Hangul 도 Revised Romanization do Hangul 특별자치도 | Hanja 道 McCune–Reischauer to Hanja 特別自治道 | |
Provinces are one of the first-level divisions within South Korea. There are 9 provinces in South Korea: North Chungcheong, South Chungcheong, Gangwon, Gyeonggi, North Gyeongsang, South Gyeongsang, North Jeolla, South Jeolla, and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.
Contents
Map of South Korea
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.
Types
There are two types of provinces: provinces, special self-governing province. A province (도, 道) are the highest-ranked administrative divisions in South Korea. Provinces have equal status to the special cities.
A special self-governing province (특별자치도, 特別自治道) is a province with more autonomy over its economy and more powers are given to the provincial government. Jeju is the only special self-governing province.
Administration
Governors for these provinces are elected every four years. Current governors are listed at List of governors of South Korea.
Claimed provinces
South Korea claims five provinces on the territory controlled by North Korea. These claimed provinces are managed by The Committee for the Five Northern Korean Provinces (Hangul: 이북5도위원회; Hanja: 以北五道委員會). These provinces are based on the divisions of Japanese era and are different from the present North Korean provinces.