The Tumen has been crossed for years by
North Korean refugees defecting across the Chinese border. Most refugees from North Korea during the
1990s famine crossed it, and most recent refugees have also used it, as it is far easier than crossing the
Amnok River. Defectors wishing to cross the Tumen often ignore its pollutants and dangerous border patrol, and spend weeks if not months or years waiting for the perfect opportunity to cross. "Long, desolate stretches of the Chinese-North Korean border are not patrolled at all", according to a
New York Times article. The history of conflict in the area (examples include incidents during the
Battle of Lake Khasan) was alluded to in singer Kim Jeong-gu's song 'Tearful Tumen River (눈물 젖은 두만강)', which became an ode to families separated by such tragedies and by defections during the Korean War. The humanitarian crisis along the Tumen River was dramatized in the 2010 feature-length film
Dooman River. File:Tumen River Bridge.jpg|Bridge of Tumen River, built in 1941 File:Tumen River Bridge in 2018.jpg|Bridge of Tumen River, shot in 2018 File:Tumen River Winter.jpg|North Korea is on the other side of the Tumen River File:Tumen River Winter2.jpg|View across the river from Tumen city in China to the town of Namyang in North Korea ==Notes==