Yalu River - History

History

The river basin is the site where the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo rose to power. Many former fortresses are located along the river and the former capital of that kingdom was situated at what is now the medium-sized city of Ji'an, China along the Yalu, a site rich in Goguryeo era relics.

Wihwa Island on the river is historically famous for the decision of General Yi Songgye in 1392 to there turn back his army southward to Kaesong in the first of a series of revolts that eventually led to the establishment of the Yi Dynasty.

The river has been the site of several battles because of its strategic location between Korea and China, including:

• Battle of the Yalu River (1894) – Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895)
• Battle of Yalu River (1904) – Russo-Japanese War

The Korean side of the river was heavily industrialized during Colonial Korea (1910–1945), and by 1945 almost 20% of Imperial Japan's total industrial output originated in Korea. During the Korean War the movement of United Nations troops approaching the river precipitated massive Chinese intervention from around Dandong. In the course of the conflict every bridge across the river except one was destroyed. The one remaining bridge was the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge connecting Sinuiju, North Korea to Dandong, China. During the war the valley surrounding the western end of the river also became the focal point of a series of dogfights for air superiority over North Korea, earning the nickname "MiG Alley" in reference to the MiG-15 fighters flown by the combined North Korean, Chinese and Soviet forces.

It was the advance of UN forces during the Korean War toward the Yalu which prompted Chairman Mao Zedong to involve China in the war for fear of an American invasion, since toppling communism was one of America's stated goals and Douglas MacArthur had expressed his desire to expand the war into China.

The river has frequently been crossed by North Koreans fleeing to China since the early 1990s.