To Duval Family Home Page Asia조선 and 대한 Chosŏn or North Korea and Daehan or South Korea
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개성 (Kaesŏng)

개성 (Kaesŏng), formerly written as 開城 and formerly called 松都 (Songdo), is located in the southwestern corner of 조선 (Chosŏn or North Korea) in North Hwanghae Province. In 2008 it had a population of 308 thousand.1 It came to prominence as a former capital of Koryŏ (Goryeo) and the monuments from that time are honored by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.2

YearPopulationPolitical entity
1100 CE60,0003tributary state of Great Liáo (Liao Empire)
1200 CE30,0004Koryŏ (Goryeo)
1300 CE40,0005tributary state of Il Khan Uls (Mongol Empire)
2008 CE308,0001조선 (Chosŏn or North Korea)

External references

'Nam' Gate, Kaeŏng, North Hwanghae, Chosŏn (North Korea)

Historical maps

map showing Hwanghae and Kangwŏn Provinces, Chosŏn (North Korea), 1100 CE

map showing Hwanghae and Kangwŏn Provinces, Chosŏn (North Korea), 1200 CE

map showing Hwanghae and Kangwŏn Provinces, Chosŏn (North Korea), 1300 CE

map showing Hwanghae and Kangwŏn Provinces, Chosŏn (North Korea), 1400-1600 CE

map showing Hwanghae and Kangwŏn Provinces, Chosŏn (North Korea), 1700-1800 CE

map showing Hwanghae and Kangwŏn Provinces, Chosŏn (North Korea), 1900 CE

map showing Chosŏn (North Korea) and Daehan (South Korea), 2000 CE

Footnotes

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_North_Korea, accessed 11/10/2015.
2. Twelve items are honored: five portions of city walls from the ninth to the 14th centuries; the Manwoldae Palace site and the remains of the Chomsongdae (observatory); the Namdae Gate; the 'Koryo Songgyungwan' former state school; the 'Sungyan Sowon,' a school and former residence of Jong Mong Ju; the bridge where Jong Mong Ju was assassinated along with two stelae; and two mauseoleums. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1278, accessed 11/10/2015.
3. Tertius Chandler, Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth, 2nd ed. (The Edwin Mellen Press, 1987), Table of the Worlds Largest Cities. 개성 (Kaesŏng) as 松都 (Songdo) was the largest city on the Korean Peninsula in 1100, 1200 and 1300.
4. Ibid., pg. 416.
5. Ibid., 'Cities of Asia,' but cf. p. 416: 30,000.