K?mgangsan is a 1,638-metre (5,374 ft)-high mountain in Kangwon-do, North Korea. It is about 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the South Korean city of Sokcho in Gangwon-do. It is one of the best-known mountains in North Korea. It is located on the east coast of the country, in Mount Kumgang Tourist Region, formerly part of Kangw?n Province. Mount Kumgang is part of the Taebaek mountain range which runs along the east of the Korean peninsula. The name means Vajra (or Diamond) Mountain. From 1019--1945 Korea was an unwilling annexed dependency of the Empire of Japan.