Provinces of South Korea

Province
도(道)
Category Unitary State
Location Republic of Korea (ROK)
Number 22 (15 controlled by ROK, 5 controlled by DPRK & 2 jointly controlled by ROK and DPRK)
Populations 39,243 (Gyeryong) – 9,904,312 (Seoul)
Areas 4,790 km2 (1,849 sq mi) (Jeju) – 53,270 km2 (20,569 sq mi) (Gangwon)
Government Self-governing
Province
Hangul 도
Hanja 道
Revised Romanization do
McCune–Reischauer to
Special self-governing province
Hangul 특별자치도
Hanja 特別自治道
Revised Romanization teukbyeol-jachido
McCune–Reischauer teukbyeol-chach’ido

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

History

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 (도, 道) are the highest-ranked administrative divisions in South Korea. Along with the common provinces, there are four types of special administrative divisions with equal status: special autonomous province, special city, metropolitan city, and special autonomous city.

A special autonomous province (특별자치도, 特別自治道) is a province with more autonomy over its economy and more powers are given to the provincial government. Jeju is the only special autonomous province, while Seoul is the only special city and Sejong is the only special autonomous 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

Historical provinceNameOfficial English name[1]HangulHanjaISO Population
(2011 est.)[2]		Area
(km²)		Density
(/km²)		CapitalCultural regionAbbreviation
Chungcheong North ChungcheongChungcheongbuk-do충청북도忠淸北道KR-43 1,588,6337,433[3]213 CheongjuHoseoChungbuk충북忠北
South ChungcheongChungcheongnam-do충청남도忠淸南道KR-44 2,064,6658,204[4]251 HongseongChungnam충남忠南
Gangwon GangwonGangwon-do강원도江原道KR-42 1,549,78020,569[5]75 ChuncheonGwandongGangwon강원江原
Gyeonggi GyeonggiGyeonggi-do경기도京畿道KR-41 12,239,86210,171[6]1,203 SuwonSudogwonGyeonggi경기京畿
Gyeongsang North GyeongsangGyeongsangbuk-do경상북도慶尙北道KR-47 2,739,17919,030[7]144 AndongYeongnamGyeongbuk경북慶北
South GyeongsangGyeongsangnam-do경상남도慶尙南道KR-48 3,374,72510,532[8]320 ChangwonGyeongnam경남慶南
Jeolla North JeollaJeollabuk-do전라북도全羅北道KR-45 1,895,8828,043236 JeonjuHonamJeonbuk전북全北
South JeollaJeollanam-do전라남도全羅南道KR-46 1,938,13611,858163 MuanJeonnam전남全南
JejuJeju Special Self-governing Province제주특별자치도濟州特別自治道KR-49 583,2841,849[9]315 JejuJejuJeju제주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 (Hangul: 이북5도위원회; Hanja: 以北五道委員會). These provinces are based on the divisions of the Japanese era and are different from the present North Korean provinces.

Historical provinceNameHangulHanjaArea (km²)CapitalCultural regionAbbreviation
Hamgyeong North Hamgyeong 함경북도咸鏡北道 20,345CheongjinGwanbukHambuk함북咸北
South Hamgyeong 함경남도咸鏡南道 31,977HamheungGwannamHamnam함남咸南
Pyeongan North Pyeongan 평안북도平安北道 28,443SinuijuGwanseoPyeongbuk평북平北
South Pyeongan 평안남도平安南道 14,944PyeongyangPyeongnam평남平南
Hwanghae Hwanghae 황해도黃海道 16,744HaejuHaeseoHwanghae황해黃海

See also

References

  1. ↑ , p. 41.
  2. ↑ "South Korea Administrative Districts". CityPopulation.de. Retrieved 2013-03-14.
  3. ↑ 충북면적 (in Korean). North Chungcheong Province. Archived from the original on 3 February 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  4. ↑ 일반현황 (in Korean). South Chungcheong Province. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  5. ↑ "Natural Environment". Gangwon Province. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  6. ↑ 위치와 자연환경 (in Korean). Gyeonggi Province. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  7. ↑ 경북현황 (in Korean). North Gyeongsang Province. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  8. ↑ 일반 현황 (in Korean). South Gyeongsang Province. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  9. ↑ "Geography". Jeju Province. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
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