Provinces are the first-level division within
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
. There are 9 provinces in North Korea:
Chagang,
North Hamgyong,
South Hamgyong,
North Hwanghae
North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaebuk-to; , lit. "north Yellow Sea province") is a province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae. The provincial capital is ...
,
South Hwanghae,
Kangwon,
North Pyongan,
South Pyongan, and
Ryanggang
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggangdo; ko, 량강도, ''Ryanggang-do'', ) is a province in North Korea. The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, North Hamgyong on the east, South Hamgyong on the south, and Chagang on the west. Ryan ...
.
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
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
A province () are the highest-ranked administrative divisions in North Korea. Provinces have equal status to the
special cities.
List of provinces
The populations listed for each province are from the
2008 North Korea Census. From this census, there are an additional 702,372 people living in military camps.
Claimed provinces
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
claims seven provinces on the territory controlled by
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
. While people's committees for these claimed provinces were
elected in 1950 during the
Korean War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Korean War
, partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict
, image = Korean War Montage 2.png
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...
, no government-in-exile for them exists as of . These provinces are based on the divisions of the
Japanese era, but correspond somewhat to the present
South Korean provinces and the special cities partitioned out of them, owing to the alterations in the provincial division effected by South Korea being more conservative relatively to those effected by the north.
See also
*
Administrative divisions of North Korea
The administrative divisions of North Korea are organized into three hierarchical levels. These divisions were created in 2002. Many of the units have equivalents in the system of South Korea. At the highest level are nine provinces and fou ...
*
Special cities of North Korea
Special cities are one of the first-level administrative divisions within North Korea. There are four special cities in North Korea.
Position in hierarchy and types
Special cities are the higher-ranked administrative divisions in North Korea. ...
*
Provinces of South Korea
References
{{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of Asian countries
Provinces, Korea N