Credited to North Korea. The fiber was first developed in 1939 in Japan, at the Takatsuki chemical research institute, by a team that included the Korean chemist Ri Sung Gi. North Korea's claim rests on trial production from 1954 and mass production at Hamhung from 1961.
How it began
Vinalon was first developed in 1939 at the Takatsuki chemical research institute in Japan by a research team that included the Korean scientist Ri Sung Gi. The fiber was largely ignored until Ri went to North Korea in 1950. Trial production began there in 1954. The February 8 Vinalon Complex was built in Hamhung between about 1959 and 1961, taking roughly two years to complete.
How it works
Vinalon is a synthetic fiber produced from polyvinyl alcohol, using anthracite coal and limestone as the raw materials. Reuters described the starting product as hard and white before it is spun into fiber. The fiber is resistant to heat and chemicals. It is also stiff, shiny, prone to shrinking and difficult to dye.
What changed first
Vinalon, also called Juche fiber, became the national fiber of North Korea and was used for the majority of its textiles, ahead of cotton and nylon, which were produced only in small amounts. Besides clothing it was used for canvas shoes, ropes and quilt wadding. Its use was held up in state propaganda as an example of the success of the juche idea of self-reliance.
Where it stands today
Hamhung has remained the main center of vinalon production, and a second vinalon factory opened in South Pyongan in 1998. The fiber is not produced outside North Korea. The Hamhung complex also makes other chemicals, and analysts at the Nuclear Threat Initiative have examined it in connection with chemical weapons precursors.
