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| Administrative divisions of North Korea |
|---|
| Provincial level |
| Province (도道to) |
| Special municipality (특별시特別市t'ŭkpyŏlsi) |
| Municipal level |
| City (시市si) |
| County (군郡kun) |
| District (구역區域kuyŏk) |
| Submunicipal level |
| Town (읍邑ŭp) |
| Neighborhood (동洞dong) |
| Village (리里ri) |
| Workers' District (로동자구勞動者區rodongjagu) |
Theadministrative divisions ofNorth Korea are organized into three hierarchical levels. These divisions were created in 2002. Many of the units have equivalents in thesystem ofSouth Korea. At the highest level are nineprovinces and four special municipalities. The second-level divisions are cities, counties, and districts. These are further subdivided into third-level entities: towns, dongs (neighborhoods), ris (villages), and workers' districts.
The three-level administrative system used in North Korea was first inaugurated byKim 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 inSouth Korea.
(The English translations are not official, but approximations. Names are romanized according to theMcCune-Reischauer system as officially used in North Korea; the editor was also guided by the spellings used on the 2003National Geographic map of Korea).
The nine provinces (to;Korean: 도;Hanja: 道) derive from the traditionalprovinces of Korea, but have been further subdivided since thedivision of Korea. They are large areas including cities, rural and mountainous regions. The four special cities (t'ŭkpyŏlsi;특별시;特別市) 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 withSouth Korea and other countries. One of them, theSinuiju Special Administrative Region, was intended to drawChinese 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.
| Map | Code | Name | Chosŏn'gŭl | Hanja |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KP-01 | Pyongyang City | 평양시 | 平壤市 | |
| KP-02 | South Pyongan Province | 평안남도 | 平安南道 | |
| KP-03 | North Pyongan Province | 평안북도 | 平安北道 | |
| KP-04 | Chagang Province | 자강도 | 慈江道 | |
| KP-05 | South Hwanghae Province | 황해남도 | 黃海南道 | |
| KP-06 | North Hwanghae Province | 황해북도 | 黃海北道 | |
| KP-07 | Kangwon Province | 강원도 | 江原道 | |
| KP-08 | South Hamgyong Province | 함경남도 | 咸鏡南道 | |
| KP-09 | North Hamgyong Province | 함경북도 | 咸鏡北道 | |
| KP-10 | Ryanggang Province | 량강도 | 兩江道 | |
| KP-13 | Rason City | 라선시 | 羅先市 | |
| KP-14 | Nampo City | 남포시 | 南浦市 | |
| KP-15 | Kaesong City | 개성시 | 開城市 |
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).
The city centers of the directly governed cities are organized into districts (kuyŏk, equivalent toSouth Koreangu).
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 workers' districts (rodongjagu,로동자구;勞動者區).
