Special cities of North Korea

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Special city
Directly Governed Cities North Korea.png
Category Unitary state
Location Democratic People's Republic of Korea
Number4 Special Cities
Populations205,000 (Rason) – 3,255,388 (Pyongyang)
Areas710 square miles (1,800 km2) (Rason) – 400 square miles (1,000 km2) (Pyongyang)
Government
  • Single-Party Government
Subdivisions

Special cities are one of the first-level administrative divisions within North Korea. There are four special cities in North Korea.

Contents

Position in hierarchy and types

Special cities are the higher-ranked administrative divisions in North Korea. There are three kinds of special cities in North Korea.

Type Chosŏn'gŭl Hancha McCune–Reischauer City namesNumber of cities
Direct-administered city직할시直轄市chikhalsi Pyongyang 1
Special city특별시特別市t'ŭkpyŏlsi Rason, Nampo, Kaesong 3
Special-level city특급시特級市t'ŭkkŭpsiNone0

The first level cities have equal status to the provinces.

List of special cities

Name Chosŏn'gŭl Hancha Type ISO PopulationArea
(km2)
Density
(/km2)
Capital Region Province
related
Year of
assignment
Pyongyang 평양직할시平壤直轄市Directly administered cityKP-013,255,3883,1941,019 Chung-guyok Kwanso South Pyongan 1946
Rason 라선특별시羅先特別市Special cityKP-13205,000746275 Rajin-guyok Kwanbuk North Hamgyong 2010
Nampo 남포특별시南浦特別市Special cityKP-??366,815829442 Waudo-guyok Kwanso South Pyongan 2011
Kaesong 개성특별시開城特別市Special-level citynone308,4401,309235 Haeso North Hwanghae 2019

Note: Pyongyang is classified as a capital 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 coming from South Korea, refer the city as a special city; however, these are old sources. Moreover, South Korea has corrected the city as a directly governed city, according to a South Korean newspaper in 1994. The official name of Pyongyang would be "Pyongyang-si" in the Republic of Korea, which officially claims to represent the entire peninsula.

List of defunct special cities

Division name Chosŏn'gŭl Hancha Province absorbed intoAdministered Years
Chongjin 청진시淸津市 North Hamgyong 1960–1967, 1977–1985
Hamhung 함흥시咸興市 South Hamgyong 1960–1967

See also

References

    Further reading