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In North and South Korea, Special cities, Metropolitan Cities, and Directly Governed Cities are cities that have a status equivalent to that of Provinces (Do). Hence, like the provinces, such cities are under the direct administration of the central government.
As of 2004, there are two Directly Governed Cities (Chikhalsi; 직할시; 直轄市) and three other special provincial-level administrative regions in North Korea; and one Special City (Teukbyeolsi; 특별시; 特別市) and six Metropolitan Cities (Gwangyeoksi; 광역시; 廣域市) in South Korea. Before 1995, the five largest Gwangyeoksi in South Korea were classified as Chik'alshi (i.e. Chikhalsi in McCune-Reischauer romanization; now spelled Jikhalsi in the Revised Romanization of Korean).
In the following tables, "Split time" shows when the city split from the province it was located in.
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North Korea
Table 1: Directly Governed Cities and Special Administrative Regions of North Korea
Note: North Korea uses a variant of the McCune-Reischauer romanization.
F0F0F0" ALIGN="center">Romanization |
F0F0F0" ALIGN="center">Han'gŭl |
F0F0F0" ALIGN="center">Hanja |
F0F0F0" ALIGN="center">Split time |
F0F0F0" ALIGN="center">Province split from |
P'yŏngyang Chikhalsi (Note: The city is classified as a Directly Governed City (Chikhalsi), not a Special City as Seoul in South Korea. In fact, the North Korean national newspaper and broadcasting say "Pyongyang Chikhalsi". Some sources, most of them come from South Korea, refer the city as a Special City; however these are the old sources. Moreover, South Korea has corrected the city as a Directly Governed City, according to a South Korean newspaper in 1994. Also note that the official name of Pyongyang would be "Pyongyang-si" in the Republic of Korea, which officially claims to represent the entire peninsula.) |
평양 직할시 |
平壤直轄市 |
1946 |
S. P'yŏngan |
Rasŏn (Rajin-Sŏnbong) Chikhalsi |
라선 (라진-선봉) 직할시 |
羅先 (羅津-先鋒) 直轄市 |
1993 |
N. Hamgyŏng |
Sinŭiju T'ŭkpyŏl Haengjŏnggu
(Sinŭiju Special Administrative Region) |
신의주 특별 행정구 |
新義州特別行政區 |
2002 |
N. P'yŏngan |
Kaesŏng Kong'ŏp Chigu
(Kaesŏng Industrial Region) |
개성 공업 지구 |
開城工業地區 |
2002 |
Formerly the North Korean section of Kyŏnggi Province |
Kŭmgangsan Kwan'gwang Chigu
(Kŭmgang-san Tourist Region) |
금강산 관광 지구 |
金剛山觀光地區 |
2002 |
Kangwŏn |
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Former Directly Governed Cities
Hamhŭng City (Hamhŭng-si; 함흥시; 咸興市) was a Directly Governed City from 1960 to 1967, but is now part of South Hamgyŏng Province.
Kaesŏng City (Kaesŏng-si; 개성시; 開城市) (distinct from Kaesŏng Industrial Region) was a designated Region (Chigu; 지구; 地區) from 1951 to 1955 and a Directly Governed City from 1955 to 2003, but is now part of North Hwanghae Province.
Namp'o Special City (Namp'o T'ŭkkŭpsi; 남포 특급시; 南浦特級市) was a Directly Governed City from 1980 to 2004, but is now part of South P'yŏng'an Province.
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Sources
The sources for this section are Chosun Ilbo's pages 행정구역 현황 ("Haengjeong Guyeok Hyeonhwang") and 행정구역 개편 일지 ("Haengjeong Guyeok Gaepyeon Ilji") (in Korean only; updated 2004).
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South Korea
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Seoul
There is no Hanja for "Seoul," but in Chinese, it is written by its Joseon Dynasty name Hanseong (漢城). The new Chinese name, 首爾/首尔, is a transcription based on the pronunciation of "Seoul". As a suffix, the character gyeong (京) is used, which means "capital".
Seoul was designated a "Special Free City" (Teukbyeol Jayusi; 특별 자유시; 特別自由市) separate from Gyeonggi Province on August 15, 1946; it became a "Special City" on August 15, 1949.
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See also
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