Friday 14 October 2011

Administrative divisions of South Korea

The major administrative divisions in South Korea are provinces, metropolitan cities (self-governing cities that are not part of any province), and one special city.


Gangwon
Seoul
Incheon
Gyeonggi
Chungcheongnam
Chungcheongbuk
Daejeon
Gyeongsangbuk
Jeollabuk
Daegu
Ulsan
Busan
Gyeongsangnam
Gwangju
Jeollanam
Jeju
North Korea
Japan
Yellow Sea
(West Sea)
Korea Strait
(Western Channel)
Korea Strait
(Tsushima Strait)
Sea of Japan
(East Sea) Special city (Teukbyeolsi)a
1 Seoul-teukbyeolsi 서울특별시 서울特別市b 10,421,782
Metropolitan cities (Gwangyeoksi)a
2 Busan-gwangyeoksi 부산광역시 釜山廣域市 3,635,389
3 Daegu-gwangyeoksi 대구광역시 大邱廣域市 2,512,604
4 Incheon-gwangyeoksi 인천광역시 仁川廣域市 2,628,000
6 Daejeon-gwangyeoksi 대전광역시 大田廣域市 1,442,857
5 Gwangju-gwangyeoksi 광주광역시 光州廣域市 1,456,308
7 Ulsan-gwangyeoksi 울산광역시 蔚山廣域市 1,087,958
Provinces (Do)a
8 Gyeonggi-do 경기도 京畿道 10,415,399
9 Gangwon-do 강원도 江原道 1,592,000
10 Chungcheongbuk-do (Northern Chungcheong) 충청북도 忠淸北道 1,462,621
11 Chungcheongnam-do (Southern Chungcheong) 충청남도 忠淸南道 1,840,410
12 Jeollabuk-do (Northern Jeolla) 전라북도 全羅北道 1,890,669
13 Jeollanam-do (Southern Jeolla) 전라남도 全羅南道 1,994,287
14 Gyeongsangbuk-do (Northern Gyeongsang) 경상북도 慶尙北道 2,775,890
15 Gyeongsangnam-do (Southern Gyeongsang) 경상남도 慶尙南道 2,970,929
Special self-governing province (Teukbyeoljachi-do)a
16 Jeju-teukbyeoljachi-do (Jeju-do) 제주특별자치도 濟州特別自治道 560,000
a Revised Romanisation; b Names of Seoul.


In both North and South Korea, a special city, a metropolitan city, or a directly governed city is a city that has a status equivalent to that of a province (do). Hence, like the provinces, such cities are under the direct administration of the central governments.
As of 2004, there are two directly governed cities (chikhalsi; 직할시; 直轄市) and three other special provincial-level administrative regions in North Korea; and one special city (teukbyeolsi; 특별시; 特別市) and six metropolitan cities (gwangyeoksi; 광역시; 廣域市) in South Korea. Before 1995, the five largest gwangyeoksi in South Korea were classified as chik'alshi (McCune-Reischauer: chikhalsi; revised: jikhalsi).
In the following tables, "Established" shows when the city split from the province it was located in.




North Korea


Position in hierarchy




Directly Governed Cities are the highest-ranked cities in North Korea.
The levels of cities in North Korea are:
Directly Governed Cities
Cities




Current North Korean directly governed cities


Directly Governed Cities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Division name Chosŏn'gŭl Hancha Year of Split Province split from Population Density (/km²) Area (km²) Divisions
P'yŏngyang Directly Governed City 평양 직할시 平壤直轄市 1946 P'yŏngannam 3,255,388 1,019 3,194 List
Rasŏn Special City 라선 특별시 羅先特別市 2010 Hamgyŏngbuk 205,000 275 746 List
Notes:
North Korea uses a variant of the McCune-Reischauer romanization.
Pyongyang is classified as a directly governed city (chikhalsi), not a special city as Seoul in South Korea. In fact, the North Korean national newspaper and broadcasting say "Pyongyang Chikhalsi". Some sources, most of them come from South Korea, refer the city as a special city; however these are the old sources. Moreover, South Korea has corrected the city as a directly governed city, according to a South Korean newspaper in 1994. Also note that the official name of Pyongyang would be "Pyongyang-si" in the Republic of Korea, which officially claims to represent the entire peninsula.




Defunct directly governed cities of North Korea


Defunct Directly Governed Cities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Division name Chosŏn'gŭl Hancha Province absorb into Administered Years
Ch'ŏngjin City 청진시 淸津市 Hamgyŏngpuk 1960–1967, 1977–1985
Hamhŭng City 함흥시 咸興市 Hamgyŏngnam 1960–1967
Kaesŏng City 개성시 開城市 Hwanghaepuk 1951–1955
Namp'o City 남포 특별시 南浦市 P'yŏngannam




Sources
The sources for this section are Chosun Ilbo's pages 행정구역 현황 ("Haengjeong Guyeok Hyeonhwang") and 행정구역 개편 일지 ("Haengjeong Guyeok Gaepyeon Ilji") (in Korean only; updated 2004).




South Korea


Administrative divisions
of South Korea
Provincial level
Province
(道 도 do)
Special Self-Governing Province
(特別自治道 특별자치도 teukbyeoljachi-do)
Special city
(特別市 특별시 teukbyeol-si)
Metropolitan city
(廣域市 광역시 gwangyeok-si)
Municipal level
City
(市 시 si)
County
(郡 군 gun)
District
(區 구 gu)
Town
(邑 읍 eup)
Township
(面 면 myeon)
Neighbourhood
(洞 동 dong)
Ri
(里 리 ri)




Position in hierarchy


Special City and Metropolitan Cities are the highest-ranked cities in South Korea.
Two levels of cities in South Korea:
Special City or Metropolitan Cities
Cities




Administration


In South Korean special city and metropolitan cities, the Mayor is the highest ranking official in charge. The Mayor is directly elected by the people registered in the city for a duration of four years. e.g. Mayor of Seoul.




Current South Korean special city and metropolitan cities


Special City and Metropolitan Cities of the Republic of Korea
Division name Hangul Hanja Year of Split Province split from Population Density (/km²) Area (km²) Divisions
Seoul Special City 서울 특별시 서울特別市 1067 Gyeonggi Province 10,464,051 17,288 605 List
Busan Metropolitan City 부산 광역시 釜山廣域市 1963 South Gyeongsang Province 3,574,340 4,666 766 List
Incheon Metropolitan City 인천 광역시 仁川廣域市 1981 Gyeonggi Province 2,710,579 2,810 965 List
Daegu Metropolitan City 대구 광역시 大邱廣域市 1981 North Gyeongsang Province 2,512,604 2,842 884 List
Gwangju Metropolitan City 광주 광역시 光州廣域市 1986 South Jeolla Province 1,415,953 2,824 501 List
Daejeon Metropolitan City 대전 광역시 大田廣域市 1989 South Chungcheong Province 1,442,857 2,673 540 List
Ulsan Metropolitan City 울산 광역시 蔚山廣域市 1997 South Gyeongsang Province 1,126,879 1,030 1,056 List
Notes
There is no hanja for "Seoul," but in Chinese, it is written by its Joseon Dynasty name Hanseong (漢城). The new Chinese name, 首爾/首尔, is a transcription based on the pronunciation of "Seoul". As a suffix, the character gyeong (京) is used, which means "capital".
Seoul was designated a "Special Free City" (Teukbyeol Jayusi; 특별 자유시; 特別自由市) separate from Gyeonggi Province on August 15, 1946; it became a "Special City" on August 15, 1949.



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