Ri (administrative Division)
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A ''ri'' or
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
is an administrative unit in both North Korea and South Korea.


South Korea

In South Korea, two different levels of ''ri'' exist: "legal ''ri''" () and "administrative ''ri''" (). One legal ''ri'' may be divided into multiple administrative ''ri''; this may occur due to the original legal ''ri'' being inconveniently large for purposes of local administration. Alternatively, multiple legal ''ri'' may be administered under a single administrative ''ri''. Legal ''ri'' are used in assigning land-lot numbers, which were also a key part of addresses prior to the adoption of road name addresses. Legal ''ri'' are comparatively static, while administrative ''ri'' may be modified to suit local administrative convenience based on changes in population. Although administrative ''ri'' are often named simply by adding a number to the name of the corresponding legal ''ri'', under the Local Autonomy Act a local government can give an administrative ''ri'' a completely different name from the corresponding legal ''ri''. In principle, the divisions among administrative ''ri'' are intended to reflect organic distinctions between settlements. However, because they are defined for the purpose of administering those settlements rather than a specific geographic area, the boundaries between administrative ''ri'' in uninhabited areas are often not precisely defined. The distinction between legal and administrative ''ri'' in rural areas is analogous to the distinction between legal and administrative '' dong'' in urban areas. However, ''ri'' are a lower administrative level than ''dong'', occupying the level corresponding to an urban ''tong''. As such, administrative ''ri'' are the lowest administrative level in Korean local government. The representative of the residents of an administrative ''ri'' is known as the ''ijang'' ().


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 Administrative Divisions of South Korea, system of South Korea. At the ...
*
Administrative divisions of South Korea South Korea is made up of 22 first-tier administrative divisions: 6 List of special cities of South Korea#Position in hierarchy and types, metropolitan cities (''gwangyeoksi'' ), 1 List of special cities of South Korea, special city (''teukbyeo ...


References

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