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This article describes the historical evolution of Korea's provinces (Do in RR; To in MR; Hangul; Hanja). For detailed information on current administrative divisions, please see Administrative divisions of North Korea and Administrative divisions of South Korea.
Provinces (Do) have been the primary administrative division of Korea since the early 11th century, and were preceded by provincial-level divisions (Ju and Mok) dating back to the late 7th century.
During the Unified Silla Period (AD 668- 935), Korea was divided into nine Ju (주; 州), an old word for "province" that was used to name both the kingdom's provinces and its provincial capitals. (The editor's Cantonese-English dictionary translates 州 variously as "prefecture" or "department.")
After Goryeo defeated Silla and Later Baekje in 935 and 936 respectively, the new kingdom "was divided into one royal district [(Ginae; 기내; 畿內)] and twelve administrative districts [(Mok; 목; 牧)]" ( Nahm 1988), which were soon redivided into ten provinces (Do). In 1009Events February 14: First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg. October 18: The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is destroyed by Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah. The Ly dynasty, Vietnam's first independent dynasty, is proclai the country was again redivided, this time into one royal district, five provinces (Do) and two frontier districts (Gye; 계; 界?). The name and concept of Do originated from the Chinese DaoA circuit is an appellate judicial district among the courts of many nations. The name comes from an era in which justices would ride within a area hearing cases. Circuit ( ; Chinese: dao Japanese: do was a historical political division of China, and is s.
After the Joseon DynastyThe Joseon Dynasty was founded in 1392 by Korean general Yi Seonggye ( Taejo), who overthrew the former kingdom of Goryeo and established the kingdom of Joseon in a coup d'etat, simultaneously ending the period of Mongol domination that had begun in 1259.'s rise to power and the formation of JoseonJoseon Chaoxin in Chinese; Chosen in Japanese) is a name for Korea, as used in the following cases: As part of the name of several ancient kingdoms (including Gojoseon, Gija Joseon, and Wiman Joseon); During most of the Joseon Dynasty, when the country's in 1392Events Korean founder of the Joseon Dynasty General Yi Seonggye leads a coup d'etat overthrowing the kingdom of Goryeo and founding the kingdom of Joseon. Afyonkarahisar in western Turkey is conquered by Sultan Beyazid I. Louis de Valois is created the 1s, the country was redivided into eight new provinces (Do) in 1413Events March 20 Henry V becomes King of England Project of Annals of Joseon Dynasty began. The University of St Andrews is founded. Year in topics 1413 in art Births Deaths March 20 King Henry_IV_of_England Leader of the Lollards, Sir John Oldcastle.. The provincial boundaries closely reflected major regionalKorea has traditionally been divided into a number of unofficial regions that reflect historical, geographical, and dialect boundaries within the peninsula. Many of the names in the list below overlap or are obsolete today, with Honam, Yeongdong, Yeongnam and dialect boundaries, and are still often referred to in Korean today simply as the Eight Provinces (Paldo). In 1896 (a year before the country became the Korean Empire), five of the eight provinces were divided into north and south halves (Bukdo (북도; 北道) and Namdo (남도; 南道) respectively), giving a total of thirteen Do. The provincial boundaries remained unchanged throughout the Japanese Colonial Period.
With the surrender of Japan in 1945, the Korean peninsula was divided into Soviet (northern) and American (southern) zones of occupation, with the dividing line established along the 38th parallel. (See Division of Korea for more details.) As a result, three provinces— Hwanghae, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon (Kangwon)—were divided into Soviet- and American-occupied sections.
The special cities of Seoul and P'yongyang were formed in 1946. Between 1946 and 1954, five new provinces were created: Jeju in South Korea, and North and South Hwanghae, Chagang, and Ryanggang in North Korea.
Since 1954, provincial boundaries in both the North and South have remained unchanged. New cities and special administrative regions have been created, however: see Special cities of Korea for their history. For a comprehensive description of Korea's provinces and special cities today, please see Administrative divisions of North Korea and Administrative divisions of South Korea.