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Columbia Encyclopedia entry: Kaesong
Kaesong or Kaisongboth: kă'sŭng', Jap. Kaijo, city (1993 pop. 334,433), S North Korea. A long-time commercial center, it is important for its exports of ginseng, a valuable medicinal root. There is also active trade in rice, barley, and wheat. Textiles are made in the city, and there is some heavy industry. A special economic zone has been established where South Korean firms manufacture products for export; a highway connects the zone with South Korea.

In the 10th cent. Wang Kon, founder of the Koryo dynasty, made Kaesong his capital; the city, then called Songdo, remained Korea's capital until 1392, when the Choson (or Yi) dynasty moved the capital to Seoul. Intersected by the 38th parallel, Kaesong served as the main contact point between North and South Korea from 1945 to 1951 and passed from United Nations to North Korean forces several times during the Korean War. The armistice talks, first held at Kaesong, were later transferred to Panmunjom (Panmunjeom). Historic landmarks include the tombs of several Korean kings, the old city walls, and the remains of a royal palace from the Koryo period.

Wikipedia search results for: Kaesong
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea, a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the ancient capital of Koryo. It prospered as a trade center that produced Korean ginseng, which is famous internationally. It is now the DPRK's light industry centre. It has a population of 308,440 as of 2008. national census report.pdf United Nations Statistics Division; 2008 Census of Population of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conducted on 1–15 October 2008...more »
Columbia Encyclopedia search results: Kaesong
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  • Panmunjom

    Panmunjom, officially Panmunjeom, village, N South Korea. It lies south of the 38th parallel, the military demarcation line that partitions Korea. In the Korean War the truce negotiations, beg...

  • Korea

    Korea, Korean Hanguk or Choson, region and historic country (85,049 sq mi/220,277 sq km), E Asia. A peninsula, 600 mi (966 km) long, Korea separates the Sea of Japan (called the East Sea by Ko...

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