Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

Yanbian (Chinese: 延边; Chosŏn'gŭl: 연변, Yŏnbyŏn) is an autonomous prefecture in the east of Jilin Province, China. Yanbian is bordered to the north by Heilongjiang, on the west by Baishan and Jilin City, on the south by North Korea's North Hamgyong Province, and on the east by Primorsky Krai in Russia. Yanbian is designated as a Korean autonomous prefecture due to the large number of ethnic Koreans living in the region. The prefectural capital is Yanji, and the total area is 42,700 square kilometres (16,500 sq mi).

"Yanbian" redirects here. For the county in Sichuan, see Yanbian County. For a county in North Korea with a similar-sound name], see Nyongbyon County. For other uses, see Yanbian (disambiguation).
Yanbian Prefecture

延边州 · 연변주
Autonomous prefecture
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
延边朝鲜族自治州
연변 조선족 자치주
Yanji, the prefectural seat of Yanbian
Location of Yanbian Prefecture (yellow) in Jilin (light grey) and China
Coordinates: 43°08′N 129°11′E
CountryPeople's Republic of China
ProvinceJilin
County-level divisions6 county-level cities
2 counties
Prefectural seatYanji
Government
 • Party SecretaryJiang Zhiying
 • GovernorJin Shouhao
Area
 • Total43,509 km2 (16,799 sq mi)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total2,271,600
 • Density52/km2 (140/sq mi)
 • Ethnic composition
Time zoneUTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code(s)0433
ISO 3166 codeCN-JL-24
Licence plate prefixes吉H
Websitewww.yanbian.gov.cn
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
"Yanbian", as written in Chinese and Korean
Simplified Chinese延边朝鲜族自治州
Traditional Chinese延邊朝鮮族自治州
Chinese Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl연변 조선족 자치주

The prefecture has an important Balhae archaeological site: the Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountain, which includes the Mausoleum of Princess Jeonghyo.

History

In the Ming dynasty, Yanbian was governed by the Jianzhou Guard (建州衛), and in the late Qing dynasty the area was divided into the Yanji (延吉廳) and Hunchun (琿春廳) subprefectures. From 1644 to the 1800s the Manchurian administrators of the Qing state attempted to separate northeast China, politically and ethnographically, into a "Manchuria" to which they could retreat in case an ethnically Han Chinese dynasty regained control over China. However, this effort failed because of the trading and agricultural opportunities available to Han Chinese migrants in the northeast region which made it profitable to evade the rules, as well as later Qing relaxation of the same rules to discourage Russian encroachment.

In the 19th century, Korean immigrants migrated en masse from the Korean peninsula to China. After the foundation of the Republic of China, a second wave arrived. Of the 2 million ethnic Koreans in Manchuria at the time of the communist takeover, 1.2 million remained in the region after the end of World War II. Many participated in the Chinese Civil War, most on the side of the Chinese communists. When the civil war was over, the new Chinese government gave these Koreans their own autonomous region (区) in 1952. Yanbian was upgraded to an ethnic autonomous prefecture in 1955.

Korean (Joseon) migration into northeast China began in significant numbers in the last quarter of the 19th century and was mainly motivated by economic hardship on the Korean side of the border. After the Japanese annexed Korea in 1910, a small but significant number of migrants also came to Manchuria for political reasons.[1]

In 1952, the Korean migrants comprised some 60% of the local population, but by 2000 that was down to 32%. The Chinese authorities subsidize Korean language schools and publications, but also take measures to prevent an emergence of Korean irredentism in the area. From the late 1990s, the Koreans have assimilated into mainstream Chinese culture with increasing speed, often switching to daily use of Chinese and choosing to attend Chinese-language schools.[2]

Geography
  • Geographic coordinates: 41° 59' 47" - 44° 30' 42" N, 127° 27' 43" - 131° 18' 33" E
  • Total border length: 755.2 kilometres (469.3 mi)
    • With North Korea: 522.5 kilometres (324.7 mi)
    • With Russia: 232.7 kilometres (144.6 mi)

Mountains that are in the prefecture are:

  • Changbai Mountains (central range)
  • Zhangguangcai Peak (张广才岭)
  • Harba Peak (哈尔巴岭)
  • Peony Peak (牡丹领)
  • Old Master Peak (老爷岭)
  • Nangang Mountain Range (南岗山脉)

There have been over 40 types of minerals and 50 kinds of metals – including gold, lead, zinc, copper, silver, manganese and mercury – discovered near or in the mountains.

The average land height is 500 metres above sea level.

Main rivers include:

The rivers sustain 28 running water processing facilities. They created basins, which are suitable for agricultural uses, like rice paddies and bean farms.

Administration

The prefecture is subdivided into eight county-level divisions: six county-level cities and two counties:

Map
Name Chinese Hanyu Pinyin Chinese Korean transliteration Population (2003 est.) Area (km²) Density (/km²)
Chosŏn'gŭl Revised McCune
Yanji City 延吉市 Yánjí Shì 연길시 Yeongil-si Yŏngil-si 410,000 1,332 308
Tumen City 图们市 Túmén Shì 도문시 Domun-si Tomun-si 130,000 1,142 114
Dunhua City 敦化市 Dūnhuà Shì 돈화시 Donhwa-si Tonhwa-si 480,000 11,963 40
Hunchun City 珲春市 Húnchūn Shì 훈춘시 Honchun-si Honch’un-si 220,000 4,938 45
Longjing City 龙井市 Lóngjǐng Shì 룡정시 Ryongjeong-si Ryongjŏng-si 250,000 2,592 96
Helong City 和龙市 Hélóng Shì 화룡시 Hwaryong-si Hwaryong-si 210,000 5,069 41
Wangqing County 汪清县 Wāngqīng Xiàn 왕청현 Wangcheong-hyeon Wangch’ŏng-hyŏn 250,000 8,994 28
Antu County 安图县 Āntú Xiàn 안도현 Ando-hyeon Ando-hyŏn 210,000 7,444 28

The above counties and cities are divided into 642 villages (边境村).

Transportation

Railways include:

  • Chang-Tu Line (长图线)
  • Mu-Tu Line (牡图线)
  • Chao-Kai Line (朝开线)
  • Yangchuan-Shantun Line (阳川山屯线)
  • Tumen-Hunchun Railway: under construction

There are 1,480 kilometres of public roads altogether. There are four airports.

Demographics

Ethnic compositions:

Population density: 51 people per km² (132 per mi2).

As on the Korean peninsula, Yanbian Koreans' most common surname is Kim. Many emigrated from Korea during the 19th century, and again during the Japanese occupation.

Between 1952 and 2002, the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture had among the highest rates of urbanization (城市化水平) at 55.6%, 20 percentage points greater than the provincial average (31.3%) and 25 more than the national average (26.5%).[3]

Education

Colleges and universities:

International schools:

Culture

Both Mandarin Chinese and Korean are used as official languages in Yanbian. Vice News described the prefecture as both "West Korea" and "The Third Korea" due to the prominence of both North and South Korean culture.[4]

The Museum of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture was planned in 1960, and constructed in 1982. It contains over 10,000 exhibits, including 11 first-level artifacts. The exhibits' labels and explanations are bilingual in Korean and Chinese, and tour guides are also available in both languages.

Tourism

There are seven public parks in Yanbian's green space (18% of whole prefecture), including:

  • Yanji People's Park (延吉人民公园)
  • Youth Lake Park (青年湖公园)

Also popular among locals during holidays and festivities.

Nature and environment

Over 70% are originally forest in the prefecture, so there is a rich diversity of life.

Sports

Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is an important region for Chinese football. Over 50 years more than 40 footballers have been selected by the Chinese national football team.

In 1955, Yanbian Football Club was founded, although it was a semi-professional one.

The first professional football team in this prefecture is Jilin Three Stars Football Club. From 1994 to 2000, this club had played each year in the top Chinese football league. In 2000, they were relegated from the top league. Because of poor economic conditions the club was sold to Lucheng Group in Zhejiang Province.

In 2001, Yanbian Football Club was founded. They are currently playing in the 32,000-seater Hailanjiang Stadium in the Chinese Super League, the top tier of the Chinese football league system.

In 2016, Yanbian Football Club was sponsored by Shenzhen Funde Group when they got the permission of Chinese Super League, since they acquired the 1st place in the Chinese Second League in 2015.

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See also

References
  1. Pyong, Gap Min. "A Comparison of the Korean Minorities in China and Japan." International Migration Review, Vol. 26, No. 1. (Spring, 1992), pp. 4-21.
  2. Andrei Lankov (2007-08-16). "The gentle decline of the 'Third Korea'". Asia Times. Retrieved 2007-08-17.
  3. Li Yabiao (李亚彪); Wang Jinghe (王景和) (2002-09-02). 吉林延边朝鲜族自治州城市化水平走在全国前列 (in Chinese). Xinhua. Retrieved 2007-07-15.
  4. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/gqwppy/atlas-hoods-the-third-korea

Further reading
  • Cathcart, Adam (2010). "Nationalism and Ethnic Identity in the Sino-Korean Border Region of Yanbian, 1945–1950". Korean Studies. 34: 25–53. JSTOR 23720146.
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