North Korea

Chongjin

North Korea

Population
327,000
Currency
KPW

Chongjin (청진시) is a city is in the Donghae Coast region of North Korea.

Guide content adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Chongjin". Source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Weather

Live

19°C

Mainly clear · feels like 20°C

  • 86%
  • 5 km/h
  • AQI 23
  • MonMainly clear14° / 26°
  • TueClear sky11° / 21°
  • WedOvercast12° / 23°
  • ThuOvercast12° / 19°
  • FriOvercast12° / 22°

Measured at 41.796, 129.776 · Asia/Pyongyang

Chongjin map

Understand

Understand

editedit source
Chongjin
Climate chart (explanation)
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
 
12
 
 
0
−9
 
 
 
7.4
 
 
2
−7
 
 
 
15
 
 
6
−2
 
 
 
30
 
 
13
3
 
 
 
65
 
 
17
8
 
 
 
74
 
 
20
13
 
 
 
127
 
 
24
18
 
 
 
126
 
 
26
19
 
 
 
80
 
 
23
14
 
 
 
34
 
 
17
7
 
 
 
29
 
 
9
−1
 
 
 
15
 
 
2
−7
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C
Precipitation+Snow totals in mm
Imperial conversion
JFMAMJJASOND
 
 
 
0.5
 
 
31
16
 
 
 
0.3
 
 
35
19
 
 
 
0.6
 
 
44
28
 
 
 
1.2
 
 
55
38
 
 
 
2.5
 
 
63
47
 
 
 
2.9
 
 
69
56
 
 
 
5
 
 
75
64
 
 
 
5
 
 
78
66
 
 
 
3.1
 
 
73
56
 
 
 
1.3
 
 
62
44
 
 
 
1.1
 
 
47
31
 
 
 
0.6
 
 
35
20
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
Precipitation+Snow totals in inches
Chongjin area

This is North Korea's third largest city and called the 'city of iron' owing to its status as a major centre of heavy industry.

Nothing to Envy

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, by American journalist Barbara Demick, is a partially novelized collection of interviews with six former residents of Chongjin, who later took refugee in South Korea. While the main plot revolves around the lives of six main characters/interviewees before and during the North Korean famine of 1990s and their eventual flight to South Korea, the book has lively depictions of Chongjin and the surrounding area, especially during the economic collapse of North Korea in the 1990s.

Getting there

Map of Chongjin

Chongjin is not part of most North Korean accompanied group itineraries but can be visited on customised tours.

Chongjin is on the train line between Rason and the capital Pyongyang, as well as the southern city of Wonsan.

  • 1 Orang Airport (RGO  IATA Chongjin Airport) (40 km from the city). Air Koryo flies to the North Korean destinations of Haeju, Pyongyang and Wonsan. There are plans to extend this airport and make it North Korea's second international airport.

Getting around

Get around

editedit source

Chongjin has 11 kilometre of tramline.

By Trolley bus

editedit source

There is a trolleybus network slightly more extensive than the tram-line.

What to see

  • North Hamgyong Province Theatre.
  • Pohanng Square. A 7.5 m bronze statue
  • Revolutionary History Museum, Pohanng Square.
  • Inmin Daehakseup Dang (Grand People's Study House).

What to do

Where to eat

Drinking & nightlife

Local drinking water is known to be untreated. Bottled water is the best choice. Some tourists have been hospitalized in North Korea after drinking the public water.

Shopping

The city is famous in the country for its processed squid.

Where to stay

  • Chonmasan Hotel. Hotel approved for foreigners

Staying connected

All guide text on this page is adapted from Wikivoyage and reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Prices and opening hours change — verify anything that matters before you rely on it.

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