Gyeonggi-do
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 Map of South Korea highlighting the province. |
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.
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[edit] History
Gyeonggi-do was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The province was first established in 1413. Its name denotes an area within a 500-li (200-km) radius (gi; 기; 畿) of the royal capital (gyeong; 경; 京) Hanseong (modern-day Seoul). (Hanseong was both the national capital of Korea, and the provincial capital of Gyeonggi-do.)
In 1895, the province was replaced by the Districts of Hanseong (Hanseong-bu; 한성부; 漢城府) around Seoul, Kaesŏng (Kaesŏng-bu; 개성부; 開城府) around Kaesŏng, and Incheon (Incheon-bu; 인천부; 仁川府) around Incheon and Suwon, with outlying areas in the east and south becoming part of the Districts of Chuncheon (Chuncheon-bu; 춘천부; 春川府), Chungju (Chungju-bu; 충주부; 忠州府), or Gongju (Gongju-bu; 공주부; 公州府).
In 1896, a new system of thirteen provinces was established, and Gyeonggi-do was reconstituted with its pre-1895 boundaries. The provincial capital moved to Suwon, where it remains today.
At the end of the Japanese Colonial Period in 1945, Gyeonggi-do was divided into American and Soviet zones of occupation. The boundary between the American zone in the south and the Soviet zone in the north was the 38th parallel. The southern zone of Hwanghae Province—also divided by the 38th parallel—joined the southern zone of Gyeonggi-do.
In 1946, Seoul became a separately administered, provincial-level "Special City." That same year, the Soviet-controlled northern zone of Gyeonggi-do joined the northern half of Kangwŏn Province. In 1948, Gyeonggi-do became part of the newly independent country of South Korea.
In 1951, the area around Kaesŏng came under North Korean control during the Korean War, and officially came under the administration of that country at the end of hostilities in 1953. Also in 1953, the mainland section of Gyeonggi-do that had previously been part of Hwanghae Province rejoined Hwanghae. In 1981, Incheon was split off as a separately administered Directly Governed City (now called a "Metropolitan City").
[edit] Geography
Gyeonggi-do is located in the northwest of South Korea. The province is bounded on the east by Gangwon-do province, on the south by Chungcheongbuk-do and Chungcheongnam-do provinces, and on the west by Incheon and the Yellow Sea. The province almost completely surrounds Seoul. To the north lies Kaesŏng Industrial Region and North Hwanghae Province in North Korea.
Much of southern Gyeonggi-do is a plain, so the province has traditionally had more agriculture and nowadays also more industry due to the greater proportion of usable land.
The regional name for Gyeonggi-do is Sudogwon, which properly denotes the Seoul-Incheon conurbation, and that built-up part of the Gyeonggi-do Province that forms part of the same continuous urban area. During the Joseon Dynasty, regional names used for the province were Gijeon (畿甸) and Ginae (畿內).
[edit] Economic growth
As the industrial hinterland of Seoul, agriculture in the province has largely given way to industry. This was forced by the construction of highways in the 1960s. Many cities have become satellite cities of Seoul, including Anyang, Bucheon, Goyang, Seongnam, and Uijeongbu. Dominant industries include shipbuilding, steel manufacturing and plate-glass production. Among more traditional industries, fishing is still important.
[edit] International Travel
Incheon serves as Seoul's seaport and has Seoul's main international airport, Incheon International Airport. Before the opening of Incheon Airport in 2001, Gimpo Airport handled all of Seoul's international traffic. Gimpo Airport now is mainly a domestic airport.
[edit] Administrative divisions
Gyeonggi-do is divided into 27 cities (si) and 4 counties (gun). Listed below is each entity's name in English, hangul and hanja.
[edit] Cities
[edit] Counties
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[edit] Famous people
Famous people from Gyeonggi-do include:
- Manchester United footballer Park Ji-Sung, after whom a street in Suwon was recently named.[citation needed]
- Footballer Kim Jin-Woo
- Xiah Junsu, a member of boy group DBSK / Dong Bang Shin Ki.
- Pop singer BoA Kwon
[edit] Miscellaneous
Gyeonggi-do is also the sister province of Canadian province British Columbia.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Gyeonggi-do provincial government English-language home page
- Gyeonggi-do travel guide from Wikitravel
- Gyeonggi-do at the Open Directory Project
- Seoul City history article on Hanseong and 22 other late 19th-century districts (in Korean)
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