Provinces of South Korea explained

Province
Category:Unitary state
Territory:Republic of Korea (ROK)
Current Number:22
15 controlled by ROK
5 controlled by DPRK
2 split between ROK and DPRK
Population Range:276,589 (Sejong City) – 13,413,459 (Gyeonggi Province)
Area Range:1849km2 (Jeju) – 19030km2 (North Gyeongsang) – 20569km2 (Gangwon including DPRK controlled-parts)
Government:Self-governing
Province
Othername1:Special self-governing province
Hangul:도
Rr:do
Mr:to
Hangul1:특별자치도
Rr1:teukbyeoljachido
Mr1:tŭkpyŏljach'ido

Provinces are one of the first-level divisions within South Korea. There are 9 provinces in South Korea: North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, Gangwon State, Gyeonggi, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang, Jeonbuk State, South Jeolla, and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.

History

See main article: Provinces of Korea.

Although the details of local administration have changed dramatically over time, the basic outline of the current three-tiered system was implemented under the reign of Gojong in 1895. A similar system also remains in use in North Korea.

Types

Provinces (Korean: 도, Korean: 道) are the highest-ranked administrative divisions in South Korea, which follows the East Asian tradition name Circuit (administrative division). Along with the common provinces, there are four types of special administrative divisions with equal status: special self-governing province, special city, metropolitan city, and special self-governing city.

Special Self-governing Province or State (Korean: 특별자치도, Korean: 特別自治道) is a type of provinces with more autonomy over its economy and more powers are given to the provincial government. Jeju, Gangwon, and Jeonbuk are the only special self-governing provinces in South Korea, while Seoul is the only special city and Sejong is the only special self-governing city.

Administration

Governors for the provinces and mayors for the special/metropolitan cities are elected every four years. Current governors and mayors are listed at List of governors of South Korea.

List of provinces

NameOfficial English nameHangulHanjaISOPop.
(2020)[1] 		Area
(km2)		Density
2020
(/km2)		CapitalHistorical
province		Cultural
region		Abbreviation
Chungcheongbuk-do[2] Korean: 충청북도Korean: 忠淸北道KR-431,632,0887,433[3] 219.6CheongjuChungcheongHoseoChungbukKorean: 충북Korean: 忠北
Chungcheongnam-doKorean: 충청남도Korean: 忠淸南道KR-442,176,6368,204[4] 265.3HongseongChungnamKorean: 충남Korean: 忠南
GangwonGangwon StateKorean: 강원특별자치도Korean: 江原特別自治道KR-421,521,76320,569[5] 74.0ChuncheonGangwonGwandongGangwonKorean: 강원Korean: 江原
Gyeonggi-doKorean: 경기도Korean: 京畿道KR-4113,511,67610,171[6] 1,328.5SuwonGyeonggiSudogwonGyeonggiKorean: 경기Korean: 京畿
Gyeongsangbuk-doKorean: 경상북도Korean: 慶尙北道KR-472,644,75719,030[7] 139.0AndongGyeongsangYeongnamGyeongbukKorean: 경북Korean: 慶北
Gyeongsangnam-doKorean: 경상남도Korean: 慶尙南道KR-483,333,05610,532[8] 316.5ChangwonGyeongnamKorean: 경남Korean: 慶南
Jeonbuk StateKorean: 전북특별자치도Korean: 全北特別自治道KR-451,802,7668,043224.1JeonjuJeollaHonamJeonbukKorean: 전북Korean: 全北
Jeollanam-doKorean: 전라남도Korean: 全羅南道KR-461,788,80711,858150.9MuanJeonnamKorean: 전남Korean: 全南
Jeju Special
Self-Governing Province		Korean: 제주특별자치도Korean: 濟州特別自治道KR-49670,8581,849[9] 362.8JejuJejuJejuKorean: 제주Korean: 濟州

Claimed provinces

South Korea claims five provinces on the territory controlled by North Korea. These claimed provinces are managed by the Committee for the Five Northern Korean Provinces . These provinces are based on the divisions of the Korean Empire era and are different from the present North Korean provinces.

Historical provinceNameHangulHanjaArea (km2)CapitalCultural regionAbbreviation
HamgyeongNorth HamgyeongKorean: 함경북도Korean: 咸鏡北道20,345CheongjinGwanbukHambukKorean: 함북Korean: 咸北
South HamgyeongKorean: 함경남도Korean: 咸鏡南道31,977HamheungGwannamHamnamKorean: 함남Korean: 咸南
PyeonganNorth PyeonganKorean: 평안북도Korean: 平安北道28,443SinuijuGwanseoPyeongbukKorean: 평북Korean: 平北
South PyeonganKorean: 평안남도Korean: 平安南道14,944PyeongyangPyeongnamKorean: 평남Korean: 平南
HwanghaeHwanghaeKorean: 황해도Korean: 黃海道16,744HaejuHaeseoHwanghaeKorean: 황해Korean: 黃海

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: South Korea Administrative Districts. CityPopulation.de. 4 January 2023.
  2. http://www.ngii.go.kr/en/download/Toponymic_Guidelines_ROK.pdf
  3. Web site: ko:충북면적. http://www.cb21.net/cb_content/move.do?mc=01010300. North Chungcheong Province. 18 March 2013. ko. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140203140651/http://www.cb21.net/cb_content/move.do?mc=01010300. 3 February 2014.
  4. Web site: ko:일반현황. http://www.chungnam.net/content.do?mnu_cd=CNNMENU00871. South Chungcheong Province. 18 March 2013. ko.
  5. Web site: Natural Environment. Gangwon Province. 18 March 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130710123316/http://eng.gwd.go.kr/sub1/01_04_02.asp. 10 July 2013.
  6. Web site: ko:위치와 자연환경. http://www.gg.go.kr/gg/30635/ggnet/c1/intro/page4.jsp. Gyeonggi Province. 18 March 2013. ko. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140301045943/http://www.gg.go.kr/gg/30635/ggnet/c1/intro/page4.jsp. 1 March 2014.
  7. Web site: ko:경북현황. http://www.gb.go.kr/open_content/about_gb/index.jsp?LARGE_CODE=10&MEDIUM_CODE=10&SMALL_CODE=1&SMALL_CODE2=&SMALL_CODE3=&target=main&URL=/open_content/about_gb/gb_summary/gb_summary_intro.jsp. North Gyeongsang Province. 18 March 2013. ko.
  8. Web site: ko:일반 현황. http://www.gsnd.net/jsp/sub05/05_01.jsp. South Gyeongsang Province. 18 March 2013. ko. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140223012404/http://www.gsnd.net/jsp/sub05/05_01.jsp. 23 February 2014.
  9. Web site: Geography. Jeju Province. 18 March 2013.

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