South Korea Administrative Divisions
What is the hierarchy of administrative divisions in South Korea?
Here’s a breakdown of the hierarchy:
1. First-level divisions: South Korea is divided into 17 first-level divisions, including metropolitan cities, a special city, a special self-governing city, and provinces.
2. Cities, counties, and districts: These are subdivisions of the first-level divisions.
3. Neighbourhoods, towns, and townships: These are the smallest administrative units, found within cities, counties, and districts.
List of South Korea's administrative divisions with their counts and names
These are the summarized administrative divisions. The full dataset is available in the Download Center.
| iso | country | admin level 1 | admin level 2 | admin level 3 | admin level 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KR | South Korea | Busan (Metropolitan city) | 14 Districts, 2 Counties | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Chungcheongbuk (Province) | 6 Cities, 8 Counties | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Chungcheongnam (Province) | 8 Cities, 8 Counties | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Daegu (Metropolitan city) | 2 Counties, 7 Districts | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Daejeon (Metropolitan city) | 5 Districts | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Gangwon (Special autonomous province) | 11 Counties, 7 Cities | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Gwangju (Metropolitan city) | 5 Districts | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Gyeonggi (Province) | 2 Districts, 39 Cities, 3 Counties | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Gyeongsangbuk (Province) | 11 Cities, 12 Counties | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Gyeongsangnam (Province) | 10 Counties, 12 Cities | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Incheon (Metropolitan city) | 2 Counties, 8 Districts | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Jeju (Special autonomous province) | 2 Cities | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Jeollanam (Province) | 17 Counties, 5 Cities | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Jeonbuk (Province) | 7 Cities, 8 Counties | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Sejong (Special autonomous city) | 1 County | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Seoul (Special city) | 25 Districts | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
| KR | South Korea | Ulsan (Metropolitan city) | 1 County, 4 Districts | This level doesn’t exist for this country. | This level doesn’t exist for this country. |
Why is building an Administrative Divisions Database complex?
The complexity arises from inconsistent global standards, frequent boundary changes, non-uniform naming conventions (e.g., “suburb” in Australia vs. “county” in the US), and variations in administrative levels across countries. Integrating and harmonizing data from multiple sources requires advanced normalization, versioning, and geospatial validation techniques.
How does GeoPostcodes solve the problem for you?
Our standardized database overcomes the complexity of different administrative division
systems worldwide. Our database follows a unified structure that you can integrate
seamlessly into your system or platform of choice without needing to become an expert in
each country’s unique administrative hierarchy.
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