Opening date 2007 Opened 2007 Impound Imjin River | Impounds Imjin River Construction began 2002 | |
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Coordinates Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kangwon province Chorwon County, in Province Gangwon Province, South Korea Similar Imnam Dam, Nampo Dam, Batang Ai Dam, Zhinvali Dam, Sup'ung Dam | ||
Hwanggang Dam is a dam on the Imjin River in North Korea. Located approximately 26 miles (42 km) north of the Korean Demilitarized Zone, the dam has an estimated capacity of 400,000,000 short tons (360,000,000 t). Construction began in 2002 and was completed in 2007. The stated aims of the project are to generate hydropower and provide water for crop irrigation.
Map of Hwanggang Dam, Cheorwon-gun, 269-820
In September 2009, without warning, North Korea released a massive amount of water from the dam, causing large floods in South Korea that killed six persons. An estimated 40,000,000 short tons (36,000,000 t) of water was dumped during the flood, causing the water level at the border of Gyeonggi-do to leap from 7.5 feet (2.3 m) to 15.1 feet (4.6 m).
To protect itself against the perceived threat, South Korea built two dams in the area in the early 2010s.