Special cities of Korea

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.

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.*
Romanization	Han'gŭl	Hanja	Split time	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

Former Directly Governed Cities

Ch'ŏngjin City (Ch'ŏngjin-si; 청진시; 淸津市) was a Directly Governed City from 1960 to 1967 and again from 1977 to 1985, but is now part of North Hamgyŏng Province.
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.

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

**Table 2: Special Cities and Metropolitan Cities of South Korea**

***Note:*** *South Korea uses the Revised Romanization of Korean.*
Romanization	Hangul	Hanja	Split time	Province split from
Seoul Teukbyeolsi	서울 특별시	See note below	August 15, 1946	Gyeonggi
Busan Gwangyeoksi	부산 광역시	釜山廣域市	January 1, 1963	S. Gyeongsang
Daegu Gwangyeoksi	대구 광역시	大邱廣域市	July 1, 1981	N. Gyeongsang
Incheon Gwangyeoksi	인천 광역시	仁川廣域市	July 1, 1981	Gyeonggi
Gwangju Gwangyeoksi	광주 광역시	光州廣域市	November 1, 1986	S. Jeolla
Daejeon Gwangyeoksi	대전 광역시	大田廣域市	January 1, 1989	S. Chungcheong
Ulsan Gwangyeoksi	울산 광역시	蔚山廣域市	July 15, 1997	S. Gyeongsang

Notes

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 prefix, 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.