Sariwŏn

Sariwŏn, city, capital of North Hwanghae do (province), southwestern North Korea. Situated on the middle channel of the Chaeryŏng River, it is the market centre for agricultural products of the Chaeryŏng plain. A planned city, developed when the railway from Seoul (now in South Korea) to Sinŭiju was built in 1906, it is a junction for rail, road, and river transport. Its industry is mainly light, including agricultural machine workshops, food processing, and spinning mills. Sariwŏn College of Education, Sariwŏn College of Communism, Sariwŏn College of Agriculture, an agricultural research centre, and a provincial history museum are located there. Pop. (2008) 271,434.