Hamhŭng, South Hamgyŏng Province, Kwannam Region, North Korea

🇰🇵 Hamhŭng is North Korea's second-largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. Hamhung is the second-largest city by population in North Korea. Located in the southern part of the South Hamgyong province, Hamhung is the main and most popular metropolitan area in the province. Hamhung has a thriving local economy compared to other metropolitan areas in North Korea, and it is known by North Koreans as a great area of architectural construction that was centrally planned, and built by the government of North Korea.

Located on the Sea of Japan in the middle of the east coast of North Korea, Hamhung is the country's second-biggest city by population.

Economy Hamhung is much more economically diverse than most cities in North Korea, as Hamhung has many unique industries. Hamhung's rural areas are used for farm land and food distribution through the community. These lands mainly consist of paddies, but other crops are grown in small portion as well. Hamhŭng is an important chemical industry centre in the DPRK. It is an industrial city which serves as a major port for North Korean foreign trade. Production includes textiles (particularly vinalon), metal-ware, machinery, refined oil and processed food. 2·8 vinalon union enterprise is located here.

While prior to liberation of Korea Hamhung had an extremely backwards economy due to the destructive actions of the Japanese, the city was rapidly developed afterwards, with new industrial districts being built and being broken free of colonial acquisitions of material. Much of the heavy industrial equipment used in other cities are built in Hamhung, and its production contributes to the monumental construction of buildings under projects launched by the Workers' Party.

Transportation The city is a transportation hub, connecting various eastern ports and the northern interior area. Hamhung Station is on the Pyongra Line railway. This city is connected by air too, with Toksan Airport. The city is also served by the narrow gauge, commuter Soho Line linking West Hamhung to Hungnam, via February 28 Vinylon factory.

The city has a large trolleybus network, which opened in 1973 with the Hoyang - Doksong line, with a depot located at the northern Doksong terminus. The second and third lines, a pair of intercity lines from Hamhung station to the Hungnam area, was opened on 27 July 1991. This line had two branches, one to Hungdok and one to Ryongsong with the depot in Hungdok, though the latter line was closed and dismantled sometime in the early 2000s. A set of overhead wires connects the two separate lines, though there is no regular movement on this line. The lines was served by 28 trolley-buses in 2013.

Education Hamhŭng is home to the Hamhŭng University of Education, Hamhŭng University of Pharmacy, Hamhŭng University of Chemistry and Hamhŭng University of Medicine. Professional colleges in Hamhǔng include the Hamhǔng College of Quality Control, the Hamhŭng Hydrographic and Power College, and the Hamhǔng College of Electronics and Automation. There is also a branch academy of science.

In 2018, the South Hamgyong Sci-Tech Library, the largest facility of its kind outside Pyongyang, opened in the city.