Special cities of Korea

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

Map of Capital City and Special City in North Korea

Capital City and Special City are the highest-ranked cities in North Korea.

The levels of cities in North Korea are:

1. Capital City or Special City
2. Cities

Current North Korean capital city and special city

Capital City and Special City of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Division name	Chosongul	Hancha	Year of Split	Province split from	Population	Density (/km²)	Area (km²)	Divisions
Pyongyang Capital City	평양 직할시	平壤直轄市	1946	South Pyongan Province	3,255,388	1,019	3,194	List
Rason Special City	라선시	羅先市	2010	North Hamgyong Province	205,000	275	746	List

Notes:

• North Korea uses a variant of the McCune-Reischauer romanization.
• Pyongyang is classified as a capital 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.

List of defunct special cities of North Korea

Defunct Special Cities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Division name	Chosongul	Hancha	Province absorb into	Administered Years
Chongjin City	청진시	淸津市	North Hamgyong Province	1960–1967, 1977–1985
Hamhung City	함흥시	咸興市	South Hamgyong Province	1960–1967
Kaesong City	개성시	開城市	North Hwanghae Province	1951–1955
Nampho City	남포시	南浦市	South Pyongan Province

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)

Map of special city and metropolitan cities in South Korea

Position in hierarchy

Special City and Metropolitan Cities are the highest-ranked cities in South Korea.

Two levels of cities in South Korea:

1. Special City or Metropolitan Cities
2. 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	1946	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.

Proposed special autonomous city

Proposed Special Autonomous City of the Republic of Korea

Division name	Hangul	Hanja	Year of Split	Province split from	Map
Sejong Special Autonomous City	세종 특별자치시	世宗特別自治市	2012	Chungcheongnam

See also

• Administrative divisions of North Korea
• Administrative divisions of South Korea
• List of cities in South Korea
• List of cities in North Korea
• List of Korea-related topics