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South Korea is made up of 22 first-tier administrative divisions: 6 metropolitan cities (gwangyeoksi 광역시/
Local government
editOfficial Revised Romanization of Korean spellings are used
Level | Group name | Type | Hangul | Hanja | RR Romaja | No. (2014) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Upper-level local autonomy[4] 광역지방자치단체 |
Province | 도 | do | 6 | |
Special self-governing province | 특별자치도 | teukbyeol-jachido | 3 | |||
Special city | 특별시 | teukbyeolsi | 1 | |||
Special self-governing city | 특별자치시 | teukbyeol-jachisi | 1 | |||
Metropolitan city | 광역시 | gwangyeoksi | 6 | |||
2 | Lower-level local autonomy[4] 기초지방자치단체(Municipality) |
City | 시 | si | 60 | |
City (specific) | 시 (특정시) | si (teukjeongsi) | 15 | |||
County | 군 | gun | 82 | |||
District (autonomous) | 구 (자치구) | gu (jachigu) | 69 | |||
3 | N/A | City (administrative) | 시 (행정시) | si (haengjeongsi) | 2 | |
District (non-autonomous) | 구 (일반구) | gu (ilbangu) | 35 | |||
4 | N/A | Town | 읍 | 邑 | eup | 216 |
Township | 면 | myeon | 1198 | |||
Neighborhood (legal-status) | 동 (법정동) | dong (beopjeongdong) | 2073 | |||
Neighborhood (administrative) | 동 (행정동) | dong (haengjeongdong) | ||||
5 | N/A | Urban Village | 통 | tong | ||
Rural Village | 리 | ri | ||||
6 | N/A | Hamlet | 반 | ban |
Provincial-level divisions
editThe top tier of administrative divisions are the provincial-level divisions, of which there are several types: provinces (including special self-governing provinces), metropolitan cities, special cities, and special self-governing cities. The governors of the provincial-level divisions are elected every four years.[2]
Code | Emblem | Name | Official English name[5] | Hangul | Hanja | Population 2020 Census |
Area (km2) |
Population density 2022 (per km2) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
KR-11 | Seoul special city | Seoul | 서울특별시 | 서울 |
9,586,195 | 605.20 | 15,578.16 | |
KR-26 | Busan metropolitan city | Busan | 부산광역시 | 3,349,016 | 770.04 | 4,309.46 | ||
KR-27 | Daegu metropolitan city | Daegu | 대구광역시 | 2,410,700 | 883.49 | 2,675.25 | ||
KR-28 | Incheon metropolitan city | Incheon | 인천광역시 | 2,945,454 | 1,062.63 | 2,782.40 | ||
KR-29 | Gwangju metropolitan city | Gwangju | 광주광역시 | 1,477,573 | 501.24 | 2,855.02 | ||
KR-30 | Daejeon metropolitan city | Daejeon | 대전광역시 | 1,488,435 | 539.85 | 2,681.14 | ||
KR-31 | Ulsan metropolitan city | Ulsan | 울산광역시 | 1,135,423 | 1,057.14 | 1,047.01 | ||
KR-50 | Sejong special self-governing city | Sejong Special Self-Governing City | 세종특별자치시 | 346,275 | 465.23 | 824.93 | ||
KR-41 | Gyeonggi-do | Gyeonggi Province | 경기도 | 13,511,676 | 10,184 | 1,336.10 | ||
KR-42 | Gangwon special self-governing province | Gangwon State | 강원특별자치도 | 1,521,763 | 16,875 | 91.06 | ||
KR-43 | Chungcheongbuk-do | North Chungcheong Province | 충청북도 | 1,632,088 | 7,433 | 215.34 | ||
KR-44 | Chungcheongnam-do | South Chungcheong Province | 충청남도 | 2,176,636 | 8,204 | 258.08 | ||
KR-45 | Jeonbuk special self-governing province | Jeonbuk State | 전북특별자치도 | 1,802,766 | 8,067 | 219.31 | ||
KR-46 | Jeollanam-do | South Jeolla Province | 전라남도 | 1,788,807 | 12,247 | 147.36 | ||
KR-47 | Gyeongsangbuk-do | North Gyeongsang Province | 경상북도 | 2,644,757 | 19,030 | 136.64 | ||
KR-48 | Gyeongsangnam-do | South Gyeongsang Province | 경상남도 | 3,333,056 | 10,533 | 311.26 | ||
KR-49 | Jeju special self-governing province | Jeju Special Self-Governing Province | 제주특별자치도 | 670,858 | 1,849 | 366.74 |
Municipal-level divisions
editSi (city)
editA si (시;
Gun (county)
editA gun (군;
Gu (district)
editA gu (구;
Submunicipal level divisions
editEup (town)
editAn eup (읍; 邑) is similar to the unit of town. Along with myeon, an eup is one of the divisions of a county (gun), and of some cities (si) with a population of less than 500,000. The main town or towns in a county—or the secondary town or towns within a city's territory—are designated as eup. Towns are subdivided into villages (ri). In order to form an eup, the minimum population required is 20,000.
Myeon (township)
editA myeon (면;
Dong (neighborhood)
editA dong (동;
The primary division of a dong is the tong (통;
Ri (village)
editA ri (리;
History
editAlthough the details of local administration have changed 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.
See also
edit- Administrative divisions of North Korea
- ISO 3166-2:KR, ISO codes for cities and provinces in South Korea
- List of cities in South Korea
- List of South Korean regions by GDP
- Provinces of Korea
- Special cities of South Korea
References
edit- ^ "Administrative division". South Korea Government. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Local Governments". Korea.net. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ Stevens, Andrew. "Seoul Mayor first among equals". City Mayors. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ a b "Local Governments". Korea.net. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
- ^ http://www.ngii.go.kr/en/download/Toponymic_Guidelines_ROK.pdf Archived 2017-03-12 at the Wayback Machine, p. 41.
- ^ 통 (in Korean). Nate / Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
- ^ "부산광역시 법정 동·리(
洞 ·里 ) 현황 Busan city administrative units". Busan City. Archived from the original on 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2013-03-18. - ^ 이 /
里 (in Korean). Nate / Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
External links
edit- "Local Government". Korean Culture and Information Service.
- "Seoul Mayor first among equals in South Korea local government". Citymajors.
- "South Korea Administrative Districts". CityPopulation.de.
- "ISO Subentity Codes for South Korea". GeoNames.