administrative divisions of north korea

Administrative divisions of North Korea As of 2004, North Korea consisted of two directly-governed cities (Chikhalsi; 직할시;直轄市), three special administrative regions with various designations, and nine provinces (Do, singular and plural; 도; 道). These 14 regions are, in turn, divided into a Special City (T'ŭkkŭpsi,), Cities (Si), Counties (Kun), Wards (Kuyŏk, equivalent to South Korean Gu), and Districts (Ku and Chigu). These subdivisions are in turn divided into Neighbourhoods (Tong), Villages (Ri), and Workers' Districts (Rodongjagu). (The English translations are not official, but approximations.) (Names are romanized according to the McCune-Reischauer system as officially used in North Korea; the editor was also guided by the spellings used on the 2003 National Geographic map of Korea).

Directly-governed cities

P'yŏngyang Directly Governed City (P'yŏngyang Chikhalsi; 평양 직할시; 平壤直轄市) - 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.
Rasŏn (Rajin-Sŏnbong) Directly Governed City (Rasŏn (Rajin-Sŏnbong) Chikhalsi; 라선 (라진-선봉) 직할시; 羅先 (羅津-先鋒) 直轄市)

Special Administrative Regions

Kaesŏng Industrial Region (Kaesŏng Kongŏp Chigu; 개성 공업 지구; 開城工業地區)
Kŭmgangsan Tourist Region (Kŭmgangsan Kwan'gwang Chigu; 금강산 관광 지구; 金剛山觀光地區)
Sinŭiju Special Administrative Region (Sinŭiju T'ŭkbyŏl Haengjeonggu; 신의주 특별 행정구; 新義州特別行政區)

Provinces

Chagang Province (Chagang-do; 자강도; 慈江道)
North Hamgyŏng Province (Hamgyŏng-pukto; 함경 북도; 咸鏡北道)
South Hamgyŏng Province (Hamgyŏng-namdo; 함경 남도; 咸鏡南道)
North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghae-pukto; 황해 북도; 黃海北道)
South Hwanghae Province (Hwanghae-namdo; 황해 남도; 黃海南道)
Kangwŏn Province (Kangwŏndo; 강원도; 江原道)
North P'yŏngan Province (P'yŏngan-pukto; 평안 북도; 平安北道)
South P'yŏngan Province (P'yŏngan-namdo; 평안 남도; 平安南道)
Ryanggang Province (Ryanggang-do; 량강도; 兩江道--sometimes also spelled as 'Yanggang' in English)

Former Directly Governed Cities

Ch'ŏngjin City (청진시; 淸津市) used to be a Directly Governed City, but is now part of North Hamgyŏng Province.
Hamhŭng City (함흥시; 咸興市) was a Directly Governed City in the 1960s, but is now part of South Hamgyŏng Province.
Kaesŏng City (개성시; 開城市) (distinct from Kaesŏng Industrial Region) was a Directly Governed City until 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 until 2004, but is now part of South P'yŏng'an Province.

Sources

The sources for this article are Chosun Ilbo's pages 행정구역 현황 ("Haengjeong Guyeok Hyeonhwang") and 행정구역 개편 일지 ("Haengjeong Guyeok Gaepyeon Ilji") (Korean only; updated 2004).