Provinces of Korea

Koreahas had administrative districts that can be considered provinces since the 7th century. These divisions were initially calledju(Korean:주;Hanja:Châu) inUnified SillaandLater Baekje,and there were nine in total. AfterGoryeoconquered these states in the 10th century, twelve divisions calledmok(목;Mục) were established, although they were reorganized into tendo(도;Nói) in the 11th century.

AfterJoseon's conquest of Goryeo, it reorganized the peninsula into eightdoin 1413. The provincial boundaries closely reflected majorregionalanddialectboundaries, and are still often referred to in Korean today simply as theEight Provinces.In 1895, as part of theGabo Reform,the country was redivided into 23 districts (Bu;부;Phủ), which were replaced a year later by thirteen new provinces. The thirteen provinces of 1896 included three of the original eight provinces, with the five remaining original provinces divided into north and south halves (Bukdo(북도;Bắc nói) andNamdo(남도;Nam nói) respectively). The thirteen provinces remained unchanged throughout theJapanese colonial period.

With the liberation of Korea in 1945, the Korean peninsula was divided intoNorth KoreaandSouth Korea,with the dividing line established along the38th parallel.As a result, three provinces—Hwanghae,Gyeonggi,andGangwon(Kangwŏn)—were divided into North Korea and South Korea in today's era. The special cities ofSeoul(South Korea) andP'yŏngyang(North Korea) were formed in 1946. Between 1946 and 1954, five new provinces were created:Jejuin South Korea, andNorthandSouth Hwanghae,Chagang,andRyanggangin North Korea. Since 1954, provincial boundaries in both the North and South have remained unchanged but new cities and special administrative regions have been created.

Provinces of Unified Silla

The Korean peninsula was mostly unified for the first time by the stateSillain the 7th century.^[1]Silla's capital was Geumseong (nowGyeongju).^[2]It had five sub-capitals (소경;Tiểu kinh;sogyeong) at Geumgwan-gyeong (금관경,nowGimhae), Namwon-gyeong (남원경,Namwon), Seowon-gyeong (서원경,Cheongju), Jungwon-gyeong (중원경,Chungju), and Bugwon-gyeong (북원경,Wonju).^[3]

The country was divided into nine provinces (주;ju): three in the pre-660 territory of Silla, and three each in the territories of the former kingdomsBaekjeandGoguryeo.^[4]

Provinces of Silla^[4]
Province	Hangul	Hanja	Capital	Modern equivalent	Former kingdom
Yangju[ko]	양주	Lương châu	Yangju	EasternGyeongsang	Silla
Gangju[ko]	강주	Khang châu	Gangju	WesternSouth Gyeongsang
Sangju[ko]	상주	Thượng châu	Sangju	WesternNorth Gyeongsang
Muju[ko]	무주	Võ châu	Muju	South Jeolla	Baekje
Jeonju[ko]	전주	Toàn châu	Jeonju	North Jeolla
Ungju[ko]	웅주	Hùng châu	Gongju	South Chungcheong
Hanju[ko]	한주	Hán Châu	Hanju	North Chungcheong,Gyeonggi,Hwanghae	Goguryeo
Sakju[ko]	삭주	Sóc Châu	Sakju	WesternGangwon
Myeongju[ko]	명주	Minh châu	Myeongju	EasternGangwon

Provinces of Goryeo

Goryeo was established in the 10th century, and had its capital at Gaegyeong (nowKaesong). It conquered Silla andLater Baekje,and also conquered parts of the former territory ofGoguryeo.^[5]Goryeo had three subcapitals: Donggyeong (nowGyeongju), Namgyeong (nowSeoul), and Seogyeong (nowPyongyang).^[6]

Goryeo reorganized its provinces several times. Originally, the country had one royal district (기내;Kỳ nội;ginae) around Gaegyeong and twelve administrative districts (목;Mục;mok).^[7]In 995, the twelve districts were redivided into ten provinces (도;Nói;do).^[8]In 1005,^[8]^{[clarification needed]}the ten provinces were again redivided, this time into five provinces and two frontier districts (계;Giới;gye). Gyojudo later became its own province after 1178, making it six provinces and two frontier districts.

Provinces of Goryeo over time
Provinces (pre-995)^[7]	Provinces (995–1005)^[8]	Provinces (post-1005)^[9]	Modern equivalent	Silla equivalent
Yangju-mok (Dương Châu mục)	Gwannae-do	Seohae-do ( Tây Hải nói,서해도)	Hwanghae	Hanju
Hwangju-mok (Hoàng Châu mục)			North Hwanghae
Haeju-mok (Hải châu mục)			South Hwanghae
Gwangju-mok (Quảng Châu mục)		Yanggwang-do( dương quảng nói,양광도)	Gyeonggi
Chungju-mok (Trung châu mục)	Jungwon-do		North Chungcheong
Cheongju-mok	Jungwon-do		North Chungcheong	Ungju
Gongju-mok	Hanam-do		South Chungcheong	Ungju
Jeonju-mok (Toàn châu mục)	Gangnam-do	Jeolla-do(전라도)	Jeonbuk	Jeonju
Naju-mok	Haeyang-do(해양도)		South Jeolla	Muju
Seungju-mok	Haeyang-do(해양도)		South Jeolla	Muju
Sangju-mok	Yeongnam-do	Gyeongsang-do(경상도)	North Gyeongsang	Sangju
Jinju-mok	Sannam-do		WesternSouth Gyeongsang	Gangju
Jinju-mok	Yeongdong-do		EasternSouth Gyeongsang	Yangju
—	Sakbang-do	Gyoju-do(교주도, giao châu nói ),also known as gyoju gangneungdo( giao châu Giang Lăng nói,교주강릉도)^[a]	Gangwon	Sakju
—	Sakbang-do	Donggye( đông giới,동계),also known as Dongbukmyeon( Đông Bắc mặt,동북면)	Gangwon	Myeongju
—	Paeseo-do	Bukgye( bắc giới,북계),Also known as Seobukmyeon( Tây Bắc mặt,서북면))	Pyeongan	—

Provinces of Joseon

In 1413, Korea (at that time called Joseon) was divided into eight provinces:Chungcheong,Gangwon,Gyeonggi,Gyeongsang,Jeolla,Hamgyŏng(originally called Yeonggil),Hwanghae(originally called P'unghae), andP'yŏngan.

RRRomaja	M–RRomaja	Hangul	Hanja	Name origin	Capital	Region	Korean dialect	Post-1896 Provinces
Chungcheong	Ch'ungch'ŏng	충청도	Trung thanh nói	Chungju(충주 trung châu), Cheongju(청주 thanh châu)	Gongju	Hoseo	Chungcheong dialect	North Chungcheong South Chungcheong
Gangwon	Kangwŏn	강원도	Gangwon-do	Gangneung(강릉 Giang Lăng), Wonju(원주 nguyên châu)	Wonju	Gwandong (Yeongseo,Yeongdong^[b]	Gangwon dialect	Gangwon
Gyeonggi	Kyŏnggi	경기도	Kinh Kỳ đạo	(See note)	Hanseong (Seoul)	Gijeon^[c]	Seoul dialect	Gyeonggi
Gyeongsang	Kyŏngsang	경상도	Khánh thượng nói	Gyeongju(경주 Khánh Châu), Sangju(상주 thượng châu)	Daegu	Yeongnam	Gyeongsang dialect	North Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang
Hamgyeong	Hamgyŏng	함경도	Hàm kính nói	Hamhung(함흥 hàm hưng), Kyongsong(경성 kính thành)	Hamhung	Kwanbuk,Kwannam^[d]	Hamgyŏng dialect	North Hamgyong South Hamgyong
Hwanghae	Hwanghae	황해도	Hoàng Hải nói	Hwangju(황주 Hoàng Châu), Haeju(해주 hải châu)	Haeju	Haeso	Hwanghae dialect	Hwanghae^[e]
Jeolla	Chŏlla	전라도	Toàn la nói	Jeonju(전주 toàn châu), Naju(나주 La Châu)^[f]	Jeonju	Honam	Jeolla dialect; Jeju language^[g]	North Jeolla South Jeolla
Pyeongan	P'yŏngan	평안도	Bình an nói	Pyongyang(평양 Bình Nhưỡng), Anju(안주 An Châu)	Pyongyang	Kwanso	Pyongan dialect	North Pyongan South Pyongan

Districts of Late Joseon period

In 1895, Korea was redivided into 23 districts (Bu;부;Phủ), each named for the city or county that was its capital. The districts were short-lived, however, as the following year, the provincial system was restored.

Provinces of the Korean Empire

In 1896, the former eight provinces were restored, with five of them (Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, Jeolla, Hamgyŏng, and P'yŏngan) being divided into North and South Provinces (Bukdo(북도;Bắc nói) andNamdo(남도;Nam nói) respectively). The resulting system of thirteen provinces lasted until theDivision of Koreain 1945.

The thirteen provinces were:NorthandSouth Chungcheong,Gangwon,Gyeonggi,NorthandSouth Gyeongsang,NorthandSouth Hamgyŏng,Hwanghae,NorthandSouth Jeolla,andNorthandSouth P'yŏngan.

Provinces of Chōsen

Under ColonialJapanese rule,Korean provinces ofKorean Empire,remained much the same, only taking on theJapanesereading of thehanja.The Provinces of Chōsen were:

Japanesename	Kanji	Kana	Koreanname	Hangul
Chūseihoku-dō	Trung thanh bắc nói	ちゅうせいほくどう	Chungcheongbuk-do	충청북도
Chūseinan-dō	Trung thanh nam nói	ちゅうせいなんどう	Chungcheongnam-do	충청남도
Keishōhoku-dō	Khánh thượng bắc nói	けいしょうほくどう	Gyeongsangbuk-do	경상북도
Keishōnan-dō	Khánh thượng nam nói	けいしょうなんどう	Gyeongsangnam-do	경상남도
Heianhoku-dō	Bình an bắc nói	へいあんほくどう	Pyeonganbuk-do	평안북도
Heian'nan-dō	Bình an nam nói	へいあんなんどう	Pyeongannam-do	평안남도
Kōgen-dō	Gangwon-do	こうげんどう	Gangwon-do	강원도
Kōkai-dō	Hoàng Hải nói	こうかいどう	Hwanghae-do	황해도
Kankyōhoku-dō	Hàm kính bắc nói	かんきょうほくどう	Hamgyeongbuk-do	함경북도
Kankyōnan-dō	Hàm kính nam nói	かんきょうなんどう	Hamgyeongnam-do	함경남도
Zenranan-dō	Toàn la nam nói	ぜんらなんどう	Jeollanam-do	전라남도
Zenrahoku-dō	Toàn la bắc nói	ぜんらほくどう	Jeollabuk-do	전라북도
Keiki-dō	Kinh Kỳ đạo	けいきどう	Gyeonggi-do	경기도

Provincial divisions since the division of Korea

At the end ofWorld War IIin 1945, Korea was divided into Northern Korea and Southern Korea under trusteeship of theSoviet Unionand theUnited States.The peninsula was divided at the38th parallelin 1945. In 1948, the two zones became the independent countries ofNorth KoreaandSouth Korea.

Three provinces—Hwanghae, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon—were divided by the 38th parallel.

Most of Hwanghae Province belonged to the Northern zone. The southern portion became part ofGyeonggi Provincein the south.
Most of Gyeonggi Province belonged to the Southern zone. In 1946, the northern portion became part ofHwanghae Provincein the north.
Gangwon Province was divided roughly in half, to form modern-dayGangwon Province in South KoreaandKangwon Province in North Korea.The northern province is expanded in 1946 to include some area around the city ofWonsan(Originally part ofSouth Hamgyong Province)

Also in 1946, the cities ofSeoulin the south andPyongyangin the north separated from Gyeonggi and South Pyongan Provinces respectively to become Special Cities. BothNorth KoreaandSouth Koreahave subsequently upgraded other cities to a level equal to a province, and these cities (special cities of North Koreaandspecial cities of South Korea[qq.v.]) are sometimes counted along with provinces.

Finally, the new provinces ofJeju Province(in the south, in 1946) andChagang Province(in the north, 1949) were formed, from parts of South Jeolla and North Pyongan respectively. In 1954,Ryanggang Provincewas split from South Hamgyong and Hwanghae was divided intoNorthandSouth Hwanghae Provinces.

The following table lists the present provincial divisions in theKorean Peninsula.

RRRomaja	M–RRomaja	Hangul/Chosongul	Hanja	ISO	Type	Area	Capital	Region	Country
Busan	Pusan	부산시	Phủ sơn thị	KR-26	City	767	Yeonje	Yeongnam	South Korea
ChungcheongbukNorth Chungcheong	ChungchongbukNorth Ch'ungch'ŏng	충청북도	Trung thanh bắc nói	KR-43	Province	7,436	Cheongju	Hoseo	South Korea
ChungcheongnamSouth Chungcheong	ChungchongnamSouth Ch'ungch'ŏng	충청남도	Trung thanh nam nói	KR-44	Province	8,352	Hongseong	Hoseo	South Korea
Daegu	Taegu	대구시	Đại khâu thị	KR-27	City	884	Jung	Yeongnam	South Korea
Daejeon	Taejŏn	대전시	Cánh đồng thị	KR-30	City	539	Seo	Hoseo	South Korea
Gangwon	Kangwŏn	강원도	Gangwon-do	KR-42	Province	16,894	Chuncheon	Gwandong	South Korea
Gangwon	Kangwŏn	강원도	Gangwon-do	KP-07	Province	11,091	Wonsan	Gwandong	North Korea
Gwangju	Kwangju	광주시	Quang châu thị	KR-29	City	501	Seo	Honam	South Korea
Gyeonggi	Kyŏnggi	경기도	Kinh Kỳ đạo	KR-41	Province	10,131	Suwon	Sudogwon	South Korea
GyeongsangbukNorth Gyeongsang	KyongsangbukNorth Kyŏngsang	경상북도	Khánh thượng bắc nói	KR-47	Province	19,440	Andong	Yeongnam	South Korea
GyeongsangnamSouth Gyeongsang	KyongsangnamSouth Kyŏngsang	경상남도	Khánh thượng nam nói	KR-48	Province	11,859	Changwon	Yeongnam	South Korea
HamgyongbukNorth Hamgyeong	HamgyongbukNorth Hamgyŏng	함경북도	Hàm kính bắc nói	KP-09	Province	15,980	Chongjin	Kwanbuk	North Korea
HamgyongnamSouth Hamgyeong	HamgyongnamSouth Hamgyŏng	함경남도	Hàm kính nam nói	KP-08	Province	18,534	Hamhung	Kwannam	North Korea
HwanghaebukNorth Hwanghae	HwanghaebukNorth Hwanghae	황해북도	Hoàng Hải bắc nói	KP-06	Province	8,154	Sariwon	Haeso	North Korea
HwanghaenamSouth Hwanghae	HwanghaenamSouth Hwanghae	황해남도	Hoàng Hải nam nói	KP-05	Province	8,450	Haeju	Haeso	North Korea
Incheon	Inch'ŏn	인천시	Nhân xuyên thị	KR-28	City	1,029	Namdong	Sudogwon	South Korea
Jagang	Chagang	자강도	Từ giang nói	KP-04	Province	16,765	Kanggye	Kwanso	North Korea
Jeju	Cheju	제주도	Tế Châu nói	KR-49	Province	1,846	Jeju City	Jejudo	South Korea
JeollabukNorth Jeolla	JeollabukNorth Chŏlla	전북특별자치도	Toàn bắc đặc biệt tự trị nói	KR-45	Province	8,043	Jeonju	Honam	South Korea
JeollanamSouth Jeolla	ChollanamSouth Chŏlla	전라남도	Toàn la nam nói	KR-46	Province	11,858	Muan	Honam	South Korea
Nampo	Namp'o	남포시	Nam phổ thị	KP-??	City	829	Kangsŏ	Kwanso	North Korea
Naseon	Rasŏn	나선시/라선시	La trước thị	KP-13	City	746	Rajin	Kwanbuk	North Korea
PyeonganbukNorth Pyeongan	PyonganbukNorth P'yŏngan	평안북도	Bình an bắc nói	KP-03	Province	12,680	Sinuiju	Kwanso	North Korea
PyeongannamSouth Pyeongan	PyongannamSouth P'yŏngan	평안남도	Bình an nam nói	KP-02	Province	11,891	Pyongsong	Kwanso	North Korea
Pyeongyang	P'yŏngyang	평양시	Bình Nhưỡng thị	KP-01	City	1,100	Chung	Kwanso	North Korea
Gaeseong	Kaesŏng	개성시	Khai thành thị	none	City	442	Kaepung	Haeso	North Korea
Yanggang	Ryanggang	양강도/량강도	Lưỡng Giang nói	KP-10	Province	13,880	Hyesan	Kwannam	North Korea
Sejong	Sejong	세종시	Thế Tông thị	KR-50	City	465	Hansol	Hoseo	South Korea
Seoul	Sŏul	서울시	서울 thị^[1]	KR-11	City	605	Jung	Sudogwon	South Korea
Ulsan	Ulsan	울산시	Úy sơn thị	KR-31	City	1,057	Nam	Yeongnam	South Korea

Notes: ¹SeeNames of Seoul.

Notes

^Initially installed from part of Donggye in 1178 as Chunchudo(춘주도, xuân châu nói ).Was once called Dongjudo(동주도, Đông Châu nói ) but named as gyojudo in 1263.From 1314 to 1388 it was known as Hoeyangdo(회양도, hoài dương nói )as a result of demotion of Gyojumok under Hoeyang.From 1388 to 1392, it was known as gyojugangneungdo after merging with gangneungdo(강릉도, Giang Lăng nói ).
^"Gwandong" is the name for the region as a whole, with "Yeongseo" denoting the western half of the province and "Yeongdong" the eastern half. "Yeongdong" is used more often than either of the other two terms, however, especially in reference to railway and road arteries that cross through Gangwon, connecting the Seoul and Yeongdong regions.
^The province's name literally means "area within a 500-li(200-km) radius "(gi;Kỳ) of the "capital" (Gyeong;Kinh), referring to the royal capital Hanseong (modern-day Seoul). The regional name "Gijeon" is obsolete. The 20th-century term "Sudogwon"(" Capital Region ") is used today to denote the Seoul-Incheonconurbation and that part of Gyeonggi Province that forms part of the same built-up, urban area.
^"Gwanbuk" was used to designate either the province as whole, or only the northern part thereof. In the latter case, "Gwannam" was then used to denote the southern part of the province.
^The modern-day division of the province intoNorthandSouthdid not occur until 1954.
^The initial "n" in "Naju" is pronounced as "l" (lower-case "L" ) when it comes after another consonant; the final "n" in the "Jeon" of "Jeonju" is then assimilated to an "l" sound.
^The distinctive Jeju dialect is used onJeju Island,which became a separate province in 1946.

References

^"Unified Silla Dynasty".Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved2024-04-26.
^이, 기동,"신라 ( tân la )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26
^전, 덕재,"오소경 ( năm tiểu kinh )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26
^^a ^b박, 성현,"구주 ( Cửu Châu )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26
^박, 종기(국민대 명예교수),"고려 ( Cao Ly )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26
^"3경".우리역사넷.National Institute of Korean History.Retrieved2024-04-26.
^^a ^b김, 현영,"목 ( mục )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26
^^a ^b ^c"십도 ( mười đạo )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26
^"오도 ( năm đạo )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26

Sources

Nahm, Andrew C. (1988).Korea: Tradition and Transformation - A History of the Korean People.Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym International.
Nahm 1988(in Korean).

External links

Map of North Korea – World-Gazetteerat theWayback Machine(archived 2002-02-19)
Map of South Korea – World-Gazetteerat theWayback Machine(archived 2002-05-25)

[10] Initially installed from part of Donggye in 1178 as Chunchudo(춘주도, xuân châu nói ).Was once called Dongjudo(동주도, Đông Châu nói ) but named as gyojudo in 1263.From 1314 to 1388 it was known as Hoeyangdo(회양도, hoài dương nói )as a result of demotion of Gyojumok under Hoeyang.From 1388 to 1392, it was known as gyojugangneungdo after merging with gangneungdo(강릉도, Giang Lăng nói ).

[11] "Gwandong" is the name for the region as a whole, with "Yeongseo" denoting the western half of the province and "Yeongdong" the eastern half. "Yeongdong" is used more often than either of the other two terms, however, especially in reference to railway and road arteries that cross through Gangwon, connecting the Seoul and Yeongdong regions.

[12] The province's name literally means "area within a 500-li(200-km) radius "(gi;Kỳ) of the "capital" (Gyeong;Kinh), referring to the royal capital Hanseong (modern-day Seoul). The regional name "Gijeon" is obsolete. The 20th-century term "Sudogwon"(" Capital Region ") is used today to denote the Seoul-Incheonconurbation and that part of Gyeonggi Province that forms part of the same built-up, urban area.

[13] "Gwanbuk" was used to designate either the province as whole, or only the northern part thereof. In the latter case, "Gwannam" was then used to denote the southern part of the province.

[14] The modern-day division of the province intoNorthandSouthdid not occur until 1954.

[15] The initial "n" in "Naju" is pronounced as "l" (lower-case "L" ) when it comes after another consonant; the final "n" in the "Jeon" of "Jeonju" is then assimilated to an "l" sound.

[16] The distinctive Jeju dialect is used onJeju Island,which became a separate province in 1946.

[1] "Unified Silla Dynasty".Encyclopædia Britannica.Retrieved2024-04-26.

[2] 이, 기동,"신라 ( tân la )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26

[3] 전, 덕재,"오소경 ( năm tiểu kinh )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26

[:0-4] 박, 성현,"구주 ( Cửu Châu )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26

[5] 박, 종기(국민대 명예교수),"고려 ( Cao Ly )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26

[6] "3경".우리역사넷.National Institute of Korean History.Retrieved2024-04-26.

[:2-7] 김, 현영,"목 ( mục )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26

[:1-8] "십도 ( mười đạo )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26

[9] "오도 ( năm đạo )",Encyclopedia of Korean Culture(in Korean),Academy of Korean Studies,retrieved2024-04-26

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