Sinŭiju

Sinŭiju 신의주시
Municipal City
transcription(s)
• Chosŏn'gŭl
• Hancha
• Revised Romanization	Sinuiju-si
• McCune-Reischauer	Sinŭiju-si
A large square in the center of Sinŭiju in August 2012, with a statue of Kim Il-sung.
Motto: The emblem Magnolia.
Map of North Pyongan showing the location of Sinŭiju
Coordinates: 40°06′N 124°24′E / 40.100°N 124.400°E / 40.100; 124.400Coordinates: 40°06′N 124°24′E / 40.100°N 124.400°E / 40.100; 124.400
Country	North Korea
Province	North P'yŏngan
Administrative divisions	49 tong, 9 ri
Area
• Total	180 km2 (70 sq mi)
Population (2006 (est.))
• Total	352,000
• Dialect	P'yŏngan

Sinŭiju ((Korean pronunciation: [ɕi.nɰi.dzu]); Sinŭiju-si) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, China across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North P'yŏngan province. Part of the city is included in the Sinŭiju Special Administrative Region, which was established in 2002 to experiment with introducing a market economy.

Sinŭiju is bordered by the Yalu 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 Yalu 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 Yalu (Amrok) River, it is located 7 miles west 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 Yalu 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 - although as UNC forces approached, the government again moved - this time to Kanggye. Also, the city sustained heavy damage from aerial bombardment as part of the U.S. Air Force strategic bombing of North Korea, but the city has since been rebuilt.