1989, Puksong-dong and Haeun-dong were both divided into two administrative dong.[3]

2014 building collapse

On 13 May 2014, a 23-story building under construction in Ansan 1-dong 'collapsed', with the following cleanup apparently lasting at most 4 days. According to tourist photos taken from Juche Tower, the building vanished between photos taken around midday on May 13 and 9:35 on May 14, confirming the report made by Rodong Sinmun,[4] while on 13 May, a NGO was approached to provide temporary shelter.[5] Prior to collapse, photos of the building taken in April and May reveal the building had only slightly changed, potentially indicating that the building had been abandoned. When the building collapsed, it did not damage nearby buildings, revealing it had likely collapsed vertically downwards, which according to experts interviewed by NK News, is potentially indicative of a demolition of the apparently abandoned building.[4]

South Korean sources speculated that the collapse was carried in the news to be in a demonstration of the care of the government, in contrast to the Sewol disaster.[6] While NK News initially claimed that the government was left with no choice but to reveal the accident due to foreigners knowing,[7] the accident was not known until state media reported it and the move is likely to be an overall shift in state media to report negative events to show the government as more accountable of issues.[8][9] In the aftermath, Kim Jong Un visited injured soldiers at Taesongsan Hospital, possibly construction workers from the collapse.[10]

An unverified claim by defector suggested that the building was might have been over the height for the area and that the concrete mixture used was suboptimal. It was further alleged that water was leaking into the basement while 'rocks were protruding and piercing through the concrete',[11] and that some factory managers siphon material for personal gain, leading to decreases in product quality.[12] According to Associated Press interviews, the accident happened was because 'they broke the rules and methods of construction'.[13] In the North Korean economics journal Kyongje Yongu, it stated that 'Technical regulations and construction methods are disregarded when projects are rushed to be finished by their completion date, which is often decided in advance to coincide with a holiday or anniversary', and to advance self-sustainability, substandard materials are used.[12]

Administrative divisions

P'yŏngch'ŏn-guyŏk is divided into 17 administrative districts known as dong.[14]

Chosŏn'gŭl Hancha Chosŏn'gŭl Hancha
Ansan 1-dong안산1동鞍山1洞 Pongnam-dong 봉남동 鳳南洞
Ansan 2-dong 안산2동 鞍山2洞 Puksŏng 1-dong 북성1동 北城1洞
Chŏngpy'ŏng-dong정평동井平洞 Puksŏng 2-dong 북성2동 北城2洞
Haeun 1-dong해운1동海運1洞 P'yŏngch'ŏn 1-dong 평천1동 平川1洞
Haeun 2-dong 해운2동 海運2洞 P'yŏngch'ŏn 2-dong 평천2동 平川2洞
Kansŏng-dong간성동干城洞 Ryukkyo 1-dong 륙교1동 陸橋1洞
Pongji-dong봉지동鳳池洞 Ryukkyo 2-dong 륙교2동 陸橋2洞
Ponghak-tong봉학동鳳鶴洞 Saemaŭl 1-dong 새마을1동 새마을1洞
Saemaŭl 2-dong 새마을2동 새마을2洞

Economy

Electricity generation

It is probably best known as the location of the P'yŏngyang Thermal Power Plant, in Saemaŭl-dong,[15] which is the electricity and heating source for P'yŏngyang's central neighbourhoods and the surrounding region.[16] The plant has a design capacity of 700 MW and an estimated capacity of 500 MW,[17] although in statistics released in 2009, it generated around 227 MW.[18] Sanctions have restricted the amount of fossil fuel available, although they have also developed alternate forms of energy.[19] The plant was built in 1960 with Soviet assistance, although in 1960, due to above average rainfall, there was sufficient electricity generated by the dams on the Yalu River but that was dependent on rainfall and thus sometimes unreliable.[16]

While the equipment in the plant has been aging, it was renewed by the supply of two new generators from China in 2018. Since the 2000s, various aspects of the power plant were updated, including the transformer yard, expansions to water treatment facilities, fuel storage area, settling ponds and rail facilities.[17] In 2020, the power plant underwent extensive overhaul to restore its original generation capacity,[20] and in 2021, various innovations were applied to keep the boilers operating at full capacity.[21]

Other industries

Other notable industries in the guyŏk are the Pot'onggang Organic Fertiliser Factory in Chŏngpy'ŏng-dong[22] and the Taedonggang Battery Factory in Saemaŭl-dong.[15]

The Pyongyang Trolleybus Factory is located in Pyongchon-guyok,[23] although its address is listed as being in Potonggang-guyok.[24]

Education

It is also the location of the Mansudae Art Studio and School, the P'yŏngyang Chang Chol Gu University of Commerce, the P'yŏngyang University of Printing Industrial Arts.

Tourism

For international visitors, it is the location of the Pot'ong Hotel and the Ansan Chodasso Guest House.

The Pyongchon Revolutionary Site in P'yŏngch'ŏn 1-dong commemorates where Kim Il Sung chose the building site of the first ammunition factory built after the liberation of Korea.[25]

Transportation

The Korean State Railway has a branchline of the P'yŏngnam Line in the guyŏk with a marshalling yard, P'yŏngyang Choch'ajang in Chŏngp'yŏng-dong, and the freight-only P'yŏngch'ŏn Station in Haeun 1-dong, providing a number of industries in the area with rail freight service.[26]

The district is served Chollima Line terminus Puhung station, tram line 3, trolleybus line 5, various bus routes and waterways.[27]

References

  1. ↑ North Korea: Administrative Division
  2. ↑ "Walled City of Pyongyang". Pyongyang Times. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  3. 1 2 3 "북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  4. 1 2 nknews (2014-07-03). "EXCLUSIVE: Photos confirm date of North Korea building collapse | NK News". NK News - North Korea News. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  5. ↑ "North Korea requested NGO assistance on day of building collapse | NK News". NK News - North Korea News. 2014-07-17. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  6. ↑ "NK Media Reports Pyongyang Apartment Collapse". Unification Media Group. 2014-05-18. Archived from the original on 2014-05-28.
  7. ↑ "Major construction accident occurs in Pyongyang, state media reports | NK News". NK News - North Korea News. 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  8. ↑ "Phyongchon-gate and what it means for North Korean propaganda". Choson Exchange - Visit North Korea & Teach Entrepreneurs!. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  9. ↑ "Guidance on weeds". koreatimes. 2012-05-14. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  10. ↑ "Pyongyang building collapse identified (UPDATED)". nkeconwatch. 2014-05-22. Archived from the original on 2014-05-31.
  11. ↑ nknews (2016-10-13). "Defector reveals causes of 2014 Pyongyang apartment collapse | NK News". NK News - North Korea News. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  12. 1 2 "Competition rises among factories and department stores in North Korea: Delivery services now available". North Korean Economy Watch. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  13. ↑ "BUILDING FAIL SHEDS LIGHT ON N. KOREAN PRIORITIES". AP. 2014-08-14. Archived from the original on 2014-08-21.
  14. ↑ "평천구역 (平川區域) PYONGCHONKUYOK". nk.joins.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-18.
  15. 1 2 Dormels, Rainer (2014). "Profiles of the cities of DPR Korea - Pyongyang" (PDF). Universität Wien. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  16. 1 2 "When the Lights Went Out: Electricity in North Korea and Dependency on Moscow". International Journal of Korean Unification Studies. 29 (1, 2020).
  17. 1 2 "Powering the Korean Peninsula: Economic and Strategic Considerations". Beyond Parallel. 2021-03-17. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  18. ↑ "Pyongyang's Perpetual Power Problems". 38 North. 2014-11-25. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  19. ↑ "Options limited, North Korea lit by flashlights, creaky grid". AP NEWS. 2021-04-20. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  20. ↑ "North Korea recovering power plants, state media says". UPI. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  21. ↑ "Rodong Sinmun". rodong.rep.kp. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  22. ↑ "5th National Report on Biodiversity of DPR Korea" (PDF). Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  23. ↑ "The Pyongyang Trolley Bus Factory manufactures new model". North Korean Economy Watch. Retrieved 2021-09-19.
  24. ↑ "Trolley-Buses". Foreign Trade of the DPRK. 1974. p. 235.
  25. ↑ "Phyongchon Revolutionary Site". KCNA. 1 December 1999. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014.
  26. ↑ Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō), ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
  27. ↑ "북한지역정보넷". www.cybernk.net. Retrieved 2021-09-19.

39°00′00″N 125°43′12″E / 39.00000°N 125.72000°E / 39.00000; 125.72000

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