Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

"Yanbian" redirects here. For other uses, see Yanbian (disambiguation).

Yanbian 延边 Yeonbyeon(Yenben) 연변(옌벤)
Prefecture-level city
Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture 延边朝鲜族自治州 연변(옌벤) 조선족 자치주
Yanji, the prefectural seat of Yanbian
Yanbian (red) in Jilin province (orange) and China
Country	China
Province	Jilin
City seat	Yanji
Government
• <-- Mayor -->	Jin Zhenji (金振吉)
Area
• Total	43,509 km2 (16,799 sq mi)
Population  (2010)
• Total	2,290,000
• Density	53/km2 (140/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+8 (China Standard)
Area code	433
Website	http://www.yanbian.gov.cn/

Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese	延边朝鲜族自治州
Traditional Chinese	延邊朝鮮族自治州
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yánbiān Cháoxiǎnzú Zìzhìzhōu Yue: Cantonese Jyutping jin4bin1 ziu1sin1zuk6 zi6zi6zau1
Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	연변(옌벤) 조선족 자치주
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Yeonbyeon (Yenben) Joseonjok Jachiju McCune–Reischauer Yŏnpyŏn (Yenpen) Chosŏnchok Chach'ichu

Yanbian is a Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, in Northeastern China, above the border with North Korea. Yanbian is bordered to the north by Heilongjiang, on the west by Baishan City and Jilin City, on the south by North Hamgyong Province of North Korea, and on the east by Primorsky Krai of Russia. Yanbian is designated as an 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).

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

Administration

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

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

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

History

In the Ming Dynasty, Yanbian was governed by the Jianzhou Guard-district (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.

In the 19th century, it was Chinese immigrants that migrated en masse from China proper to areas that were formerly off limits to Han Chinese migration. Qing China was not a Han Chinese state, but a Manchurian state. In addition, the Manchurian policy of trying to ensure that they were not assimilated by the Han Chinese stood as the main reason why immigration wasn't allowed into traditionally Manchurian lands (1644 - 1800s).

Those who took part in the Chinese Civil War did so with the implicit understanding that after the Chinese communists won, the Chinese communists would assist Korean communists in their own civil war.

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. The population increase was caused by the Japanese invasion of that region. The Japanese were trying to use Korean immigration to diffuse the staying power of Chinese in that region. After the end of World War II, many Koreans did not go back to Korea, even though their country had been liberated (as there were economic and political problems back in their country). Instead, they joined the Chinese Civil War and were mobilized by both Chinese communists and the Chinese Nationalists. When the civil war was over, the new Chinese government gave Koreans their own autonomous region (区) in 1952. Yanbian was upgraded to an ethnic autonomous prefecture in 1955.

Korean (Joseon) migration into what is now China (Manchuria) began at the tail end of the 19th century and were for the most part escaping the economic hardships faced under Japanese economic policy.

In 1952, the Korean migrants composed some 60% of the local population, but by 2000 their share had shrunk to 32%. The Chinese authorities subsidize Korean language schools and publications, but also take measures to prevent an emergence of the Korean irredentism in the area. From the late 1990s the Koreans began to be assimilated into Chinese culture with increasing speed, often switching to daily use of Chinese and choosing to attend the Chinese language schools.

Geography

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

Mountains that are in the prefecture are:

• The central range of Changbai Mountains
• 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.

Average land height is 500 metres above sea level.

Main rivers include:

• Songhua River
• Mudan River (Peony River)
• Tumen River
  • Gaya River (流嘎呀河): branch of the Tumen
  • Hunchun River (珲春河)

The rivers sustain 28 running water processing facilities.

The rivers created basins, which are suitable for agricultural uses, like rice paddies and bean farms.

Transportation

Railways include:

• Chang-Tu Line (长图线): most important
• 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

Public roads are 1,480-kilometre altogether. There are four airports.

Demographics

Ethnicity compositions:

• 2,184,000 (1997)
  • 57.4% Han
  • 39.7% Korean
  • 2.4% Manchu
  • 0.3% Hui
  • 0.1% other nationalities, including the Mongol
• Growth rate 0.4%.

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

Like 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.

The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture has an index of urbanization standard (城市化水准) at 55.6%, 20 percentage points greater than the provincial average (31.3%) and 25 more than the national average (26.5%).

Education

• Yanbian University

Culture

Both Chinese and Korean are used as official languages in Yanbian Ethnic Korean Autonomous Prefecture. Most ethnic Koreans in this area are bilingual. Like Koreans living in the Korean peninsula, ethnic Koreans in Yanbian use Western punctuation in writing.

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.

• Baekdusan

Nature and Environment

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

• 1,460 species of native animals
• 250 species of native plants.

Sports

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

The first professional football team in this prefecture is Jilin Three Stars Football Club. From 1994 to 2000, this club had been played each years 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 second-class football league.

In Popular Culture

The popular 2006 South Korean drama serial Pure In Heart features a female protagonist, "Yang Guk Hwa" (played by South Korean actress Ku Hye Sun) who came to Seoul from Yanbian. She is portrayed as an honest and warm-hearted young lady who grew up in a poverty-stricken rural region and experiences difficulties living in urban Seoul. Other characters in the drama refer to Guk Hwa as a 'country girl' and as a 'foreigner' (which would be technically correct since ethnic Koreans in Yanbian are citizens of the People's Republic of China, and in one scene Guk Hwa is shown to own a passport that has a red cover with gold lettering, characteristic of PRC passports). In one scene, Guk Hwa is shown speaking in Chinese.

External links

• Official government website: in simplified Chinese, Korean and English
• Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture: by the Information Office of Jilin Provincial Government
• A map labeled in Chinese written in the list in the "Administration" section