Nampo

Nampo is a large city and seaport in South P'yŏngan Province, population 455,000. Light and heavy industry. Extensive port facilities, large shipyards. Strategic naval base. Strong AA defences. Good communication with the capital.

Until the occupation of Korea by Imperial Japan, Namp'o was a small fishing village called Taejin. Through a gradual process of land reclamation, in which the swamp and marshlands were filled with earth from the neighboring Oseok Mountain Range, the area became the Japanese Korean port city of Chinnampo. The Japanese constructed mining operations in the surrounding hills and mountains and began harvesting iron, copper, steel, lead and zinc. The Japanese also constructed a network of rail, road and shipping routes. The mining and infrastructure was part of the Japanese industrial skeleton the DPRK would augment and develop further. Namp'o is the second largest city in the DPRK and with P'yongyang, it is the foundation of DPRK industry.

The designation for Namp'o and its four (4) suburban administrative units (Kangso, Chollima, Ryonggang and Taean) have shifted in the last twenty-five (25) years. From 1980 to 2004, Namp'o was a directly-governed city(chikhalsi), like P'yongyang and Kaesong. Its four suburban administrative units were guyoks (districts) and it was governed by a People's City Committee and more oversight and administration by the Central Committee. It is currently a Special Administrative City (tukkupsi), where its four suburban administrative units are counties, and has a Provincial-style People's Committee; there is a larger local government presence and administration.

The city proper is the location of sixteen (16) academic and industrial colleges and universities. It has a large ship-building complex is the southeastern part of the city. It is also the location of the Namp'o Refinery Union Complex. There are numerous metal manufacturing facilities and processing plants. It is the location of Namp'o Glassware Factory which uses regional silica for glass for residential and commercial use.

Other aspects of Namp'o's industrial and academic history are explained further in the region's counties and locations profiles.