Tumen

The largest unit was the tumen, equivalent to a division: 10,000 men in principle (and sometimes less). An army was made up of two to four tumen, each composed of ten times a thousand men (the equivalent of a regiment), and each regiment of ten times a hundred men (the equivalent of a squadron), ten times ten men.

Another tribe, the Kwiara, live on the frontiers of Korea, on the north bank of the Tumen river, and these are probably also Orochi.

The Tumen river separates Corea from Manchooria, except in the last few miles of its course, when it flows by Russian territory, the south-eastern corner of Siberia.

The Tumen is not yet so important as the Yalu, but with the development of a rival to Vladivostock, now a closed port, in Hunchun, it is acquiring greater importance.

Springing northeast from Paektu, the cold Tumen River separates Korea from eastern Manchuria and Siberia. On the Yalu and along the swift-flowing tributaries of the Tumen stand the Japanese-built hydroelectric plants which, until the power lines were cut by the Communists at the 38th parallel, provided 90% of the electricity used in all Korea.

A ride along the Chinese shore of the Tumen River illustrated its potential for development.

The Tumen River serves as part of the border between China and North Korea, with the Chinese city of Tumen on the left and the North Korean town of Namyang on the right.

The Tumen River serves as part of the border between China and North Korea, with the Chinese city of Tumen on the left and the North Korean town of Namyang on the right.

When she was ten years old, he was arrested and never heard from again. After that, Grandmother Hwang was abandoned by her family, and ended up working as a farm laborer in Tumen, China—which was then part of the Japanese empire.

Trade between China and North Korea has fallen dramatically because of sanctions, but the U.N. has not sanctioned essentials like food. Towards the end of the day in Tumen, we watched these women cross into China from North Korea. Tumen is in Yanbian, an official Korean autonomous region which people call “the third Korea” because around half the two million Chinese of Korean descent are registered there. There is a small missionary community in Yanbian - mainly South Koreans, Americans and Europeans. Some of them help North Korean defectors.