Gyeonggi (), alternatively spelled Kyŏnggi or Kyunggi, is a

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

that has historically occupied the west-central region of Korea. In modern times, the region hosts South Korea's

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

and Incheon Metropolitan City, and North Korea's

Kaesong Industrial Region The Kaesŏng Industrial Region (KIR) or Kaesŏng Industrial Zone (KIZ) is a special administrative industrial region of North Korea (DPRK). It was formed in 2002 from part of the Kaesŏng Directly-Governed City. On 10 February 2016, it was tem ...

, and Changpung, and Ch'ŏrwŏn counties.

Etymology

The current name of the region, ''Gyeonggi'', comes from a combination of ''Gyeong'' (京/경; "capital") and ''Gi'' (畿/기; "near"), ultimately from ''Gyeonghyeon'' (京縣/경현) and ''Gihyeon'' (畿縣/기현) in relation to the location of the capital, Gaegyeong (modern day Kaesŏng, North Korea). The name means "Area Surrounding the Capital", and was first used in 1018 during the

Goryeo dynasty Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

. Prior, the region was called ''Gwannae-do'' (關內道/관내도).

History

Unified Silla and Goryeo

Towards the end of the

Three Kingdoms period The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Western Jin dynasty. Academically, the ...

, the southeastern kingdom of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

unified the Korean Peninsula up to the

Taedong River The Taedong River () is a large river in North Korea. The river rises in the Rangrim Mountains of the country's north where it then flows southwest into Korea Bay at Namp'o.Suh, Dae-Sook (1987) "North Korea in 1986: Strengthening the Soviet ...

and moved the capital from

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

to Kaesong shortly thereafter. Gyeonggi originally a frontier region to Kaesong, as well as the secondary capital Namgyeong (modern-day

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea).

Joseon and Korean Empire periods

In 1392, general Yi Seong-gye, later '

Taejo of Joseon Taejo (; 4 November 1335 – 27 June 1408), personal name Yi Seong-gye (), later Yi Dan (), was the founder and first monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. After overthrowing the Goryeo dynasty, he ascended to the throne in 1392 and abdi ...

', waged successful a coup against the Goryeo dynasty and founded the Joseon dynasty. Two years later, Taejo moved the capital south to Hanseong (modern-day Seoul).History of Seoul
Seoul Solution (in English). Retrieved 2024-06-02 During the Joseon dynasty, Hanseong served not only as the national capital, but the provincial capital as well. Gyeonggi was one of the Eight Provinces (팔도 ''paldo''), until 1895 when King Gojong created the 23 District system, splitting Gyeonggi into five districts, or ''bu'' (府/부): * Hanseong-bu (韓城府/한성부) * Incheon-bu (仁川府/인천부) * Gaeseong-bu (改城府/개성부) * Gongju-bu (公洲府/공주부) * Chungju-bu (忠州府/충주부) One year later, the 23 districts were reorganized into eighteen provinces. In 1910, the

Korean Empire The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire lasted until the Japanese annexation of Korea in August 1910. Dur ...

was annexed into the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

. Japanese Korea, or ''Chōsen'' (

Kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

: 朝鮮), was administered from

Keijō , or Gyeongseong (), was an administrative district of Korea under Japanese rule that corresponds to the present Seoul, the capital of South Korea. History When the Empire of Japan annexed the Korean Empire, it made Seoul the colonial capita ...

( JP: 京城; ), and was surrounded by

Keiki-dō , alternatively Keiki Province, was a province of Korea under Japanese rule. Its capital was at Keijō (Seoul). The province consisted of what is now the South Korean territories of Seoul and Gyeonggi, as well as parts of what is now southern Nor ...

Contemporary history (1945–present)

Korea was liberated from Japan in 1945, and the

People's Republic of Korea The People's Republic of Korea (PRK; ) was a short-lived provisional government that was organized at the time of the surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of World War II. It was proclaimed on 6 September 1945, as Korea was being divi ...

, a

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

, was founded shortly after. The provisional republic remained a sovereign, independent state for several days, until the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

devised a plan to temporary partition Korea into two occupied zones, then reunify the peninsula once it was determined that the Koreans were fit to govern themselves. Korea was divided at the

38th parallel north Following are circles of latitude between the 35th parallel north and the 40th parallel north: 36th parallel north The 36th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 36 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, th ...

, which divided Korea roughly in half. Korea south of the 38th parallel was occupied by the

United States Army Military Government in Korea The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula from 9 September 1945 to 15 August 1948. The country during this period was plagued with political a ...

. Most of Gyeonggi, including Kaesong, fell under the American occupation zone. By the end of the war, Kaesong was one of the only cities to officially change hands, going from a South Korean city to a North Korean city.

Administrative divisions

Both Korean governments claim sovereignty over the whole of the Korean Peninsula, and neither governments recognize changes to Korea's internal divisions made by the other.

Administrative divisions of Kyŏnggi (North Korea)

Kyŏnggi falls under one of the seven claimed provinces of North Korea. Cities of Kyŏnggi-do Counties of Kyŏnggi-do Areas of South Hwanghae and Kangwŏn in the Kyŏnggi region

Administrative divisions of Gyeonggi (South Korea)

References

{{regions and administrative divisions of South Korea Geography of North Korea Geography of South Korea Regions of Korea