Partizansk, Russia

History

In the late 19th century, the Vladivostok-based Russian Pacific Fleet was in deep need of a source of coal. The Department of Mines sent a geological expedition to the area south of Ussuriysk, working there from 1888 to 1893. Coal was found, which could be mined and sent to Nakhodka for the needs of the Fleet. In 1896, the Department of Mines made a large order for coal from the Suchan River area, and a settlement for miners was founded. The settlement was originally named Suchansky Rudnik, meaning mining pit of Suchan.

Around this time, Korean settlers moved out of the northern part of the Korean peninsula to avoid famine, with some settling in Partizansk. Pre-1937 Korean settlers to Russia and the Soviet Union are known as Koryo-saram. The Koreans called the area Such'ŏng (Korean: 수청). The area eventually become a hub for Korean independence activism against Japan's colonization of Korea. Korean militants such as Han Ch'ang-kŏl (한창걸; 韓昌傑) resisted Japan from the nearby mountains. Notable Korean socialist Pak Chin-sun was born in this area. The Koreans were eventually forced to migrate to Central Asia in 1937.

From the History section of Partizansk on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.