Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

The Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture is an autonomous prefecture of eastern Jilin province in Northeast China, bordered to the north by Heilongjiang province, to the west by Jilin's Baishan and Jilin City, to the south by North Korea's North Hamgyong Province, and to the east by Russia's Primorsky Krai. Yanbian is known as the region with the largest number of ethnic Koreans (Chaoxianzu) living in China. It is sometimes referred to as the "Third Korea".

The prefectural capital is Yanji and the total area is . The prefecture has an important Balhae archaeological sitethe Ancient Tombs at Longtou Mountainwhich includes the Mausoleum of Princess Jeonghyo.

History

In the Ming dynasty, Yanbian was governed by the Jianzhou Guard () and in the late Qing dynasty the area was divided into the Yanji () and Hunchun () subprefectures. From 1644 to 1800s, the Manchurian Qing state maintained a policy of disallowing Han Chinese immigration into traditionally Manchurian lands in order to ensure that the Manchu were not assimilated by the Han Chinese. 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 (Chuang Guandong) to discourage Russian encroachment. Thus, in the 19th century, Chinese immigrants migrated en masse from China proper to areas that were formerly off limits to Han Chinese migration.

In the late 19th century, Korean immigrants migrated en masse from the Korean Peninsula to China. 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.

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.

On the 3rd of September 1952, the Yanbian Autonomous Region was established. This was the sixth of over 157 different administrative areas created in the 1950s for ethnic minorities in China. In December 1955, Yanbian was 'administratively downgraded' to an Autonomous Prefecture due to its 'insufficiently large' population.

During the Cultural Revolution, ethnic Koreans were killed and persecuted in Yanbian. Many non-Han Chinese residents of Yanbian were suspected to be disloyal to the Chinese state, and subsequently beaten, killed, publicly humiliated, fired, exiled or imprisoned.

From the late 1990s, the Chaoxianzu have assimilated into mainstream Chinese culture with increasing speed, often switching to daily use of Chinese and choosing to attend Chinese-language schools.

Geography

Geographic coordinates: 41° 59' 47" – 44° 30' 42" N, 127° 27' 43" – 131° 18' 33" E
Total border length:
With North Korea:
With Russia:

Mountains that are in the prefecture are:

Changbai Mountains (central range)
Zhangguangcai Range
Harba Peak ()
Peony Peak ()
Old Master Peak ()
Nangang Mountain Range ()

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:

Songhua River
Mudan River (Peony River)
Tumen River
Gaya River (branch of the Tumen)
Hunchun River

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

Politics

Structure

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center"

! style="width:25%" |25x25px

! style="width:25%" |27x27px

! style="width:25%" |25x25px

!Title

| style="text-align:center;" |CCP Committee Secretary

| style="text-align:center;" |People's Congress Chairman

| style="text-align:center;" |Governor

| style="text-align:center;" |Yanbian CPPCC Chairwoman

!Name

|Hua Jiafu

|Zhang Taifan

|Hong Gyeong

|Kang Fang

!Ethnicity

|Han

|Korean

|Han

!Born

!Assumed office

|June 2022

|January 2022

|November 2021

|January 2022

Administrative divisions

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

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="margin:1em auto 1em auto; width:90%; text-align:center;"

! colspan="8" |Administrative divisions of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

|colspan="8" |<div class="center" style="position: relative">

</div>

!! scope="col" |Division code

!! scope="col" |Division

!! scope="col" |Area (km<sup>2</sup>)

!! scope="col" |Total population 2020

!! scope="col" |Seat

!! scope="col" |Postal code

|- style="font-weight: bold"

! 222400 !! Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

|43,329.34 ||1,941,700 ||Yanji ||133000

! 222401 !! Yanji City

|1,722.24 ||686,136 ||Xinxing Subdistrict ||133000

! 222402 !! Tumen City

|1,140.50 ||85,248 ||Xiangshang Subdistrict ||133100

! 222403 !! Dunhua City

|11,787.76 ||392,486 ||Minzhu Subdistrict ||133700

! 222404 !! Hunchun City

|5,141.29 ||239,359 ||Henan Subdistrict ||133300

! 222405 !! Longjing City

|2,208.80 ||129,286 ||Anmin Subdistrict ||133400

! 222406 !! Helong City

|5,068.71 ||117,087 ||Wenhua Subdistrict ||133500

! 222424 !! Wangqing County

|8,825.81 ||167,911 ||Dachuan Subdistrict ||133200

! 222426 !! Antu County

|7,434.23 ||124,187 ||Jiulong Subdistrict ||133600

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="margin:1em auto 1em auto; width:90%; text-align:center"

! colspan="6" |Divisions in Chinese and Korean

! rowspan=2|English

! rowspan=2|Chinese

! rowspan=2|Pinyin

! colspan=3|Chinese Korean transliteration

|----------

! Joseongeul

! Revised

! McCune

|----------

!Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

|Yánbiān Cháoxiǎnzú Zìzhìzhōu

|Yeonbyeon Joseonjok Jachiju

|Yŏnbyŏn Chosŏnjok Chach'iju

!Yanji City

|Yánjí Shì

|Yeongil-si

|Yŏngil-si

!Tumen City

|Túmén Shì

|Domun-si

|Tomun-si

!Dunhua City

|Dūnhuà Shì

|Donhwa-si

|Tonhwa-si

!Hunchun City

|Húnchūn Shì

|Hunchun-si

|Hunch’un-si

!Longjing City

|Lóngjǐng Shì

|Ryongjeong-si

|Ryongjŏng-si

!Helong City

|Hélóng Shì

|Hwaryong-si

!Wangqing County

|Wāngqīng Xiàn

|Wangcheong-hyeon

|Wangch’ŏng-hyŏn

!Antu County

|Āntú Xiàn

|Ando-hyeon

|Ando-hyŏn

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

Transportation

Railways include:

Chang-Tu Line ()
Mu-Tu Line ()
Chao-Kai Line ()
Yangchuan-Shantun Line ()
Jilin–Hunchun intercity railway (吉珲客运专线)

There are of public roads altogether. There are four airports.

Demographics

The total registered population in Yanbian at the end of 2022 was 2.015 million. The urbanization rate was 69.6% in 2022.

As of 2005, the overall sex ratio among Yanbian Koreans is relatively balanced at 99.1, going against the trend of sex-ratio imbalance across China, but significant differences emerge between urban and rural areas. Urban centers like Yanji show a lower sex ratio of 95.3, indicating more women than men, while rural counties have a higher ratio of 105.7, reflecting more men.

Ethnic composition

In 1881, numbers of ethnic Koreans in Yanbian were less than 10,000.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto 1em auto; text-align:center"

|+Demographic Profile of the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture

!Ethnicity

!Han

!Korean

!Manchu

!Hui

!Mongol

!Miao

!Tujia

!Zhuang

!Jingpo

!Yi

!Other

!Population

|1,222,373

|597,426

|54,292

|5,530

|4,532

|349

|248

|219

|214

|168

|1,350

|65.79

|30.77

|2.80

|0.28

|0.23

|0.02

|0.01

|0.07

!% of ethnic minorities

|–

|89.93

|8.17

|0.83

|0.68

|0.05

|0.04

|0.03

|0.20

|}As on the Korean peninsula, the most common surname among Yanbian Koreans is Kim (Jin [] in Chinese).

Economy

The GDP of Yanbian was about () . Its per capita for 2022 was (). Its primary, secondary, and tertiary industries were worth (), (), and (), respectively.

As of 2017, 303 in every 10,000 people in Yanbian hold university degrees, which is 2.13 times the national average.

Yanbian University of Science and Technology

International schools:

Yanbian International Academy
Korean International School in Yanbian

Culture

The Yanbian Museum 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

thumb|Yanji Dinosaur Museum

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

Yanji People's Park ()
Youth Lake Park ()

Also popular among locals during holidays and festivities.

Paektu Mountain

Nature and environment

Over 70% of the prefecture is forest, so there is a rich biodiversity.

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

Sports

thumb|Yanji Stadium

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

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.

Yanbian Longding plays in the 30,000-seater Yanji Stadium in China League One, the second 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.

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

External links

Official government website
Official government Tourism website
Yanbian Office in Korea
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