Munchonhang Line

	Munchonhang Line
Chosŏn'gŭl	문천항선
Hancha	文川港線
Revised Romanization	Muncheonhang-seon
McCune–Reischauer	Munch'ŏnhang-sŏn

Munch'ŏn Port Line
Overview
Other name(s)	Koam Line 고암선 (庫岩線)
Native name	문천항선 (文川港線)
Type	Heavy rail, Freight rail; Regional rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Kangwŏn
Termini	Ongpy'ŏng ; Tapch'on
Stations	3
Operation
Opened	17 December 1943 (Ongp'yŏng–Koam); ? (Koam–Sinhŭngri); 25 May 2018 (Sinhŭngri–Tapch'ŏn)
Owner	Chosen Anthracite Co. Railway (1943–1945); Korean State Railway (since 1945)
Technical
Line length	14.8 km (9.2 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Route map
	Legend

Last updated April 26, 2019

The Munch'ŏnhang Line, or Munch'ŏn Port Line, also known as the Koam Line, is a non-electrified railway line of the Korean State Railway in Kangwŏn Province, North Korea, connecting Ongp'yŏng on the Kangwŏn Line with Tapchon.^[1]

The Korean State Railway is the operating arm of the Ministry of Railways of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and has its headquarters at P'yŏngyang. The current Minister of Railways is Jang Hyuk, who has held the position since 2015.

Kangwon Province is a province of North Korea, with its capital at Wŏnsan. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Kangwŏn Province and its South Korean neighbour Gangwon Province formed a single province that excluded Wŏnsan.

North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, with Pyongyang the capital and the largest city in the country. The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo which was one of the great powers in East Asia during its time, ruling most of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, parts of the Russian Far East and Inner Mongolia, under Gwanggaeto the Great. To the north and northwest, the country is bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok and Tumen rivers; it is bordered to the south by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two. Nevertheless, North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands.

History

The line was originally opened by the Chosen Anthracite Company (Japanese: 朝鮮無煙炭株式会社, Chōsen Muentan Kabushiki Kaisha, Korean: 조선 무연탄 주식회사, Chosŏn Muyŏnt'an Chusikhoesa) on 17 December 1943 as a privately owned railway from Munch'ŏn Station on the Hamgyŏng Line (now called Ok'pyŏng Station) to Wŏnsanbukhang Station (now called Koam Station).^[2] Later, the line was extended some time after the Korean War from Koam to Sinhŭng-ri.

The Chosen Anthracite Company, Ltd. was a kabushiki kaisha in colonial Korea that operated collieries around Korea. It was founded in 1927 by the Mitsubishi zaibatsu of Japan by integrating the anthracite mining operations around Pyongyang, eventually becoming the largest coal-producing company in Korea - 74.9% of the coal distributed in Korea was produced by the Chosen Anthracite Company.

Japanese is an East Asian language spoken by about 128 million people, primarily in Japan, where it is the national language. It is a member of the Japonic language family, and its relation to other languages, such as Korean, is debated. Japanese has been grouped with language families such as Ainu, Austroasiatic, and the now-discredited Altaic, but none of these proposals has gained widespread acceptance.

The Korean language is an East Asian language spoken by about 77 million people. It is a member of the Koreanic language family and is the official and national language of both Koreas: North Korea and South Korea, with different standardized official forms used in each country. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture and Changbai Korean Autonomous County of Jilin province, China. It is also spoken in parts of Sakhalin, Ukraine and Central Asia.

An extension from Sinhŭng-ri to a newly developed fishing community at T'apchol-li on the Sŏngjŏn Peninsula, via a causeway and the 600 m (2,000 ft) Sŏkchon Bay Bridge (석전만다리), was opened on 25 May 2018; the opening ceremony included an inspection of the line by Kim Jong-un.^[3]

Kim Jong-un is a North Korean politician serving as Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and also serving as the Chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2012. Kim is the second child of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011) and Ko Yong-hui (1952–2004). He is the grandson of Kim Il-sung, who was the first leader of North Korea from 1948 to 1994. Kim is the first North Korean leader who was born after the country's founding.

Services

This line serves the May 27 Fishery Station at Koam, the October 3 Factory at Sinhŭng-ri, and the fishing community at Tapch'ŏl-li.

Route

A yellow background in the "Distance" box indicates that section of the line is not electrified.

Distance (km)		Station Name		Former Name
Total	S2S	Transcribed	Chosŏn'gŭl (Hanja)	Transcribed	Chosŏn'gŭl (Hanja)	Connections
0.0	0.0	Ongp'yŏng	옥평 (玉坪)	Munch'ŏn	문천 (文川)	Kangwŏn Line
7.4	7.4	Koam	고암 (庫巖)	Wŏnsanbukhang (Wŏnsan North Port)	원산북항 (元山北港)
~~10.3~~	~~2.9~~	Sinhŭngri	신흥리 (新興里)			Closed
11.3	1.0	October 3 Factory	10.3 공장 (10.3工場)
14.8	3.5	Tapch'on	답촌 (畓村)

External Media

Video report on the opening ceremony and inaugural train across the Sŏkchon Bay Bridge (in Korean)

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References

↑ Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō) ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6
↑ 朝鮮総督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 5070, 27 December 1943
↑ Kim Jong Un Inspects Completed Koam-Tapchon Railways

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[Hayato-1] Kokubu, Hayato, 将軍様の鉄道 (Shōgun-sama no Tetsudō) ISBN 978-4-10-303731-6

[Showa5070-2] 朝鮮総督府官報 (The Public Journal of the Governor-General of Korea), Shōwa No. 5070, 27 December 1943

[3] Kim Jong Un Inspects Completed Koam-Tapchon Railways