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{{Short description|Synthetic fiber}}
{{missing information|industrial production in Japan and China|date=January 2023}}
[[File:North Korea - Myohyang Mountains (5015252383).jpg|thumb|North Korean men wearing uniforms made from vinylon.]]
'''Vinylon''', also known as '''Vinalon''' (more common in Korean sources), is a [[synthetic fiber]] produced from reaction between [[polyvinyl alcohol
|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100818000677
|title=Can North Korea sustain industrial growth?
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|access-date=2012-08-11
}}</ref> Vinylon's widespread usage in North Korea is often pointed to as an example of the implementation of the ''[[Juche]]'' philosophy, and it is known as the '''''Juche'' fiber'''.<ref name="Demick">{{cite book |last1=Demick |first1=Barbara |authorlink1=Barbara Demick |title=Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea |date=2009 |publisher=Spigel & Grau |isbn=978-0-385-52390-5 |page=59|title-link=Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea }}</ref>
PVF, in fiber form, is a useful [[thermoplastic]] resin on its own, most commonly used as electric wire insulation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plastics Technology |url=https://polymerdatabase.com/Polymer%20Brands/Vinylec.html |website=polymerdatabase.com}}</ref>
== Applications ==
{{missing information|Japanese use (translate ja.wp), Chinese use|date=January 2023}}
Vinylon is the national fiber of North Korea and is used for the majority of textiles, outstripping fiber such as [[cotton]] or [[nylon]], which is produced only in small amounts in North Korea. Other than clothing, vinylon is also used for shoes, ropes, and quilt wadding.
Japanese-Canadian textile artist [[Toshiko MacAdam]] used vinylon in her early works, as it was more economical than [[nylon]].<ref name="archdaily">{{cite web|url=http://www.archdaily.com/297941/meet-the-artist-behind-those-amazing-hand-knitted-playgrounds/|title=Meet the Artist Behind Those Amazing, Hand-Knitted Playgrounds|last=Quirk|first=Vanessa|date=28 November 2012 |publisher=ArchDaily|access-date=16 January 2014}}</ref>
Swedish outdoor brand [[Fjällräven]] makes their popular Kånken backpack line out of a version of vinylon, branded Vinylon F.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vinylon F {{!}} Fjällräven |url=https://www.fjallraven.com/uk/en-gb/about-fjallraven/materials/vinylon-f |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=www.fjallraven.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
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* [[Polymerization]] produces [[polyvinyl acetate]] (PVAc).
* Hydrolysis of PVAc produces [[polyvinyl alcohol]] (PVOH).
* PVOH is stretched into a fiber and
* The PVOH yarn is finally reacted with [[formaldehyde]] to make vinylon, a chain of [[acetal]]s and [[hemiacetal]]s.<ref>潘祖仁主编，高分子化学，聚醋酸乙烯酯的醇解，299-300</ref>
Other locations may use alternative feedstocks to synthesize PVOH.
== History ==
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The first successful creation of Vinylon was in 1939, by a [[Kyoto University]] research team in Japan,<ref name=":0">Lee, Hy-Sang. North Korea : a Strange Socialist Fortress. Westport, Conn., Praeger, 2001.</ref> using petroleum as the feedstock.
However, Vinylon was later brought to North Korea by Ri Sung-gi, one of the researchers of the Kyoto University team, amid North Korean campaign aimed at the recruitment of scientists and engineers from South Korea in the period following Korea's liberation from Japan in 1945. He was working as a professor at [[Seoul National University]] at the time.<ref name=":0" /> During the [[Korean War]], when Seoul was occupied by the [[Korean People's Army]], Ri was offered a research position in North Korea.<ref name=":0" /> Ri Sung-gi accepted and defected to the North.<ref name=":0" /> He found a way to produce Vinylon from coal.
=== 1961: Vinylon City, Hungnam ===
After the [[liberation of Korea]] in 1945, North Korea was under [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] occupation and thus provided with aid by the Soviets as a means to stabilize the country. Beginning at the end of the Korean War in 1953, the Soviet Union, [[China]], and other [[communist countries]] began actively providing foreign aid to North Korea.<ref name=":1">Kim, Jiyoung. “The Politics of Foreign Aid in North Korea.” The Korean Journal of International Studies , vol. 12, no. 2, Dec. 2014, pp. 425–450.</ref> Therefore, the North Korean economy heavily depended on aid from other socialist countries.
However, in the 1960s, the aid from the Soviet Union decreased. North Korea was no longer receiving aid in the form of grants, but loans.<ref name=":1" /> Hence, the North Korean leadership decided to accelerate efforts towards developing a self-sufficient economy. This resulted in the full mobilization of domestic resources.<ref name=":1" /> Beginning in 1961, North Korea launched its [[First Seven-Year Economic Development Plan]], which focused on technological innovations, cultural revolution, improvement of living standards, modernization of the economy, and the facilitation of trade and international economic cooperation.<ref name=":1" /> As a result, the North Korean government decided to develop the vinylon industry and build the February 8 Vinylon Complex, nicknamed Vinylon City.[[File:February8Vinalon.jpg|thumb|Entrance of the February 8 Vinylon Factory Complex in [[Hungnam|Hungnam, North Korea]].]]
In the early stages of North Korea's history, the government under [[Kim Il
In 1961, Vinylon City, the factory compound for producing vinylon, was built in the northeastern industrial city of [[Hungnam]]. The construction of the factory took fourteen months, which was quite fast considering that fifty buildings made up Vinylon City. Vinylon City had a total floor space of {{convert|130,000|m2|abbr=on}}, 15,000 production machines, 1,700 container tanks, and {{convert|500|km|abbr=on}} of piping.<ref name=":2" /> The tallest building in Vinylon City, measuring {{convert|32|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height with a {{convert|40|m|ft|abbr=on}} smokestack, was the [[acetic acid]] shop.<ref name=":2" /> The spinning shop, which was responsible of creating the vinylon fiber and shipping, was the largest building—{{convert|160|m|ft|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|117|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide, with {{convert|35,000|m2|abbr=on}} floor space.
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=== 2010 reopening ===
On February 8, 2010, [[Kim Jong
In his new-year speech for 2017, Kim Jong
== Historical significance ==
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