Provinces of South Korea

For a list of current officeholders, see List of current South Korean mayors and governors.

Province
도 (道)

Category| Unitary state
Location| South Korea
Number| 22
15 controlled by ROK
5 controlled by DPRK
2 split between ROK and DPRK
Populations| 276,589 (Sejong) – 13,413,459 (Gyeonggi Province)
Areas| 1,849 km2 (714 sq mi) (Jeju) – 19,030 km2 (7,350 sq mi) (North Gyeongsang Province) – 20,569 km2 (7,942 sq mi) (Gangwon including the North Korean province)
Government|

* Self-governing

Province

Hangul|

Hanja|

Revised Romanization| do
McCune–Reischauer| to
Special self-governing province
Hangul|

특별자치도

Hanja|

特別自治道

Revised Romanization| teukbyeoljachido
McCune–Reischauer| 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, North Jeolla Province, South Jeolla, and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.

## History

[edit]

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

[edit]

Provinces (도, 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 (특별자치도, 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

Name | Official English name | Hangul | Hanja | ISO | Pop.
(2020)[1] | Area
(km2) | Density
2020
(/km2) | Capital | Historical
province | Cultural
region | Abbreviation

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

North Chungcheong | Chungcheongbuk-do[2] | 충청북도 | 忠淸北道 | KR-43  | 1,632,088 | 7,433[3] | 219.6  | Cheongju | Chungcheong | Hoseo | Chungbuk | 충북 | 忠北
South Chungcheong | Chungcheongnam-do[2] | 충청남도 | 忠淸南道 | KR-44  | 2,176,636 | 8,204[4] | 265.3  | Hongseong | Chungnam | 충남 | 忠南
Gangwon | Gangwon State[5] | 강원특별자치도 | 江原特別自治道 | KR-42  | 1,521,763 | 20,569[6] | 74.0  | Chuncheon | Gangwon | Gwandong | Gangwon | 강원 | 江原
Gyeonggi | Gyeonggi-do[2] | 경기도 | 京畿道 | KR-41  | 13,511,676 | 10,171[7] | 1,328.5  | Suwon | Gyeonggi | Sudogwon | Gyeonggi | 경기 | 京畿
North Gyeongsang | Gyeongsangbuk-do[2] | 경상북도 | 慶尙北道 | KR-47  | 2,644,757 | 19,030[8] | 139.0  | Andong | Gyeongsang | Yeongnam | Gyeongbuk | 경북 | 慶北
South Gyeongsang | Gyeongsangnam-do[2] | 경상남도 | 慶尙南道 | KR-48  | 3,333,056 | 10,532[9] | 316.5  | Changwon | Gyeongnam | 경남 | 慶南
North Jeolla | Jeonbuk State[10] | 전북특별자치도 | 全北特別自治道 | KR-45  | 1,802,766 | 8,043 | 224.1  | Jeonju | Jeolla | Honam | Jeonbuk | 전북 | 全北
South Jeolla | Jeollanam-do[2] | 전라남도 | 全羅南道 | KR-46  | 1,788,807 | 11,858 | 150.9  | Muan | Jeonnam | 전남 | 全南
Jeju | Jeju Special
Self-Governing Province[2] | 제주특별자치도 | 濟州特別自治道 | KR-49  | 670,858 | 1,849[11] | 362.8  | Jeju | Jeju | Jeju | 제주 | 濟州

## Claimed provinces

[edit]

This article is part of
a series on the

Administrative divisions
of South Korea
Provincial level
Province (list)
Special self-governing province (Jeju, Gangwon and North Jeolla)
Special city (Seoul)
Metropolitan city (list)
Special self-governing city (Sejong)
Municipal level
Specific city (list)
City (list)
County (list)
Autonomous District (list)
Submunicipal level
Administrative city (list)
Non-autonomous District (list)
Neighborhoods and Towns
Town (list)
Township (list)
Neighborhood (list)
Villages
Village (list)
Communities
Ward

* v
* t
* e

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 (Korean: 이북5도위원회; Hanja: 以北五道委員會). These provinces are based on the divisions of the Korean Empire era and are different from the present North Korean provinces.

Historical province | Name | Hangul | Hanja | Area (km2) | Capital | Cultural region | Abbreviation

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Hamgyeong | North Hamgyeong | 함경북도 | 咸鏡北道 | 20,345 | Cheongjin | Gwanbuk | Hambuk | 함북 | 咸北
South Hamgyeong | 함경남도 | 咸鏡南道 | 31,977 | Hamheung | Gwannam | Hamnam | 함남 | 咸南
Pyeongan | North Pyeongan | 평안북도 | 平安北道 | 28,443 | Sinuiju | Gwanseo | Pyeongbuk | 평북 | 平北
South Pyeongan | 평안남도 | 平安南道 | 14,944 | Pyeongyang | Pyeongnam | 평남 | 平南
Hwanghae  | Hwanghae | 황해도 | 黃海道 | 16,744 | Haeju | Haeseo | Hwanghae | 황해 | 黃海

## See also

[edit]

* Administrative divisions of South Korea
* Special cities of South Korea

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "South Korea Administrative Districts". CityPopulation.de. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
2. ^ a b c d e f g [1] Archived 2017-03-12 at the Wayback Machine, p. 41.
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. ^ "Gangwon provincial office". Gangwon provincial office. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
6. ^ "Natural Environment". Gangwon Province. Archived from the original on 10 July 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
7. ^ 위치와 자연환경 (in Korean). Gyeonggi Province. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
8. ^ 경북현황 (in Korean). North Gyeongsang Province. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
9. ^ 일반 현황 (in Korean). South Gyeongsang Province. Archived from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
10. ^ "About Jeonbuk State". Jeonbuk State. Retrieved 13 October 2024.
11. ^ "Geography". Jeju Province. Retrieved 18 March 2013.

* v
* t
* e

Regions and administrative divisions of South Korea

Regions|

* Gyeonggi
* Seoul Metropolitan Area
* Gwandong
* Yeongdong
* Yeongseo
* Hoseo
* Daejeon–Sejong–Chungnam
* Chungbuk
* Honam
* Yeongnam
* Daegu–Gyeongbuk
* Busan–Ulsan–Gyeongnam
* Southeastern MIR
* Jeju

Provinces|

* North Chungcheong
* South Chungcheong
* Gyeonggi
* North Gyeongsang
* South Gyeongsang
* South Jeolla
* (Claimed five Northern Korean Provinces)

Special self-governing province and States|

* Jeju
* Gangwon
* Jeonbuk

Special city|

* Seoul

Special self-governing city|

* Sejong

Metropolitan cities|

* Busan
* Daegu
* Daejeon
* Gwangju
* Incheon
* Ulsan

* v
* t
* e

Articles on first-level administrative divisions of Asian countries

Sovereign states|

* Afghanistan
* Armenia2
* Azerbaijan1
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* China
* Cyprus2
* Egypt1
* Georgia1
* India
* Indonesia1
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kazakhstan1
* North Korea
* province
* special city
* South Korea
* province
* provincial-level city
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Laos
* Lebanon
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Russia1
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Timor-Leste
* Turkey1
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* province
* municipality
* Yemen1

States with limited
recognition

* Abkhazia2
* Northern Cyprus2
* Palestine
* South Ossetia2
* Taiwan

Table of administrative divisions by country

* 1 Spans the conventional boundary between Asia and another continent.
* 2 Considered European for cultural, political and historical reasons but is geographically in Western Asia.

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