---
title: "Hyesan: North Korea Strategic Site Dossier | Save North Korea"
description: "Hyesan (Border & crossings): Border city on the Yalu, across from China’s Changbai. Historically a major smuggling and crossing point, now heavily fenced."
url: "https://savenorthkorea.org/places/hyesan"
language: en
translations:
  en: https://savenorthkorea.org/places/hyesan
  ko: https://savenorthkorea.org/ko/places/hyesan
  ja: https://savenorthkorea.org/ja/places/hyesan
  zh-Hans: https://savenorthkorea.org/zh/places/hyesan
---

[Key sites](https://savenorthkorea.org/places) · [Border & crossings](https://savenorthkorea.org/places#border)

 Border & crossings 

# Hyesan

Border city on the Yalu, across from China’s Changbai. Historically a major smuggling and crossing point, now heavily fenced.

![Hyesan](https://savenorthkorea.org/img/places/hyesan.jpg)

[Photo via Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:巡道工出品%5Fphoto%5Fby%5FXundaogong%5F-%5Fpanoramio%5F%28106%29.jpg)

Hyesan · 41.4000°N, 128.1833°E [Google Maps ↗](https://www.google.com/maps/@41.4,128.1833,14z/data=!3m1!1e3) · Imagery © Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics 

[ Open on the intel map](https://savenorthkorea.org/map#sites=hyesan)[ Read more](https://savenorthkorea.org/learn/how-north-koreans-escape)

## Source

- [**Wikipedia** en.wikipedia.org ↗ ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyesan)

## More border & crossings sites

- [ © Esri, Maxar  Border & crossings **Musan** Mining county on the Tumen River, a common crossing area. Several well-known escapees came from here. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/places/musan)
- [![Hoeryong](https://savenorthkorea.org/img/places/hoeryong.jpg)  Border & crossings **Hoeryong** Border city on the Tumen. The river is narrow here, so it was a frequent crossing point before new fences went up after 2020. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/places/hoeryong)
- [ © Esri, Maxar  Border & crossings **Sinuiju–Dandong bridge** The Friendship Bridge over the Yalu. Most legal trade with China goes through here, and so does a lot of smuggled media. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/places/sinuiju)
- [![Panmunjom (Joint Security Area)](https://savenorthkorea.org/img/places/jsa.jpg)  Border & crossings **Panmunjom (Joint Security Area)** The truce village in the DMZ. A soldier escaped across it under fire in 2017. ](https://savenorthkorea.org/places/jsa)