Administrative divisions of South Korea

South Korea is made up of 17 first-tier administrative divisions: 6 metropolitan cities (gwangyeoksi 광역시/廣域市), 1 special city (teukbyeolsi 특별시/特別市), 1 special self-governing city (teukbyeol-jachisi 특별자치시/特別自治市), and 9 provinces (do 도/道), including one special self-governing province (teukbyeol jachido 특별자치도/特別自治道).[1][2] These are further subdivided into a variety of smaller entities, including cities (si 시/市), counties (gun 군/郡), districts (gu 구/區), towns (eup 읍/邑), townships (myeon 면/面), neighborhoods (dong 동/洞) and villages (ri 리/里).[3]

This article is part of
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Administrative divisions
of South Korea
Provincial level
Province (list)
Special self-governing province (Jeju)
Special city (Seoul)
Metropolitan city (list)
Special self-governing city (Sejong)
Municipal level
Specific city (list)
City (list)
County (list)
Autonomous District (list)
Submunicipal level
Administrative city (list)
Non-autonomous District (list)
Town (list)
Township (list)
Neighborhood (list)
 
Village (list)
 
Hamlet
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Local government

Official Revised Romanization of Korean spellings are used

LevelGroup nameTypeHangulHanjaRR RomajaNo.
(2014)
1Upper level local autonomy[4]
광역지방자치단체
廣域地方自治團體		 Province도道do8
Special self-governing province특별자치도特別自治道teukbyeol-jachido1
Special city특별시特別市teukbyeolsi1
Special self-governing city특별자치시特別自治市teukbyeol-jachisi1
Metropolitan city광역시廣域市gwangyeoksi6
2Lower level local autonomy[4]
기초지방자치단체(Municipality)
基礎地方自治團體		 City시市si60
City (specific)시 (특정시)市 (特定市)si (teukjeongsi)15
County군郡gun82
District (autonomous)구 (자치구)區 (自治區)gu (jachigu)69
N/ACity (administrative)시 (행정시)市 (行政市)si (haengjeongsi)2
District (non-autonomous)구 (일반구)區 (一般區)gu (ilbangu)35
3N/ATown읍邑eup216
Township면面myeon1198
Neighborhood (legal-status)동 (법정동)洞 (法定洞)dong (beopjeongdong)2073
Neighborhood (administrative)동 (행정동)洞 (行政洞)dong (haengjeongdong)
4N/AUrban Village통統tong
Rural Village리里ri
5N/AHamlet반班ban

Provincial-level divisions
Main articles: Provinces of South Korea and Special cities of South Korea

The 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]

MapCodeEmblemNameOfficial English name[5]HangulHanja
KR-11
Seoul special citySeoul서울특별시서울特別市
KR-26
Busan metropolitan cityBusan부산광역시釜山廣域市
KR-27
Daegu metropolitan cityDaegu대구광역시大邱廣域市
KR-28
Incheon metropolitan cityIncheon인천광역시仁川廣域市
KR-29
Gwangju metropolitan cityGwangju광주광역시光州廣域市
KR-30
Daejeon metropolitan cityDaejeon대전광역시大田廣域市
KR-31
Ulsan metropolitan cityUlsan울산광역시蔚山廣域市
KR-50
Sejong special self-governing citySejong Special Self-Governing City세종특별자치시世宗特別自治市
KR-41
Gyeonggi ProvinceGyeonggi-do경기도京畿道
KR-42
Gangwon ProvinceGangwon-do강원도江原道
KR-43
North Chungcheong ProvinceChungcheongbuk-do충청북도忠淸北道
KR-44
South Chungcheong ProvinceChungcheongnam-do충청남도忠淸南道
KR-45
North Jeolla ProvinceJeollabuk-do전라북도全羅北道
KR-46
South Jeolla ProvinceJeollanam-do전라남도全羅南道
KR-47
North Gyeongsang ProvinceGyeongsangbuk-do경상북도慶尙北道
KR-48
South Gyeongsang ProvinceGyeongsangnam-do경상남도慶尙南道
KR-49
Jeju special self-governing provinceJeju Special Self-Governing Province제주특별자치도濟州特別自治道

Municipal-level divisions
A map of all South Korean metropolitan cities' districts (gu), municipal cities (si), and counties (gun).

Si (city)
Main articles: Cities of South Korea and List of cities in South Korea

A si (시; 市, pronounced [ɕi]) is one of the divisions of a province, along with gun. Cities have a population of at least 150,000; once a county (gun) attains that population, it becomes a city (Gijang County in Busan is an exception). Cities with a population of over 500,000 (such as Suwon, Cheongju, Cheonan and Jeonju) are divided into districts (gu); Bucheon, Gimhae, Hwaseong and Namyangju are noticeable exceptions to this rule. Gus are then further divided into neighborhoods (dong); cities with a population of less than 500,000 do not have wards – these cities are directly divided into neighborhoods (dong).

Gun (county)

A gun (군; 郡) is one of the divisions of a province (along with si), and of the metropolitan cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon and Ulsan (along with gu). A gun has a population of less than 150,000 (more than that would make it a city or si), is less densely populated than a gu, and is more rural in character than either of the other 2 divisions. Gun are comparable to British non-metropolitan districts. Counties are divided into towns (eup) and townships (myeon). Specially, the size of a "gun" is less than a US "county".

Gu (district)
Main article: Gu (administrative division)
Further information: List of districts in South Korea

A gu (구; 區) is equivalent to district in the West. Most cities are divided into gu, though the metropolitan cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon and Ulsan contain gun as well. Gu are similar to boroughs in some Western countries, and a gu office handles many of the functions that would be handled by the city in other jurisdictions. Gu are divided into neighborhoods (dong).

Submunicipal level divisions

Eup (town)
Main article: List of towns in South Korea

An 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)
Main article: List of townships in South Korea

A myeon (면; 面) is one of the divisions – along with eup – of a county (gun) and some cities (si) of fewer than 500,000 population. Myeons have smaller populations than eup and represent the rural areas of a county or city. Myeon are subdivided into villages (ri). The minimum population limit is 6,000.

Dong (neighborhood)
Main article: Dong (administrative division)

A dong (동; 洞) is the primary division of districts (gu), and of those cities (si) which are not divided into districts. The dong is the smallest level of urban government to have its own office and staff. In some cases, a single legal dong is divided into several administrative dong. Administrative dong are usually distinguished from one another by number (as in the case of Myeongjang 1-dong and Myeongjang 2-dong). In such cases, each administrative dong has its own office and staff.

The primary division of a dong is the tong (통; 統), but divisions at this level and below are seldom used in daily life.[6] Some populous dong are subdivided into ga (가; 街), which are not a separate level of government, but only exist for use in addresses. Many major thoroughfares in Seoul, Suwon, and other cities are also subdivided into ga.[7]

Ri (village)
Main article: Ri (administrative division)

A ri (리; 里) is the only division of towns (eup) and districts (myeon). The ri is the smallest level of rural government to contain any significant number of people.[8]

History

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.

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See also

References
  1. "Administrative division". South Korea Government. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  2. "Local Governments". KOREA.net. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  3. Stevens, Andrew. "Seoul Mayor first among equals". City Mayors. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  4. "Local Governments". KOERA.net. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  5. http://www.ngii.go.kr/en/download/Toponymic_Guidelines_ROK.pdf Archived 2017-03-12 at the Wayback Machine, p. 41.
  6. 통 (in Korean). Nate / Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
  7. "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.
  8. 이 / 里 (in Korean). Nate / Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-03-18.
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