Korea has had administrative districts that can be considered provinces since the 7th century. These divisions were initially calledju (Korean: 주;Hanja: 州) inUnified Silla andLater Baekje, and there were nine in total. AfterGoryeo conquered these states in the 10th century, twelve divisions calledmok (목;牧) were established, although they were reorganized into tendo (도;道) in the 11th century.

AfterJoseon's conquest of Goryeo, it established theEight Provinces in 1413. These provincial boundaries closely reflected majorregional anddialect boundaries, and are still significant in contemporary Korea. In 1895, as part of theGabo Reform, the country was redivided into 23 districts (Bu; 부;府), which were replaced a year later by thirteen new provinces. The thirteen provinces of 1896 included three of the original eight provinces, with the five remaining original provinces divided into north and south halves (Bukdo (북도;北道) andNamdo (남도;南道) respectively). The thirteen provinces remained unchanged throughout theJapanese colonial period.

With the liberation of Korea in 1945, the Korean peninsula was divided intoNorth Korea andSouth Korea, with the dividing line established along the38th parallel. Three provinces—Hwanghae,Gyeonggi, andGangwon (Kangwŏn)—were modified or split as a part of this. The special cities ofSeoul (South Korea) andP'yŏngyang (North Korea) were formed in 1946. Between 1946 and 1954, five new provinces were created:Jeju in South Korea, andNorth andSouth Hwanghae,Chagang, andRyanggang in North Korea. With the freezing of theKorean War in 1953, provincial boundaries were again modified between the two Koreas, and have since remained mostly unchanged; new cities and special administrative regions have since been created in their provinces.

Although southern part of Korean peninsula was took over by Silla, northern part was not fully conquered by norTang dynasty andSilla. Under the leadership ofTae Joyŏng,Parhae was founded. The country was divided into 5 capitals, 15 provinces; and 62 prefectures. Its territory covered former regions ofGoguryeo while added territories ofOuter Manchuria.

The Korean peninsula was mostly unified for the first time by the stateSilla in the 7th century.^[1] Silla's capital was Geumseong (nowGyeongju).^[2] It had five sub-capitals (소경;小京;sogyeong) at Geumgwan-gyeong (금관경, nowGimhae), Namwon-gyeong (남원경,Namwon), Seowon-gyeong (서원경,Cheongju), Jungwon-gyeong (중원경,Chungju), and Bugwon-gyeong (북원경,Wonju).^[3]

The country was divided into nine provinces (주;ju): three in the pre-660 territory of Silla, and three each in the territories of the former kingdomsBaekje andGoguryeo.^[4]

Goryeo was established in the 10th century, and had its capital at Gaegyeong (nowKaesong). It conquered Silla andLater Baekje, and also conquered parts of the former territory ofGoguryeo.^[5] Goryeo had three subcapitals: Donggyeong (nowGyeongju), Namgyeong (nowSeoul), and Seogyeong (nowPyongyang).^[6]

Goryeo reorganized its provinces several times. Originally, the country had one royal district (기내;畿內;ginae) around Gaegyeong and twelve administrative districts (목;牧;mok).^[7] In 995, the twelve districts were redivided into ten provinces (도;道;do).^[8] In 1005,^{[8][clarification needed]} the ten provinces were again redivided, this time into five provinces and two frontier districts (계;界;gye). Gyojudo later became its own province after 1178, making it six provinces and two frontier districts.

In 1413, Korea (at that time called Joseon) was divided into eight provinces:Chungcheong,Gangwon,Gyeonggi,Gyeongsang,Jeolla,Hamgyŏng (originally called Yeonggil),Hwanghae (originally called P'unghae), andP'yŏngan.

In 1895, Korea was redivided into 23 districts (Bu; 부;府), each named for the city or county that was its capital. The districts were short-lived, however, as the following year, the provincial system was restored.

In 1896, the former eight provinces were restored, with five of them (Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, Jeolla, Hamgyŏng, and P'yŏngan) being divided into North and South Provinces (Bukdo (북도;北道) andNamdo (남도;南道) respectively). The resulting system of thirteen provinces lasted until theDivision of Korea in 1945.

The thirteen provinces were:North andSouth Chungcheong,Gangwon,Gyeonggi,North andSouth Gyeongsang,North andSouth Hamgyŏng,Hwanghae,North andSouth Jeolla, andNorth andSouth P'yŏngan.

Under ColonialJapanese rule, Korean provinces ofKorean Empire, remained much the same, only taking on theJapanese reading of thehanja. The Provinces of Chōsen were:

At the end ofWorld War II in 1945, Korea was divided into Northern Korea and Southern Korea under trusteeship of theSoviet Union and theUnited States. The peninsula was divided at the38th parallel in 1945. In 1948, the two zones became the independent countries ofNorth Korea andSouth Korea.

Three provinces—Hwanghae, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon—were divided by the 38th parallel.

• Most of Hwanghae Province belonged to the Northern zone. The southern portion became part ofGyeonggi Province in the south.
• Most of Gyeonggi Province belonged to the Southern zone. In 1946, the northern portion became part ofHwanghae Province in the north.
• Gangwon Province was divided roughly in half, to form modern-dayGangwon Province in South Korea andKangwon Province in North Korea. The northern province is expanded in 1946 to include some area around the city ofWonsan (Originally part ofSouth Hamgyong Province)

Also in 1946, the cities ofSeoul in the south andPyongyang in the north separated from Gyeonggi and South Pyongan Provinces respectively to become Special Cities. BothNorth Korea andSouth Korea have subsequently upgraded other cities to a level equal to a province, and these cities (special cities of North Korea andspecial cities of South Korea [qq.v.]) are sometimes counted along with provinces.

Finally, the new provinces ofJeju Province (in the south, in 1946) andChagang Province (in the north, 1949) were formed, from parts of South Jeolla and North Pyongan respectively. In 1954,Ryanggang Province was split from South Hamgyong and Hwanghae was divided intoNorth andSouth Hwanghae Provinces.

The following table lists the present provincial divisions in theKorean Peninsula.

Notes

¹ SeeNames of Seoul.

• List of South Korean regions by GDP
• List of provinces of Balhae
• Goguryeo#Government

• Nahm, Andrew C. (1988).Korea: Tradition and Transformation - A History of the Korean People. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym International.
• Nahm 1988 (in Korean).

• Map of North Korea – World-Gazetteer.com at theWayback Machine (archived 2002-02-19)
• Map of South Korea – World-Gazetteer.com at theWayback Machine (archived 2002-05-25)

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