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Special cities of Korea

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In both North

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

and South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, a special city, a metropolitan city, or a directly governed city is a city that has a status equivalent to that of a province

Provinces of Korea

This article describes the historical development of Korea's provinces . For detailed information on current administrative divisions, please see Administrative divisions of North Korea and Administrative divisions of South Korea....

(do). Hence, like the provinces, such cities are under the direct administration of the central governments.

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 (McCune-Reischauer

McCune-Reischauer

McCune–Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced McCune–Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000...

: chikhalsi; revised

Revised Romanization of Korean

The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea proclaimed by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, replacing the older McCune–Reischauer system...

: jikhalsi).

In the following tables, "Established" shows when the city split from the province it was located in.

Position in hierarchy

Directly Governed Cities are the highest-ranked cities in North Korea.

The levels of cities

Administrative divisions of North Korea

The administrative divisions of North Korea are organized into three hierarchical levels. Many of the units have equivalents in the system of South Korea. At the highest level are nine provinces, two directly governed cities, and three special administrative divisions. The second-level divisions...

in North Korea

North Korea

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...

are:

Directly Governed Cities
Cities

Current North Korean directly governed cities

align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"| **Directly Governed Cities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea**
Division name	Chosŏn'gŭl Hangul Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...	Hancha Hanja Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...	Year of Split	Province split from	Population	Density (/km²)	Area (km²)	Divisions
P'yŏngyang Directly Governed City Pyongyang Pyongyang is the capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, and the largest city in the country. Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River and, according to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, has a population of 3,255,388. The city was...			1946	P'yŏngannam	3,255,388	1,019	3,194	List
Rasŏn Special City			2010	Hamgyŏngbuk	205,000	275	746	List

Notes:

North Korea uses a variant of the McCune-Reischauer

McCune-Reischauer

McCune–Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced McCune–Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000...

romanization.

Pyongyang 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.

List of defunct directly governed cities of North Korea

align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"| **Defunct Directly Governed Cities of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea**
Division name	Province absorb into	Administered Years
Ch'ŏngjin City Chongjin Ch'ŏngjin is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyŏng Province and the country's third largest city. From 1960 to 1967 and again from 1977 to 1985, Ch'ŏngjin was administered separately from North Hamgyŏng as a Directly Governed City...	Hamgyŏngpuk	1960–1967, 1977–1985
Hamhŭng City Hamhung Hamhŭng is North Korea's second largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. In late 2005, nearby Hŭngnam was made a ward within Hamhŭng-si. It has a population of 768,551 as of 2008.-Geography:...	Hamgyŏngnam	1960–1967
Kaesŏng City Kaesong Kaesŏng is a city in North Hwanghae Province, southern North Korea , a former Directly Governed City, and the capital of Korea during the Koryo Dynasty. The city is near Kaesŏng Industrial Region and it contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace. It was formally named Songdo while it was the...	Hwanghaepuk	1951–1955
Namp'o City	P'yŏngannam

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).

South Korea

Position in hierarchy

Special City and Metropolitan Cities are the highest-ranked cities in South Korea.

Two levels of cities

Administrative divisions of South Korea

||South Korea is divided into 8 provinces , 1 special autonomous province , 6 metropolitan cities , and 1 special city...

in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

:

Special City or Metropolitan Cities
Cities

Administration

In South Korean special city and metropolitan cities, the Mayor is the highest ranking official in charge. The Mayor is directly elected by the people registered in the city for a duration of four years. e.g. Mayor of Seoul

Mayor of Seoul

The mayor of Seoul is the head of government for Seoul, the capital and largest city of South Korea. The position is traditionally considered one of the most powerful in the country. Many Seoul mayors have gone on to hold ministerial office...

.

Current South Korean special city and metropolitan cities

align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"| **Special City and Metropolitan Cities of the Republic of Korea**
Division name	Year of Split	Province split from	Population	Density (/km²)	Area (km²)	Divisions
Seoul Special City Seoul Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...	1946	Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946...	10,464,051	17,288	605	List
Busan Metropolitan City	1963	South Gyeongsang Province Gyeongsangnam-do Gyeongsangnam-do is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Changwon. It contains the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. Located there is UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that houses the Tripitaka Koreana and attracts many...	3,574,340	4,666	766	List
Incheon Metropolitan City	1981	Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946...	2,710,579	2,810	965	List
Daegu Metropolitan City Daegu Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the...	1981	North Gyeongsang Province Gyeongsangbuk-do Gyeongsangbuk-do or shortly Gyeongbuk is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea.The Gyeongsangbuk-do Office is...	2,512,604	2,842	884	List
Gwangju Metropolitan City	1986	South Jeolla Province Jeollanam-do Jeollanam-do is a province in the southwest of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Jeolla province, remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea...	1,415,953	2,824	501	List
Daejeon Metropolitan City	1989	South Chungcheong Province Chungcheongnam-do Chungcheongnam-do or Chungnam is a province in the west of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the south-western half of the former Chungcheong Province and remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, thereafter becoming part of South Korea...	1,442,857	2,673	540	List
Ulsan Metropolitan City	1997	South Gyeongsang Province Gyeongsangnam-do Gyeongsangnam-do is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Changwon. It contains the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. Located there is UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that houses the Tripitaka Koreana and attracts many...	1,126,879	1,030	1,056	List

Notes

There is no hanja for "Seoul," but in Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, it is written by its Joseon Dynasty

Joseon Dynasty

Joseon , was a Korean state founded by Taejo Yi Seong-gye that lasted for approximately five centuries. It was founded in the aftermath of the overthrow of the Goryeo at what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul...

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.

Proposed special autonomous city

align=center style="background:#BFD7FF"| **Proposed Special Autonomous City of the Republic of Korea**
Division name	Hangul Hangul Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...	Hanja Hanja Hanja is the Korean name for the Chinese characters hanzi. More specifically, it refers to those Chinese characters borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation...	Year of Split	Province split from	Map
Sejong Special Autonomous City			2012	Chungcheongnam Chungcheongnam-do Chungcheongnam-do or Chungnam is a province in the west of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the south-western half of the former Chungcheong Province and remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, thereafter becoming part of South Korea...

Special cities of Korea

Position in hierarchy

Current North Korean directly governed cities

List of defunct directly governed cities of North Korea

Sources

South Korea

Position in hierarchy

Administration

Current South Korean special city and metropolitan cities

Proposed special autonomous city

See also