Administrative divisions of South Korea
South Korea is made up of 17 first-tier administrative divisions: 6 metropolitan cities ("gwangyeoksi" ), 1 special city ("teukbyeolsi" ), 1 special self-governing city ("teukbyeol-jachisi" ), and 9 provinces ("do" ), including one special self-governing province ("teukbyeol jachido" ). These are further subdivided into a variety of smaller entities, including cities ("si" ), counties ("gun" ), districts ("gu" ), towns ("eup" ), townships ("myeon" ), neighborhoods ("dong" ) and villages ("ri" ). Local government. "Official Revised Romanization of Korean spellings are used" Provincial-level divisions. The top tier of administrative divisions are the provincial-level divisions, of which there are several types: provinces  (including special self-governing provinces), metropolitan cities, special cities, and special self-governing cities. The governors of the provincial-level divisions are elected every four years. Sejong special self-governing city and Jeju special self-governing province don't contain any lower level local autonomy. Municipal-level divisions. Si (city). A "si" (, pronounced ) is one of the divisions of a province, along with "gun". A city must have a neighborhood("dong") and can have towns("eup"), townships("myeon") if the city is combined with urban and rural areas. Once an eup of a county ("gun") attains a population of 50,000, the county can  become a city. A city with a population of over 500,000 (such as Suwon, Cheongju, Cheonan and Jeonju) is considered as a specific city, which can set non-autonomous districts("gu"). An administrative city doesn't have a city council and the mayor of the city is appointed by the provincial governor. Gun (county). A "gun" () is one of the divisions of a province (along with "si"), and of the metropolitan cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon and Ulsan (along with "gu"). A "gun" has a population of less than 150,000 (more than that would make it a city or "si"), is  less densely populated than a "gu", and is more rural in character than either of the other 2 divisions. "Gun" are comparable to British non-metropolitan districts. Counties are divided into towns ("eup") and townships ("myeon"). Specially, the size of a "gun" is less than a US "county". Gu (district). A "gu" () is equivalent to "district" in the West. The metropolitan cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon and Ulsan contain "gun" as well. "Gu" are similar to boroughs in some Western countries, and a "gu" office handles many of the functions that would be handled by the city in other jurisdictions . "Gu" are divided into neighborhoods ("dong"). Submunicipal level divisions. Eup (town). An "eup" () is similar to the unit of town. Along with "myeon", an "eup" is one of the divisions of a county ("gun"), and of some cities ("si") with a population of less than 500,000. The main town or towns in a county—or the secondary town or towns within a city's territory—are designated as "eup". Towns are subdivided into villages ("ri"). In order to form an "eup", the minimum population required is 20,000. Myeon (township). A "myeon" () is one of the divisions – along with "eup" – of  a county ("gun") and some cities ("si") of fewer than 500,000 population. "Myeon"s have smaller populations than "eup" and represent the rural areas of a county or city. "Myeon" are subdivided into villages ("ri"). The minimum population limit is 6,000. Dong (neighborhood). A "dong" () is the primary division of districts ("gu"), and of those cities ("si") which are not divided into districts. The "dong" is the smallest level of urban government to have its own office and staff. In some cases, a single legal "dong" is divided into several administrative "dong". Administrative "dong" are usually distinguished from one another by  number (as in the case of Myeongjang 1-dong and Myeongjang 2-dong). In such cases, each administrative "dong" has its own office and staff. The primary division of a "dong" is the "tong" (), but divisions at this level and below are seldom used in daily life. Some populous "dong" are subdivided into "ga" (), which are not a separate level of government, but only exist for use in addresses. Many major thoroughfares in Seoul, Suwon, and other cities are also subdivided into "ga". Ri (village). A "ri" () is the only division of towns ("eup") and districts ("myeon"). The "ri" is  the smallest level of rural government to contain any significant number of people. History. Although the details of local administration have changed dramatically over time, the basic outline of the current three-tiered system was implemented under the reign of Gojong in 1895. A similar system also remains in use in North Korea.