• 

Introduction to Pochon.

Poch’ŏn County is a county in Ryanggang Province, North Korea. It looks westward across the AmnokRiver/Tumen River to China. It is, therefore, one of the many amazing places we get to see on one of our borderlands tours!

Economy of Pochon

The main economic activity in the region and area is that of logging, as well as various other mined minerals. The farms here grow potatoes and wheat that are sold throughout the county.

Tourist sites in Pochon County

Pochon County is 21 KM from Hyesan. Historically it holds great importance during the revolutionary history of North Korea. On June 4th, 1937, President Kim Il Sung led the main forces of the Korean Peoples Revolutionary Army (KPRA), the precursor to the Korean Peoples Army (KPA) in the battle of Pochonbo which dealt a heavy blow to the Japanese forces at the time!

The site of this and where President Kim Il Sung made a speech to the troops is where his current statue is placed, and there are numerous other revolutionary sites, such as houses, battle sites and buildings that have also been preserved.

Getting in and out of Pochon County

With its location next to Hyersan, it is thus connected to China. It is also part of the Korean Railway System, which if you are genuinely geeky you can read more about here.

Hotels in Pochon County, North Korea

There and hotels (that we know of) in Pochon county, with the nearest option being the Hyesan Hotel, which you guessed it is in Hyesan City!

As things currently stand, Pochon County, Hyesan City, and indeed the whole of North Korea are not currently open to tourism, but much as we pioneered opening the border Hoeryong, it is something we are certainly working hard to fix!

For now, though, it is quite visible on one of our borderlands trips!