Qibla direction in Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp

How to face the Qibla in Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp

Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 15.0° towards north: the result is the bearing of 285.0°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 15° off.

Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.

Why a flat map shows a different direction

This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp to Mecca points to 257.5° (west), a full 27.6° away from the true Qibla of 285.0° (west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 236 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp first heads west, and that is the direction to face.

How is the figure of 285.0° obtained? From the coordinates of Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp (37.9703° N, 125.9375° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.

Distance from Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp to Mecca and Medina

Mecca is 8,236 km from Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 8,061 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 10 h 11 min, although most pilgrims from Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.

Clocks in Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp run 6 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp rather than those of Mecca.

Finding the Qibla with the sun in Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp

On 107 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in May (31 days); for example, on 1 May 2027 it happens at 18:54 local time.

On 237 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in March (31 days), for instance on 1 March 2027 at 07:46.

Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp: at 18:18 and 18:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.

Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp compared with other cities

The Qibla here is practically the same as in Pyongyang (284.6°), and Mecca is 46 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Haeju (21 km), prays towards 284.9°, a difference of 0.1°.

Across the 27 cities in North Korea on this site, the Qibla ranges from 283.5° in Sinuiju to 286.3° in Chongjin, a spread of 2.8°. The difference is small, yet each city should still use its own bearing.

See all cities on the Qibla page for North Korea.

Qibla in cities near Ch’ŏngdan-ŭp

• Haeju284.9° · 21 km
• Paech’ŏn-ŭp285.2° · 32 km
• Kangnyŏng284.8° · 38 km
• Kaesong285.4° · 54 km
• Sinch’ŏn-ŭp284.7° · 58 km
• Sariwon284.8° · 62 km