User:Yes0song/Administrative divisions of the Republic of Korea

STUB

Note: This was roughly written.

I think there are some misinformed articles about the administrative divisions of the Republic of Korea (usually known as South Korea).

I questioned about them the Ministry of Public Administration and Security (MOPAS) and Seoul Metropolitan Governments, and I received answers (these are posted in my blog written in Korean). Concluding these answers and official materials I found, I write the abstraction below.

English names of terms of the administrative divisions of the Republic of Korea

Korean		English
Hangeul	Hanja	Literal meaning	Translated or transliterated names of the units (as common nouns)	Meaning regions used in addresses (and also means local authorities in broad sense)	The full names of the local authorities or office
특별시	特別市	"special city"	special metropolitan city§	Seoul‡; Seoul City	Seoul Metropolitan Government
광역시	廣域市	"city with a broad area"	metropolitan city§	Foo‡; Foo City; Foo Metropolitan City	Foo Metropolitan City
도	道	"province"	do§†, province	Foo (two-letter hangul/hanja abbr.); Foo-do†; (North/South) Foo Province	Foo-do†; (North/South) Foo Province
특별자치도	特別自治道	"special autonomous province"; "special self-governing province"	special autonomous do§; special autonomous province; special self-governing do; special self-governing province	Jeju; Jeju-do†	Jeju Self-Governing Province
특별자치시	特別自治市	"special autonomous city"	special autonomous city§; special self-governing city	Foo‡; Foo City	n/a
시	市	"city"	si§†, city	Foo‡; Foo-si†; Foo City	Foo-si†; Foo City
군	郡	"county" (from "commandery")	gun§†, county	Foo‡; Foo-gun†; Foo County	Foo-gun†; Foo County
구	區	"district"	gu§†	Foo; Foo-gu†; Foo District	Foo-gu§†; Foo District
읍	邑	"town"	eup§†, town	Foo‡; Foo-eup†; Foo Town (rare)	Foo-eup†
면	面	"township" (from "surface", "dimension")	myeon§†, township	Foo‡; Foo-myeon†; Foo Township (rare)	Foo-myeon†
동	洞	"neighbor"	dong§†, neighbor	Foo; Foo-dong†; Foo Neighbor (rare)	Foo-dong†
통	統	"unit comprised of multiple households" (from "governing", "control")	tong	[number]-tong	n/a
리	里	"village"	ri§†	Foo; Foo-ri†	Foo-ri
반	班	"group"	ban	[number]-tong	n/a

• §: The terms with this letter are used in the English version of the Local Autonomy Act (translated by KLRI, see below) without capitalization and italic type. Originally, the terms in the English version by KLRI are capitalized and some of them are in italic type. The reason capitalization is abandoned in this table is the terms are common nouns, not proper nouns.
• †: The terms/forms with this letter are regulated in (1) of 사 (Sa), the "Principles of Writing in English" (‘영문표기 원칙’), the Guidelines for Manufacture, Installation and Management of Traffic Signs (<도로표지 제작·설치 및 관리지침>) by the former Ministry of Construction and Transportation (now Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs)[1]. This rule (without examples) is identical to Article V (제5항), Chapter 3 (제3장) of the current romanization of Korean[2] (except for the Note (붙임)).
• ‡: The terms/forms with this letter are regulated in (2) of 사 (Sa), the "Principles of Writing in English", Guidelines for Manufacture, Installation and Management of Traffic Signs, which provides omission of 특별시 (special metropolitan city§), 광역시 (metropolitan city§), 시 (si§†), 군 (gun§†), 읍 (eup†), 면(myeon†). This rule is similar (NOT "identical") to the Note (붙임) of Article V (제5항), Chapter 3 (제3장) of the current romanization of Korean which provides omission of 시 (si§†), 군 (gun§†), 읍 (eup†).

Units of the administrative divisions

According to the English version of the Local Autonomy Act (지방자치법) translated by the Korea Legislation Research Institute (KLRI), the English names of local governments are below. (The Local Autonomy Act can be searched in [3] using only Internet Explorer not other web browsers. Signing up is required.) KLRI is a government-invested research institution (정부 출연 연구기관/政府出捐硏究機關)[4]. The English versions of Korean laws by KLRI can be considered as the official English documents of the government.

The original (Korean) version of the law can be searched in the official website of the Ministry of Government Legislation[5].

Note: In the English version of the Local Autonomy Act, names of local government units are capitalized (such as "Special Metropolitan City") but I think this is wrong because they are used as "common noun" in this context. Thus, I canceled capitalization below.

• The top level: special metropolitan city (특별시), metropolitan city (광역시), special autonomous city (특별자치시), do (도), special autonomous do (특별자치도)
  • These are called gwang-yeok-jachi-danches (광역자치단체/廣域自治團體). I think the term can be translated as "metropolitan autonomous bodies." They are also collectively called si-do (시도/市道 or 시·도/市·道, "cities and provinces") in many documents.
  • 특별시 means literally "special city" but this is NOT used in current official English documents by the Government of the Republic of Korea.
    • Prior to 1995, "Special City" is used some of legal documents translated into English by the Government (according to this old article (written in Korean) by the Dong-A Ilbo), but now it is not used.
    • Note: "서울특별시" is not translated as "Special Metropolitan City of Seoul" or "Seoul Special Metropolitan City." See below.
  • No "특별자치시" is created yet, but the concept of it was legally introduced. The term is introduced the Local Autonomy Act revised in May 30th, 2011 and the revised law will be enforced in July 1th, 2012.
  • Usually, "도" is "translated" as "province" and "특별자치도" is translated as "special autonomous province," but these translated terms are not used in this document.
    • Note: The local authority of Jeju call itself "Jeju Special Self-Governing Province" in English.[6]
• The second level: si (시), gun (군), gu (구)
  • These are called gicho-jachi-danches (기초자치단체/基礎自治團體). The term can be translated as "basic autonomous bodies." They are also collectively called si-gun-gu (시군구/市郡區 or 시·군·구/市·郡·區, "cities, counties and discticts")
  • There are two kinds of gus and the gus above are jachigus (자치구). See below.
  • Usually, "시" is translated as "city," "군" is translated as "county" and "구" is translated as "district," but these translated terms are not used in this document.

In this version of the Act, only "특별시" and "광역시" are "translated" into English, "특별자치도" is partially translated and "transliterated" and the others are transliterated. Many official English documents I've read also follow this custom, but this is not forced to self-governing bodies.

The heads of self-governing bodies are elected by people and they are politicians.

Additionally, there are subunits of sis, guns and gus, but because they are not considered as "local governments", they are not regulated in the Local Autonomy Act. They are:

• gu (under some sis)
  • There are two types of gus in ROK, there are terms to disambiguate them. A gu as local governments is called jachigu (자치구/自治區, autonomous gu), a gu under a si are called haengjeonggu (행정구/行政區, administrative gu) in many documents in ROK. Note: More accurately, a jachigu is "a gu which has NOT ONLY autonomous rights BUT ALSO administrative power" (행정권 뿐만 아니라 자치권도 있는 구) and a haengjeonggu is "a gu which has ONLY administrative power" (행정권만 있는 구) because both have administrative power. The term "jachigu" is used in the Local Autonomy Act and "autonomous Gu" is used in the English version.
  • The heads of haengjeonggus are local officials and they are not politicians.
• dongs (under sis and gus), eups and myeons (under guns, some sis and some haengjeonggus (based on Clause 4, Article 3, the Local Autonomy Act))
  • They are collectively called eup-myeon-dong (읍면동/邑面洞 or 읍·면·동/邑·面·洞, "towns, townships and neighborhoods") or dong-eup-myeon (동읍면/洞邑面 or 동·읍·면/洞·邑·面, "neighborhoods, towns and townships").
  • The heads of haengjeonggus are local officials not politicians and they are not elected by local residents.
  • There are two kind of dongs: beopjeongdong (법정동/法定洞, "legal dong") and haengjeongdong (행정동/行政洞, "administrative dong"). Many of them do not matched to each others. See also ko:동 (행정 구역) in Korean Wikipedia.
  • Currently these units must be written in the existing address system, but they are optional in the new address system (street-name administration) of ROK. The new system coexists with the current one now, and will be used exclusively since 2014. The existing address system will be abolished in 2014.
• ris (under eups and myeons)
  • Like dongs, there are two kind of ris: beopjeongri (법정리/法定里, "legal ri") and haengjeongri (행정리/行政里, "administrative ri"). See also ko:리 (행정 구역) in Korean Wikipedia.
  • ri is pronounce and written as 이 i when it is positioned in the initial syllable of a word due to initial law (두음 법칙/頭音法則).

Currently, ris are lower than ris legally, but ideally, they are dongs' counterpart in the countryside. Dongs and ris are collectively called dong-ri (동리/洞里 or 동·리/洞·里, "neighborhoods and villages"; actually pronounce "dongni", see Korean phonology).

There are some other administrative units usually not written in addresses. They are:

• tongs (통/統, under dong). See [7] (written in Korean).
  • Tongs are not described in English Wikipedia yet. Tongs don't have administrative power. Tongs and ris are same level, and they are collectively called tong-ri (통리/統里 or 통·리/統·里, actually pronounce "tongni", see Korean phonology)
  • Tongs do not have names and they are numbered while ris have names.
  • The heads of ris and tongs are local residents. Some of them is elected by local residents, while others apply for the heads and are approved by the authorities of dongs, eups or myeon.
  • In the existing address system, Tongs are usually not written while ris are always written in the current address system. However, both ris and tongs are optional in the new system that will be used exclusively since 2014.
• bans (반/班, under tongs and ris). See [8] (written in Korean)
  • Bans are not described in English Wikipedia yet. They do not have administrative power and are not written in addresses usually like tongs.
  • The heads of bans are local residents. Some of them is elected by local residents, while others apply for the heads and are approved by the authorities of dongs, eups or myeon.

Tongs and bans are two substructures supporting administration, so they are collectively called tong-ban (통반/統班 or 통·반/統·班).

The summary based on the legal hierarchy is below:

• 특별시 special metropolitan city, 광역시 metropolitan city, 특별자치시 special autonomous city, 도 do, 특별자치도 special autonomous do
• 시 si, 군 gun, 구 gu (자치구 autonomous gu)
• 구 gu (행정구 administrative gu)
• 동 dong, 읍 eup, 면 myeon
• 통 tong, 리 ri
• 반 ban

Below is the IDEAL (not legal) hierarchy of regions accepted by Koreans. The terms "special metropolitan city", "metropolitan city" and "special autonomous city" are merged with "si", "do" and "special autonomous do" are merged with "do". "Tong" and "ban" are omitted.

• 도 do
• 시 si (urban), 군 gun (rural)
• 구 gu (urban), 읍 eup and 면 myeon (rural)
• 동 dong (urban), 리 ri (rural)

Metropolitan autonomous bodies

English names of a 특별시 DIVIDED due to meanings, i.e., "서울특별시" is Seoul or Seoul City (used in addresses, and in broad sense, they can be used as alternatives the local government), Seoul Metropolitan Government (meaning the local government). (In my opinion, this "fragmentation" was not good decision because it can cause confusing, but anyway, we have to accept this because Wikipedia is not a place for political assertion.)

Note: The formation of official English names of local governments are not forced by the Government, but merely uniform.

• 서울특별시 Seoul
  • Name: Seoul, Seoul City (used both for addresses and the local government); Seoul Metropolitan Government (meaning the local government)
  • "Seoul Special City" in the current version of article "Seoul" is WRONG. See above.
    • "Special City" (actually "special city" because this is used as common noun) was used in translated documents in prior to 1995. See this old article (written in Korean).
    • According to this old article (written in Korean), the former Ministry of Home Affairs (current Ministry of Public Administration and Security) planned to replace "Seoul Metropolitan Government" with "Seoul Metropolitan City" like other 광역시s. However, it seems to be canceled because the local government of Seoul use "Seoul Metropolitan Government" not "Seoul Metropolitan City" now.
• 인천광역시 Incheon
  • Name: Incheon, Incheon City, Incheon Metropolitan City (used both for addresses and the local government)
• Other 광역시s are same as Incheon
• 경기도 Gyeonggi-do
  • Name: Gyeonggi, Gyeonggi-do, Gyeonggi Province (used both for addresses and the local government)
• 강원도 Gangwon-do is same as Gyeonggi.
• 충청남도 Chungcheongnam-do
  • Name: Chungnam (충남), Chungcheongnam-do, South Chungcheong, South Chungcheong Province (used both for addresses and the local government)
• Other "nam-do"s are same as Chungnam. Note: Abbreviation of Jeollanam-do 전라남도 is Jeonnam 전남.
• 충청북도 Chungcheongbuk-do
  • Name: Chungbuk (충북), Chungcheongbuk-do, North Chungcheong, North Chungcheong Province (used both for addresses and the local government)
• Other "buk-do"s are same as Chungbuk. Note: Abbreviation of Jeollabuk-do 전라북도 is Jeonbuk 전북.
• 제주특별자치도 Jeju-do
  • Name: Jeju, Jeju-do, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province (used both for addresses and the local government)

North Korea

The Republic of Korea denies the existence of North Korea and administrative divisions modified by NK. (Because of it, I don't wrote "South Korea" in this page and I am considering that I will suggest replacing the title of article "South Korea" with "Republic of Korea".)

In English Wikipedia, it is not described yet. In Korean Wikipedia, there is an article.

Suspended administrative bodies by ROK in NK are:

• 이북5도/以北五道 "Five Provinces in the North (North Korea)"
  • 평안남도 Pyeongannam-do
    • NK: "Pyongyang", former part of Pyeongyang (now in "North Hwanghae", see below), "Nampho"
      • The article "Pyongyang" is not updated yet. According to the Ministry of Unification of ROK, some (but huge) part of "Pyongyang" was moved to "North Hwanghae" in 2010[9][10].
  • 평안북도 Pyeonganbuk-do
    • NK: "North Pyongan", almost entire "Chagang"
  • 함경남도 Hamgyeongnam-do
    • NK: "South Hamgyong", small part of "Kangwon" (e.g. Wonsan), almost entire "Ryanggang"
  • 함경북도 Hamgyeongbuk-do
    • NK: "North Hamgyong", few part of "Chagang"
  • 황해도 Hwanghae-do
    • NK: most of "North and South Hwanghae" (exception: some part which is moved from "Pyongyang" in 2010, "Kaesong")
• Other parts
  • Some part of Gyeonggi-do
    • NK: "Kaesong" in "North Hwanghae", small part of "Kangwon"
  • Some part of Gangwon-do
    • NK: most of "Kangwon" (exeption: small part which is moved from Gyeonggi-do, small part moved from Hamgyeongnam-do)

They (including some part of Gyeonggi and Gangwon in NK) are undertaken by the Committee for the Five Provinces of North Korea (이북5도위원회/以北五道委員會). The heads of administrative bodies also appointed e.g., governors of each five provinces, chiefs of each eups, etc. Of course, there are NOT the Governors of Gyeonggi and Gangwon in NK because they are part of Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do and represnted by the Governors of Gyeonggi and Gangwon (incumbent: Kim Moon-soo and Choi Moon-soon, repectively).