Administrative divisions of North Korea

Pyongyang

Pyongannam

Hwanghaebuk

Hwanghaenam

Kangwon

Hamgyongnam

Hamgyongbuk

Rason

Ryanggang

Chagang

Pyonganbuk

China

South Korea

Yellow Sea
(Korea West Sea)

Korea Bay

Sea of Japan
(Korea East Sea)

North Korea

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of North Korea

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The administrative divisions of North Korea are organized into three hierarchical levels. Many of the units have equivalents in the system of South Korea. At the highest level are nine provinces, two directly governed cities, and three special administrative divisions. The second-level divisions are cities, counties, wards, and districts. These are further subdivided into third-level entities: towns, neighborhoods, villages, and workers' districts.

The three-level administrative system used in North Korea was first inaugurated by Kim Il-sung in 1952, as part of a massive restructuring of local government. Previously, the country had used a multi-level system similar to that still used in South Korea.

(The English translations are not official, but approximations. Names are romanized according to the McCune-Reischauer system as officially used in North Korea; the editor was also guided by the spellings used on the 2003 National Geographic map of Korea).

First-level divisions

See Provinces, Special administrative regions, Directly governed cities, and Former directly governed cities below for a complete list.

The nine provinces (Do; 도, 道) derive from the traditional provinces of Korea, but have been further subdivided since the division of Korea. They are large areas including cities, rural and mountainous regions. The two directly governed cities (Chikhalsi; 직할시, 直轄市) are large metropolitan cities that have been separated from their former provinces to become first-level units. Four other cities have been directly governed in the past, but were subsequently reunited with their provinces or otherwise reorganized.

The three special administrative regions were all created in 2002 for the development of collaborative ventures with South Korea and other countries. One of them, the Sinuiju Special Administrative Region, was intended to draw Chinese investment and enterprise, but as of 2006 appears never to have been implemented. The special administrative regions do not have any known second- and third-level subdivisions.

	English	M-C Romaja	KPS Romaja	Chosongul	Hanja	Type	Capital	Region	Population	ISO
1	Pyongyang	Pyongyang-si	Phyeongyang-si	평양시	平壤市	Directly governed city	(Chung-guyok)	Kwanso	3,255,388	KP-01
2	Rason	Rason-si	Raseon-si	라선시	羅先市	Directly governed city	(Rajin-guyok)	Kwanbuk	205,000	KP-13
3	South Pyongan Province	Pyongannam-do	Phyeongannamto	평안남도	平安南道	Province	Pyongsong	Kwanso	4,051,696	KP-02
4	North Pyongan Province	Pyonganbuk-do	Phyeonganpukto	평안북도	平安北道	Province	Sinuiju	Kwanso	2,728,662	KP-03
5	Chagang Province	Chagang-do	Jakangto	자강도	慈江道	Province	Kanggye	Kwanso	1,299,830	KP-04
6	South Hwanghae Province	Hwanghaenam-do	Hwanghainamto	황해남도	黃海南道	Province	Haeju	Haeso	2,310,485	KP-05
7	North Hwanghae Province	Hwanghaebuk-do	Hwanghaipukto	황해북도	黃海北道	Province	Sariwon	Haeso	2,113,672	KP-06
8	Kangwon Province	Kangwon-do	Kangweonto	강원도	江原道	Province	Wonsan	Kwandong	1,477,582	KP-07
9	South Hamgyong Province	Hamgyongnam-do	Hamkyeongnamto	함경남도	咸鏡南道	Province	Hamhung	Kwannam	3,066,013	KP-08
10	North Hamgyong Province	Hamgyongbuk-do	Hamkyeongpukto	함경북도	咸鏡北道	Province	Chongjin	Kwanbuk	2,327,362	KP-09
11	Ryanggang Province	Ryanggang-do *	Ryangkangto	량강도	兩江道	Province	Hyesan	Kwannam	719,269	KP-10

* – Rendered in Southern dialects as "Yanggang" (양강도).

Former Directly Governed Cities

• Chongjin City (청진시; 淸津市) used to be a Directly Governed City, but is now part of North Hamgyong Province.
• Hamhung City (함흥시; 咸興市) was a Directly Governed City in the 1960s, but is now part of South Hamgyong Province.
• Kaesong City (개성시; 開城市) (distinct from Kaesong Industrial Region) was a Directly Governed City until 2003, but is now part of North Hwanghae Province.
• Nampo Special City (남포 특급시; 南浦特級市) was a Directly Governed City until 2004, but is now part of South Pyongan Province.

Second-level divisions

See List of second-level administrative divisions of North Korea for a complete list.

A map of North Korea with second-level divisions

The most common second-level division is the county (Kun; 군, 郡), a less urbanized area within a province or directly governed city. The more populous districts within provinces are cities (Si; 시, 市), and the city of Nampho is a special city (T'ŭkkŭpsi; 특급시, 特級市). Some provinces also have two types of districts (Ku, Chigu).

The city centers of the directly governed cities are organized into wards (Kuyŏk, equivalent to South Korean Gu).

Third-level divisions

Rural parts of cities and counties are organized into villages (Ri, 리, 里). The downtown areas within cities are divided into neighborhoods (Dong, 동, 洞), and a populous part of a county forms a town (Ŭp, 읍, 邑). Some counties also have worker's districts (Rodongjagu).

Sources

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

See also

• ISO 3166-2:KP, ISO codes for cities, regions, and provinces in North Korea
• Administrative divisions of South Korea
• Provinces of Korea
• Special cities of Korea

External links

• Administrative regions map, World Food Programme