Administrative divisions of South Korea

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South Korea
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South Korea is divided into 8 provinces (do), 1 special autonomous province (teukbyeol jachido), 6 metropolitan cities (gwangyeoksi), and 1 special city (teukbyeolsi). These are further subdivided into a variety of smaller entities, including cities (si), counties (gun), wards (gu), towns (eup), districts (myeon), neighborhoods (dong) and villages (ri), as explained below.

(Note on translation: although the terms "Special City," "Metropolitan City," "Province," and "City" are commonly used on English-language government websites, the other translations ("county," "town," "ward," etc.) are not official translations, and are only intended to serve as useful illustrations of each entity's meaning.)

1 Hierarchy
2 Do ("Province"; 도; 道)
3 Gwangyeoksi ("Metropolitan City"; 광역시; 廣域市)
4 Teukbyeolsi ("Special City"; 특별시; 特別市)
5 Si ("City"; 시; 市)
6 Gun ("County"; 군; 郡)
7 Gu ("District"; 구; 區)
8 Eup ("Town"; 읍; 邑)
9 Myeon ("Township"; 면; 面)
10 Dong ("Neighbourhood"; 동; 洞)
11 Ri ("Village"; 리; 里)
12 History
13 Future changes
14 See also
15 External links

[edit] Hierarchy

Korean terms appear in their official Revised Romanization of Korean spelling.

Korean terms

Teukbyeolsi
- Gu
  - Dong
Gwangyeoksi(Kwangyeoksi)
- Gu
  - Dong
- Gun
  - Eup
    - Ri
  - Myeon
    - Ri
Do
- Si (of more than 500,000)
  - Gu
    - Dong
- Si (of less than 500,000)
  - Dong
- Gun
  - Eup
    - Ri
  - Myeon
    - Ri

Translation

Special City
- District
  - Neighborhood
Metropolitan City
- District
  - Neighborhood
- County
  - Town
    - Village
  - Township
    - Village
Province
- City (of more than 50,000)
  - District
    - Neighborhood
- City (of less than 50,000)
  - Neighborhood
- County
  - Town
    - Village
  - Township
    - Village

[edit] Do ("Province"; 도; 道)

A "do" is one of the primary divisions of the country, along with "teukbyeolsi" and "gwangyeoksi." South Korea has 8 provinces: North and South Chungcheong, Gangwon, Gyeonggi, North and South Gyeongsang, North and South Jeolla; and one special autonomous province: Jeju. Each province is subdivided into cities ("si") and counties ("gun").

[edit] Gwangyeoksi ("Metropolitan City"; 광역시; 廣域市)

A "gwangyeoksi" is one of the primary divisions of the country, along with "teukbyeolsi" and "do." South Korea has 6 metropolitan cities: Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon, and Ulsan. Gwangju and Daejeon are divided into wards ("gu"); the rest are divided into both wards ("gu") and outlying counties ("gun").

[edit] Teukbyeolsi ("Special City"; 특별시; 特別市)

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

[edit] Si ("City"; 시; 市)

A "si" 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. Cities with a population of over 500,000 (namely, Suwon, Cheongju, and Jeonju) are divided into wards ("gu") which are then further divided into neighbourhoods ("dong"); cities with a population of less than 500,000 do not have wards – these cities are directly divided into neighbourhoods ("dong").

[edit] Gun ("County"; 군; 郡)

A "gun" 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. Counties are divided into towns ("eup") and districts ("myeon").

[edit] Gu ("District"; 구; 區)

Seoul, the metropolitan cities of Gwangju and Daejeon and the cities of Suwon, Cheongju and Jeonju are divided into "gu"s, but do not have any "gun"s, whereas the metropolitan cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon and Ulsan are divided into "gu" and also have "gun". "Gu"s are similar to London's or New York's boroughs, and a "gu"'s government handles many of the functions that are handled by city governments in other jurisdictions. "Gu"s in Suwon, Cheongju, and Jeonju have fewer powers than those of Seoul and the metropolitan cities. "Gu"s are divided into neighbourhoods ("dong").

[edit] Eup ("Town"; 읍; 邑)

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"s. Towns are subdivided into villages ("ri"). In order to form an eup, the minimum population required is 20,000.

[edit] Myeon ("Township"; 면; 面)

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

[edit] Dong ("Neighbourhood"; 동; 洞)

A dong is the primary division of wards (gu), and of those cities (si) which are not divided into wards. 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 dongs 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. 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.

[edit] Ri ("Village"; 리; 里)

A "ri" 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Future changes

In late April 2005, the governing Uri and leading opposition Hannara parties agreed to a sweeping change in the country's local administration. This reform, tentatively slated to take place in 2010, would replace the current three-tier system with a two-tier system. The existing provinces (do) and metropolitan cities (gwangyeoksi) would be eliminated. The current gu, si, and gun units would be reorganized into about 60 "metropolitan cities" with a population of roughly 1 million each. Beyond this, the details of the reform have not been decided. Opposition is likely from politicians and constituent groups who will be disadvantaged by the changes. (Sources: Korea Times [1], Korea Herald [2]).