Tumen River

Coordinates: 42°17′34″N 130°41′56″E

The Tumen River, also known as the Tuman River or

Tumen River
Duman River (Korean pronunciation:  [tumanɡaŋ]),[a] is a 521-
kilometre (324  mi) long river that serves as part of the
Duman River ( 두만강; 豆滿江) or
boundary between China, North Korea and Russia, rising on Tuman River
the slopes of Mount Paektu and flowing into the Sea of Japan.
The river has a drainage basin of 33,800 km2 (13,050 sq mi).[2]

The river flows in northeast Asia, on the border between China

and North Korea in its upper reaches, and between North
Korea and Russia in its last 17 kilometers (11  mi) before
entering the Sea of Japan. The river forms much of the
southern border of Jilin Province in Northeast China and the
northern borders of North Korea's North Hamgyong and
Ryanggang provinces. Baekdu Mountain on the Chinese-North
Korean border is the source of the river,[3] as well as of the
Yalu River. The two rivers and where they meet on Mount
Paektu form the border between North Korea and China.

The name of the river comes from the Mongolian word tümen,
meaning "ten thousand" or a myriad. This river is badly
polluted by the nearby factories of North Korea and China;
however, it still remains a major tourist attraction in the area. In
Tumen, Jilin, a riverfront promenade has restaurants where Location of the Tumen River
patrons can gaze across the river into North Korea.[3] The
Etymology Mongolian, "ten
Russian name of the river is Tumannaya, literally meaning
foggy. thousand" & Old
Korean "ten thousand
In 1938 the Japanese built the Tumen River Bridge, where the 드먼
( (Tŭmŏn))"
Quan River meets the Tumen River, between the villages of
Wonjong (Hunchun) and Quanhe. Important cities and towns
Native name 图们江 (Chinese)
on the river are Hoeryong and Onsong in North Korea, Tumen Location
and Nanping ( 南坪镇 , in the county-level city of Helong) in Country North Korea (DPRK),
China's Jilin province. China (PRC), Russia
Province North Hamgyong,
In 1995, the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, Russia, (DPRK) Ryanggang
North Korea and South Korea signed three agreements to Province Jilin
create the Tumen River Economic Development (PRC)
Area.[4][5][6][7] Federal Primorsky Krai
subject
(Russia)
Noktundo
Physical characteristics
Source Paektu Mountain
Noktundo, a former island (now effectively a peninsula) at the Mouth Sea of Japan
mouth of the Tumen, has been a boundary contention between
 • location Sea of Japan, Russia,
Russia and North Korea.[8] The Qing Dynasty ceded the island North Korea
to Russia as part of the Primorsky Maritimes (East Tartary) in  • coordinates 42°17′34″N
the 1860 Treaty of Peking.[8] In 1990, the former Soviet Union 130°41′56″E
and North Korea signed a border treaty which made the border  • elevation 0 m (0 ft)
run through the center of the river, leaving territory of the
Length 521 km (324 mi)
former island on Russian side. South Korea refuses to
acknowledge the treaty and demanded that Russia return the Basin size 33,800 km2
territory to Korea.[9] (13,100 sq mi)

Tumen River
Illegal crossings Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 圖們江
The Tumen has been crossed for years by North Korean refugees
defecting across the Chinese border. Most refugees from North
Simplified Chinese 图们江
Korea during the 1990s famine crossed over the Tumen River, and Transcriptions
most recent refugees have also used it, as it is far easier than Standard Mandarin
crossing the Amnok.[10]
Hanyu Pinyin Túmén Jiāng
The river is considered the preferred way to cross into China Wade–Giles Tʻu²-mên² Chiang¹
because, unlike the swift, deep and broad Amnok River which Korean name
runs along most of the border between the two countries, the
Tumen is shallow and narrow.[3] In some areas it can be crossed
Chosŏn'gŭl 두만강
on foot, or by short swims.[3] It also freezes in winter allowing dry Hancha 豆滿江
crossings.[10][11] Transcriptions

Defectors who wish to cross the Tumen often ignore its pollutants Revised Romanization Dumangang
and dangerous border patrol, and spend weeks if not months or McCune–Reischauer Tuman'gang
years waiting for the perfect opportunity to cross. "Long, desolate
Chinese Korean name
stretches of the Chinese-North Korean border are not patrolled at
all", according to a New York Times article.[3] Chosŏn'gŭl 도문강
Refugees rarely cross the Tumen into Russia. This is because
Hancha 圖們江
Russia's short stretch of the river is far better patrolled than China's Transcriptions
stretch.[3] In addition, the rewards for doing so aren't as high since Revised Romanization Domungang
the ethnic Korean community in Russia is far smaller to receive McCune–Reischauer Tomun'gang
sufficient support from, as opposed to China, which has a larger
Mongolian name
Korean population.
Mongolian Cyrillic Түмэн гол
The Tumen is also crossed illegally by soldiers and others seeking
Transcriptions
food and money. Some Chinese villagers have left the border area
because of the attacks.[10] SASM/GNC Tümen gol
Manchu name
The history of conflict in the area (examples include incidents
ᡨᡠᠮᡝᠨ ᡠᠯᠠ

during the Battle of Lake Khasan) was alluded to in singer Kim Manchu script
Jeong-gu's song 'Tearful Tumen River ( 눈물 젖은 두만강 )', which
became an ode to families separated by such tragedies and by
defections during the Korean War.[12] The humanitarian crisis
along the Tumen River was dramatized in the 2010 feature-length
film Dooman River.[13] Romanization Tumen ula
 Russian name
Russian Туманная
река
Romanization 'Tumannaya
Reka'

Bridge of Tumen Bridge of Tumen

River, built in 1941 River, shot in 2018

North Korea is on The Tumen River, at

the other side of the the border between
Tumen River North Korea and
China. Picture taken
from the Chinese
side of the Tumen
River at Tumen City;
the city of Namyang,
North Korea is on
the other side of the
river

Notes
a. In the 19th century, the river was also known to the West as the Mi Kiang.[1]

References

Citations
1. EB (1878), p. 390.
2. "DRAINAGE BASINS OF THE SEA OF OKHOTSK AND SEA OF JAPAN" (https://www.une
ce.org/fileadmin/DAM/env/water/blanks/assessment/okhotsk_japan.pdf) (PDF).
www.unece.org.
 3. Onishi, Norimitsu (22 October 2006). "Tension, Desperation: The China-North Korean
Border" (https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/22/weekinreview/22marsh.html). The New York
Times. Much of the information comes from the captions to the large illustrated map
published with the newspaper article and available online with it.
4. "Accord on Tumen River Area Development to Be Signed" (https://web.archive.org/web/201
91215032307/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-17902415.html). Archived from the
original (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-17902415.html) on 2019-12-15. Retrieved
2010-01-23 – via HighBeam Research.
5. "Tumen River Area Development Program" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150209011912/h
ttp://www.neat.org.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=247:tumen-river-are
a-development-program&catid=76:subregional-cooperation&Itemid=130). Network of East
Asian Think-tanks (NEAT). 2009. Archived from the original (http://www.neat.org.ph/index.ph
p?option=com_content&view=article&id=247:tumen-river-area-development-program&catid
=76:subregional-cooperation&Itemid=130) on 9 February 2015.
6. Kim, Myung-sung (14 January 2015). 최고 싱크탱크 도 두만강 지역 개발하자
(think tank) " " (htt
p://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2015/01/14/2015011400213.html) [From top think
tank: "Let's develop the Tumen River area"]. Chosun News (in Korean). Archived (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20150115173444/http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2015/01/14/2
015011400213.html) from the original on 15 January 2015.
7. "JPRI Working Paper No. 53" (https://web.archive.org/web/20210116091710/http://www.jpri.
org/publications/workingpapers/wp53.html). www.jpri.org. Archived from the original (http://w
ww.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp53.html) on 2021-01-16. Retrieved 2017-05-01.
8. Головнин, В. И. (2008). "Прошлое как оружие (The past as a weapon)" (http://www.globala
ffairs.ru/numbers/35/10838.html). Россия в глобальной политике (in Russian). 6 (35).
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20101206062610/http://www.globalaffairs.ru/number/
n_12054) from the original on 6 December 2010.
9. "The problem of the Noktundo island in the media in South Korea (Проблема острова
Ноктундо в средствах массовой информации Южной Кореи)" (http://ru.apircenter.org/pub
lications/the-problem-of-the-noktundo-island-in-the-media-in-south-korea/) (in Russian).
ru.apircenter.org. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20130910052035/http://ru.apircenter.
org/publications/the-problem-of-the-noktundo-island-in-the-media-in-south-korea/) from the
original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
10. Zhai, Keith & Kim, Sam (14 January 2015). "North Koreans Walk Across Frozen River to Kill
Chinese for Food" (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-13/north-koreans-walk-acros
s-frozen-river-to-china-to-commit-murder.html). Bloomberg News. Archived (https://web.archi
ve.org/web/20150115082328/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2015-01-13/north-koreans-w
alk-across-frozen-river-to-china-to-commit-murder.html) from the original on 15 January
2015.
11. Moon, Sunghui. "North Korea Tightens Security Before Major Military Parade" (https://web.ar
chive.org/web/20180125013902/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/korea/north-korea-tightens
-security-before-major-military-parade-01242018161419.html). Translated by Jun, Leejin;
Gerin, Roseanne. Radio Free Asia. Archived from the original (https://www.rfa.org/english/ne
ws/korea/north-korea-tightens-security-before-major-military-parade-01242018161419.html)
on January 25, 2018. "[...] adding that winter is the optimal time of year for North Koreans
who wish to defect to cross the frozen Tumen River that separates the country from China, if
security is not too heavy."
12. Kim, Seon-hee [a.k.a. Sonya] (24 March 2018). "VOD ~ 디지털
KBS" (http://vod.kbs.co.kr//ind
ex.html?source=episode&sname=vod&stype=vod&program_code=T2011-0781&program_i
d=PS-2018039707-01-000&section_code=04&broadcast_complete_yn=N&local_station_c
ode=00) (in Korean). @ 15m 19s mark in video: KBS. "[Translation] I heard that the song
consoled many of those who lost their families, or had to leave their hometowns under
Japanese occupation and during the Korean war. It made me realize the power of music
once again"
13. Bardot, Nicolas (2010). "La Rivière Tumen" (http://www.filmdeculte.com/cinema/film/Riviere-
Tumen-La-3345.html). Film de Culte (in French). Retrieved 15 January 2015.

Sources
"Corea"  (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica,_Ninth_Edition/Co
rea). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. VI (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1878.
pp. 390–394.
Nianshen Song. 2018. Making Borders in Modern East Asia: The Tumen River Demarcation,
1881–1919 (https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/making-borders-in-modern-east-asia/6A
7C6D4BF42E7527B1552FB9F53E5206). Cambridge University Press.

External links
Media related to Tumen River at Wikimedia Commons

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