Provinces of 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)

Provinces or more formally Provincial level divisions are the first-level division within South Korea and it is divided into four groups: provinces, special self-governing province, special city, and metropolitan cities.

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)

Do (Province)

A "do" (도, 道) is equivalent to a province and one of the primary divisions of the country, along with "teukbyeolsi" (특별시) and "gwangyeoksi (광역시)". South Korea has 8 provinces.

Teukbyeoljachi-do (Special Self-Governing Province)

A "teukbyeoljachi-do" (특별 자치도, 特別自治道) is a province with more autonomy over its economy and more powers are given to the provincial government.

Jeju it only special self-governing province is subdivided into cities ("si").

Gwangyeoksi (Metropolitan City)

Gwangyeoksi (광역시; 廣域市), or "metropolitan cities", are major cities that are not part of any province, but exist independently and are self-governed. They are comparable to China's direct-controlled municipalities or even British metropolitan counties. South Korea has 6 metropolitan cities with provincial status.

Each Metropolitan City are divided into wards ("gu") and outlying counties ("gun") comparable to British non-metropolitan counties.

Teukbyeolsi (Special City)

A "teukbyeolsi" (특별시; 特別市) is one of the primary divisions of the country, along with gwangyeoksi and do. South Korea has only one special city. Seoul is divided into districts ("gu").

List of Provincial level subdivisions

Emblem	Division	Hangul	Hanja	Capital	Region	Population[1]	Area[2]	Density[3]	ISO
	Seoul Special City	서울시	(首爾)市[4]	(Jung-gu)	Sudogwon	10,421,782	605.25	17,219	KR-11
	Busan Metropolitan City	부산시	釜山市	(Yeonje-gu)	Yeongnam	3,635,389	763.46	4,762	KR-26
	Incheon Metropolitan City	인천시	仁川市	(Namdong-gu)	Sudogwon	2,628,000	964.53	2,724.6	KR-28
	Daegu Metropolitan City	대구시	大邱市	(Jung-gu)	Yeongnam	2,512,604	884.15	2,842	KR-27
	Gwangju Metropolitan City	광주시	光州市	(Seo-gu)	Honam	1,415,953	501.36	2,824	KR-29
	Daejeon Metropolitan City	대전시	大田市	(Seo-gu)	Hoseo	1,442,857	539.84	2,673	KR-30
	Ulsan Metropolitan City	울산시	蔚山市	(Nam-gu)	Yeongnam	1,087,958	1,056.4	1,030	KR-31
	Gyeonggi Province	경기도	京畿道	Suwon	Sudogwon	10,415,399	10,131	1,028	KR-41
	Gangwon Province	강원도	江原道	Chuncheon	Gwandong	1,592,000	16,894	94	KR-42
	Chungcheongbuk Province	충청북도	忠清北道	Cheongju	Hoseo	1,462,621	7,436	197	KR-43
	Chungcheongnam Province	충청남도	忠清南道	Daejeon	Hoseo	1,840,410[5]	8,352[5]	220[5]	KR-44
	Jeollabuk Province	전라북도	全羅北道	Jeonju	Honam	1,890,669	8,043	235	KR-45
	Jeollanam Province	전라남도	全羅南道	Muan	Honam	1,994,287	11,858	168	KR-46
	Gyeongsangbuk Province	경상북도	慶尙北道	Daegu	Yeongnam	2,775,890[6]	19,440[6]	143[6]	KR-47
	Gyeongsangnam Province	경상남도	慶尙南道	Changwon	Yeongnam	2,970,929	11,859	251	KR-48
	Jeju Special Self-Governing Province	제주도	濟州道	Jeju	Jejudo	560,000	1,845.55	303	KR-49
	Sejong Special Autonomous City[7]	세종시	世宗市	TBD	Hoseo	TBD	TBD	TBD	KR-??

Notes: ¹ as of 2000; ² km²; ³ per km²; ⁴see Names of Seoul; ⁵ Daejeon excluded; ⁶ Daegu excluded ⁷ currently being planned

Historical Provinces

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.