Hamhung

H4A1M3H4U1N1G2
/hɑmˈhʊŋ/

proper noun

The provincial capital of South Hamgyong Province, North Korea; the country's 2nd-largest city and 3rd-largest port.

Scrabble 16

Meanings

proper noun

alternative Hamheung · alternative Ham-heng

  1. The provincial capital of South Hamgyong Province, North Korea; the country's 2nd-largest city and 3rd-largest port.

    South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said it had detected the launch of what it presumed were two ballistic missiles at about 8 a.m. (2300 GMT) from near Hamhung, on the east coast of North Korea.

    2022 January 26, “North Korea fires two missiles as U.S. condemns flurry of tests”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 28 Jan 2022, China
    3 more examples

    Author, editor, memoirist, Hyun isn't exactly searching for his roots. Rather, at 70, he's trying to make sense of a life that began in the industrial city of Hamhung, near the east coast of what is now North Korea, and has somehow deposited him in New York and France.

    1998 July 8, Don Kirk, “A Literary Wanderer, Far From North Korea”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 May 2024, Style

    Hamhung is North Korea’s second city. The birthplace of the founder of Korea’s Ri dynasty and the site of a famous battle during the Korean War, Hamhung has since developed into a spacious industrial city of around 750,000 inhabitants.

    2008, Robert Willoughby, “East Coast to Tanchon”, in North Korea (Bradt Travel Guides), 2nd edition, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 175

    It was unusual for a North Korean woman of her status to get a higher education. But my mother was such a good scholar that she was accepted at a college in the nearby city of Hamhung. If given a choice, she would have liked to have become a doctor. But only students from better families are allowed a say in what they will study.

    2015, Yeonmi Park, Maryanne Vollers, In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom (Non-fiction), Penguin Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 33

Origin

  1. Korean함흥(咸興)
  2. EnglishHamhung

From McCune-Reischauer romanization Hamhŭng of Korean 함흥(咸興) (Hamheung).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Cantonese 咸興
  • 咸興 (haam⁴ hing¹)a city in North Korea
Chinese Mandarin 咸興
  • 咸興 (Xiánxīng)a city in North Korea
Hindi हामहुंग
  • हामहुंग (hāmhuṅg)a city in North Korea
Japanese 咸興
  • 咸興 (Hamufun)a city in North Korea
Korean 함흥
  • 함흥 (Hamheung)a city in North Korea
Russian Хамхы́н, Хамху́н
  • Хамхы́н (Xamxýn)a city in North Korea
  • Хамху́н (Xamxún)a city in North Korea
Cite this entry
APA

Hamhung. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hamhung

MLA

“Hamhung.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hamhung. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hamhung,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hamhung.

Source: Hamhung on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.