This article's lead section may not adequately summarize its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (June 2010)

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

Wonsan 원산
—  Municipal City  —
원산시
Korean transcription(s)
• Hangul	원산시
• Hanja	元山市
• McCune-Reischauer	Wŏnsan-si
• Revised Romanization	Wonsan-si
Wonsan waterfront.
Coordinates: 39°08′51″N 127°26′46″E / 39.1475°N 127.44611°E / 39.1475; 127.44611Coordinates: 39°08′51″N 127°26′46″E / 39.1475°N 127.44611°E / 39.1475; 127.44611
Country	North Korea
Province	Kangwŏn
Region	Kwandong
Settled	c. 1800
Divisions	40 dong, 15 ri
Area
• Total	269 km2 (104 sq mi)
Population (2000 (Est.))
• Total	331,000
• Dialect	Seoul
Flower
Tree
Bird

Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.

History[link]

Map of Port Lazaref

Wonsan opened as a trade port in 1880. Its original name was Wŏnsanjin (元山津), but it was also known by the Russian name of Port Lazarev (Lazaref). Under Japanese rule (1910-45) it was called Gensan (元山). In 1914 the Pyongwon Line and Gyeongwon Line railways were opened, connecting the city to Pyongyang (then known as Heijo) and Seoul (then Kyongsong). Thus, the city gradually developed into the eastern product distribution center. Under the Japanese occupation, the city was heavily industrialized and served as an import point in the distribution of trade between Korea and mainland Japan.

Provincial borders[link]

Wŏnsan used to be in South Hamgyong, but when provincial borders were redrawn in 1946, it joined the northern half of Kangwŏn (which had been split at the 38th parallel north into a zone under Soviet control in the north and one of American control in the south in 1945) and became its capital, as Kangwŏn's traditional capitals Wonju (1395–1895) and Chuncheon (since 1896) both were south of the 38th parallel and south of the Military Demarcation Line that replaced the 38th parallel as a border in 1953. It was heavily bombed by the United Nations during the Korean War: Blockade of Wonsan.^[1] In fact, according to the official US Navy history, Wŏnsan was under continuous siege and bombardment by the American navy from March 1951 until July 27, 1953, making it the longest siege in modern American naval history. By war's end the city was a vast shell.^[2]

Wŏnsan serves as the administrative center of Kangwŏn Province.

Geography and climate[link]

Wŏnsan's area is 269 square kilometres (104 sq mi). It is located in Kangwŏn Province, on the westernmost part of the Sea of Japan (East Sea of Korea) and the east end of the Korean peninsula's neck. Mt. Changdok (Changdok-san) and Mt. Naphal (Naphal-san) are located to the west of the city. More than 20 small islands flank Wŏnsan's immediate coastal area, including Hwangt'o Island and Ryo Island. Wŏnsan is considered an excellent natural port location. Kŭmgang-san mountain is located near Wŏnsan.

The city has a borderline humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cwa) that is very close to a humid continental climate (Dwa).

Economy[link]

Wŏnsan has an aquatic product processing factory, shipyard, chemistry enterprise, and a cement factory.

Transportation[link]

Road and rail

Wonsan Station is on the highway system and the Kangwon Line electric railway, with connections to Pyongyang and other North Korean cities.

Air

The city has a military and civilian dual purposes air station (WON) and is equipped with 01/19 and 15/33 dual runways.

Sea

Wonsan is also the terminus of the Mangyongbong-92 ferry, the only direct connection between Japan and North Korea.

Media[link]

The Korean Central Broadcasting Station maintains a 250-kilowatt mediumwave transmitter broadcasting on 882 kHz AM.

Education[link]

Wŏnsan is home to Songdowon University, Kumgang University, Tonghae University, Jong Jun Thaek University of Economics, Wŏnsan University of Medicine, Jo Gun Sil University of Engineering, Wŏnsan First University of Education and Ri Su Dok University.

Sports[link]

The city is home to Woonpasan Sports Group, a football (soccer) club that plays in the DPR Korea First Class Sports Group, North Korea's premier league.

Tourism[link]

Most of North Korea, including Wonsan, is not accessible to foreign tourists. However, nearby Songdowon is a famous sea bathing destination for North Koreans, as the water there is exceptionally clear. Pine trees are abundant in the surrounding area, and it has been designated a national sightseeing point.

Songdowon International Children's Union Camp was built beside Songdowon, at 39°11′14″N 127°24′28″E / 39.18722°N 127.40778°E / 39.18722; 127.40778, and it still receives teenagers and youth for cultural exchange between North Korea and various foreign countries.

Famous scenic sites near Wŏnsan: Myongsasimni, Lake Sijung, Chongsokjon and Mt. Kumgang. Temples in the area include the Sogwangsa and Anbyon Pohyonsa Buddhist temples. German Church is the former church of Tokwon abbey, now used by Wonsan University of Agriculture.

Administrative divisions[link]

Wonsan is divided into 40 administrative districts known as dong, as wells as fifteen villages ("ri"). The largest dong, Haebang, is further divided in two parts for administrative purposes.^[5]

People from Wonsan[link]

• Kim Ki Nam (1926–Present), politician

Sister city[link]

• Vladivostok, Russia.^[6]

See also[link]

• List of Korea-related topics
• Geography of North Korea
• Naval bases of the Korean People's Navy

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wonsan

• North Korea Uncovered, (North Korea Google Earth) a Google Earth map of Wonsan's cultural, economic, political, military infrastructure, and tourist locations and facilities.
• The Wŏnsan Operation, October 1950 – Korean War amphibious assault ordered by General Douglas MacArthur
• Google Earth images of Wŏnsan, including one of Kim Jong Il's palaces, a military airfield, and the ferry Mangyongbong-92
• [1]

v t e Kangwŏn Province Capital Wŏnsan Cities Munch'ŏn Wŏnsan Counties Anbyŏn Ch'angdo Ch'ŏrwŏn Ch'ŏnnae Hoeyang Ich'ŏn Kimhwa Kosan Kosŏng Kŭmgang (Mount Kŭmgang Tourist Region) P'an'gyo Pŏptong P'yŏnggang Sep'o T'ongch'ŏn

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009)

Ice cubes in a glass of iced tea

Ice cubes are small, roughly cube-shaped pieces of ice, conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are sometimes preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in mixed drinks that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be "on the rocks."

Ice cubes that are crushed or sheared into irregularly-shaped flakes may add an interesting aesthetic effect to some cocktails. Crushed ice is also used when faster cooling is desired, since the rate of cooling is governed by the number and average radius of the ice particles.^[1]

Melting ice cubes sometimes precipitate white flakes, commonly known as "floaties". This is calcium carbonate which is present in many water supplies and is completely harmless.^{[citation needed]}

Origin[link]

Gorrie's ice machine.

American physician and humanitarian John Gorrie built a refrigerator in 1844 with the purpose of cooling air. His refrigerator produced ice which he hung from the ceiling in a basin. Gorrie can be considered the creator of ice cubes, but his aim was not to cool drinks: he used the ice to lower the ambient room temperature. During his time, a dominant idea was that bad air quality caused disease. Therefore, in order to help treat sickness, he pushed for the draining of swamps and the cooling of sickrooms.

Methods of production[link]

Ice cubes are produced domestically by filling an ice cube tray with water and placing it in a freezer. Many freezers also come equipped with an icemaker, which produces ice cubes automatically and stores them in a bin from which they can be dispensed directly into a glass.

Ice cube tray[link]

Ice cubes in a tray

Ice cube trays are designed to be filled with water, then placed in a freezer until the water freezes to ice, producing ice cubes. Trays are often flexible, so the frozen cubes can be easily removed by flexing the tray. Twist ice trays have a simple spring loaded mechanism with a lever that is used to turn the tray upside down and flex at the same time such that the cubes drop are collected in a removable tray below and return the ice cube tray to its upright position without removing it from the freezer which can save time and reduces accidents and mess, though the tray has to be removed to be collected and the ice cube tray still has to be removed to be refilled. An alternative system is an aluminum tray with a lever that raises the ice cubes, freeing them from the tray. A motorized version of this is found in most automatic ice-making freezers.

While the usual shape of the ice 'cube' is roughly cubical, there are trays that dispense hemispherical or cylindrical blocks. These are commonly referred to as ice tubes. Some novelty trays produce blocks of ice in seasonal, festive or other shapes.

The first rubber ice cube tray was invented by Lloyd Groff Copeman. One day in 1928, while walking through some woods collecting sap for maple syrup, Copeman noticed that slush and ice flaked off his rubber boots rather than adhering to them. Having recalled this incident over lunch with his patent attorney, he conducted experiments using rubber cups. Later, he set about designing and then patenting different types of tray: a metal tray with rubber separators, a metal tray with individual rubber cups, and a tray made completely of rubber.^[2]

The first flexible stainless steel, all-metal ice cube tray was created by Guy L. Tinkham in 1933. The tray bent sideways to remove the ice cubes.

Several companies now offer pre-filled disposable ice trays for home freezing, which they claim provide better taste and reduced risk of contamination.^[3]

Large-scale ice cube production[link]

Dedicated ice-maker machines can be used to produce ice cubes for laboratories and academic use. Ice cubes are also produced commercially and sold in bulk; these ice cubes, despite their name, are often cylindrical, and may have holes through the center.

An interesting characteristic of commercially made ice cubes is that they are completely clear, lacking the clouding found in the center of domestically made ice cubes. Cloudy ice cubes result when water is frozen quickly, or when the water is high in dissolved solids. When water is cooled to its freezing point, and ice starts to form, dissolved gases can no longer stay in solution and come out as microscopic bubbles. However, as ice floats in water, once there is enough ice to form a layer on the surface, the ice layer traps all bubbles within the ice cube. Commercial ice-makers use a flowing source of purified water to make ice with cooling elements at the bottom, allowing the bubbles to be washed away from the top as the cube grows.^{[citation needed]}

See also[link]

Listen to this article (info/dl)

This audio file was created from a revision of the "Ice cube" article dated 2006-05-10, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help)

More spoken articles

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ice cubes

• Ice pack
• Pagophagia
• Refrigeration
• Ice

References[link]

1. ^ Rauch, Jeffrey (1975). "The mathematical theory of crushed ice". Partial differential equations and related topics (Program, Tulane Univ., New Orleans, La., 1974). Berlin, New York (the state): Springer-Verlag. pp. 370–379. MR0427863. 
2. ^ "www.lloydcopeman.com: Biography". http://www.lloydcopeman.com/biography/CopemanStory.pdf. 
3. ^ "After Bottled Water? Purified Ice Cubes". http://www.aquaice.com/PressRelease_WSJ_2006.htm. Retrieved 2008-06-03. 

External links[link]

Look up ice cube in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Hot water can freeze faster than cold water (Subscription required)