Sinuiju

A park near the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge

A large square in the center of Sinŭiju in August 2012, with a statue of Kim Il-sung

Map of Sinŭiju and Dandong (An-tung)

Sinŭiju is bordered by the Amnok River, and by P'ihyŏn and Ryongch'ŏn counties. The city's altitude is 4 feet, or about one meter, above sea level. There are several islands at the mouth of the Amnok River - Wihwa-do, Rim-do, Ryuch'o-do and Tongryuch'o-do.

Sinuiju city is the heart of the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region. The city is currently divided into 49 tong (neighbourhoods) and 9 ri (villages):

Developed as a major settlement during the colonial rule at the terminus of a railway bridge across the Amrok River, Sinuiju is located 7 miles south by southwest of Ŭiju, the old city from whose name Sinŭiju (meaning “New Ŭiju”) derives. As an open port, it grew commercially with the logging industry which uses the Amnok River to transport lumber. Additionally, a chemical industry developed after the hydroelectric Sup'ung Dam was built further up the river.

In the course of the Korean War, after being driven from P'yŏngyang, Kim Il Sung and his government temporarily moved its capital to Sinŭiju[5][6] - although as UNC forces approached, the government again moved - this time to Kanggye.[6] Also, the city sustained heavy damage from aerial bombardment as part of the United States Air Force's strategic bombing of North Korea; 95 percent of the city was destroyed.[7] However, the city has since been rebuilt.

Waterfront on the Amnok River

An important light industry centre in North Korea, Sinŭiju has a plant manufacturing enamelled ironware as well as a textile mill, paper mill and an afforestation factory. Its southwest harbour has a shipyard, although the shipyard's main function is seemingly to dismantle ships for scrap metal and other usable materials rather than building new ships. The area has recycling plants which recycle a wide range of material, including products that are banned for recycling in China.[8][9][10] The Sinŭiju Cosmetics Factory is located in South Sinŭiju (Namsinŭiju).

Sinŭiju Ch'ŏngnyŏn Railway Station

Sinŭiju can be reached from P'yŏngyang by air, railway and road. It can be reached from Dandong in China by crossing the Amnok River by bridge or boat. Foreign tourists on excursion boats from Dandong are sometimes permitted to approach within a few meters of the city's coastline, as long as they do not land.[13]

Sinŭiju has a monsoonal humid continental climate (Köppen Dwa) with hot, humid and stormy summers and cold, dry winters with little snowfall.

Ferris wheel in Sinuiju

Facilities in Sinŭiju include Sinŭiju High School, Sinŭiju Commercial High School, Eastern Middle School, Sinŭiju Light Industry University, Sinŭiju University of Medicine and the Sinuiju University of Education. Scenic sites include the Tonggun Pavilion, Waterfall, and Hot Springs.

There also is a Ferris wheel overlooking the Amnok River, reportedly broken.[20]

• Yi Sung-sun

• List of cities in North Korea
• Geography of North Korea
• Sinuiju Incident
• Sinuiju North Korean Leader's Residence

• Cathcart, Adam, and Charles Kraus, “Peripheral Influence: The Sinŭiju Student Incident of 1945 and the Impact of Soviet Occupation in North Korea,” Journal of Korean Studies, Vol. 13 (2008), pp. 1–28.
• Dormels, Rainer. North Korea's Cities: Industrial facilities, internal structures and typification. Jimoondang, 2014. ISBN 978-89-6297-167-5

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sinuiju.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sinuiju.

• City profile of Sinuiju
• North Korea Uncovered, (North Korea Google Earth) see a mapping of Sinuiju's main infrastructure, power lines, railroad, detention center, and Kim Jong Il residence, plus a whole lot more.