North Chungcheong Province

North Chungcheong Province (Korean충청북도; RRChungcheongbuk-do), also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of 7,433 km2 (2,870 sq mi) located in the Hoseo region on the south-centre of the Korean Peninsula. North Chungcheong borders the provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon to the north, North Gyeongsang to the east, North Jeolla to the south and South Chungcheong, Sejong Special Autonomous City and Daejeon Metropolitan City to the west.

North Chungcheong Province
충청북도
Chungcheongbuk-do
Korean pronunciation: [tɕʰuŋ.tɕʰʌŋ.buk̚.t͈o]
Korean transcription(s)
 • Hangul충청북도
 • Hanja
 • McCune–ReischauerCh’ungch’ŏngbukto
 • Revised RomanizationChungcheongbuk-do
Flag of North Chungcheong Province
Official logo of North Chungcheong Province
Location of North Chungcheong Province
Coordinates: 36°45′N 127°45′E / 36.750°N 127.750°E / 36.750; 127.750
Country South Korea
RegionHoseo
CapitalCheongju
Subdivisions5 cities; 8 counties
Government
 • GovernorKim Young-hwan (People Power)
Area
 • Total
7,433 km2 (2,870 sq mi)
 • Rank8th
Population
 (October, 2014)[1]
 • Total
1,578,934
 • Rank7th
 • Density213/km2 (550/sq mi)
Metropolitan Symbols
 • FlowerWhite Magnolia
 • TreeZelkova
 • BirdMagpie
GDP
 • TotalKRW 79 trillion
USD 63 billion (2022)
ISO 3166 codeKR-43
DialectChungcheong
WebsiteOfficial website (English)

Cheongju is the capital and largest city of North Chungcheong, with other major cities including Chungju and Jecheon.

North Chungcheong was established in 1896 from the province of Chungcheong, one of the Eight Provinces of Korea, consisting of the northeastern half of the territory, and is South Korea's only landlocked province. North Chungcheong was known as Chūsei-hoku Prefecture during the Japanese Colonial Period from 1910 and became part of South Korea following the division of Korea in 1945.

Geography

edit

The province is part of the Hoseo region, and is bounded on the west by Chungcheongnam-do province, on the north by Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do provinces, on the south by Jeollabuk-do province, and on the east by Gyeongsangbuk-do. Chungcheongbuk-do is the only land-locked province in South Korea. The province is mostly mountainous, dominated by the Noryeong Mountains to the north and the Sobaek Mountains to the east.

Demographics

edit
Historical population
YearPop.±%
1930890,877—    
1940935,111+5.0%
19491,145,964+22.5%
19601,369,780+19.5%
19701,453,899+6.1%
19801,424,083−2.1%
19901,389,686−2.4%
20001,466,567+5.5%
20101,512,157+3.1%
20201,632,088+7.9%
Source: [3]

Resources

edit

Agricultural products includes rice, barley, beans, and potatoes, but the province specializes in ginseng and tobacco. The tobacco was introduced from the US in 1912, transplanted from Virginia.

There are mineral reserves of gold, iron, coal, steatite, fluorite, and molybdenum, as well as marble and limestone in the northern part of the province. Silk weaving plays an important role.

Attractions

edit

The main attractions in the province are Mount Songni (1,058 metres [3,471 ft]) in the Sobaek mountains and its national park. Beopjusa, the site of one of the oldest temples of Korea is located in this national park, as is Guinsa, the headquarters of the Cheontae sect. There is another national park around Mount Worak.

Administrative divisions

edit

Chungcheongbuk-do is divided into 3 cities (si) and 8 counties (gun). Each entity is listed below in English, Hangul, and Hanja.

Map # Name Hangul Hanja Population (2012)[4] Subdivisions
 
Specific City
1 Cheongju 청주시 淸州市 845,325 4 ilban-gu — 3 eup, 10 myeon, 30 haengjeong-dong
City
2 Chungju 충주시 忠州市 208,404 1 eup, 12 myeon, 12 haengjeong-dong
3 Jecheon 제천시 堤川市 137,612 1 eup, 7 myeon, 9 haengjeong-dong
County
5 Eumseong County 음성군 陰城郡 92,581 2 eup, 7 myeon
6 Jincheon County 진천군 鎭川郡 63,344 1 eup, 6 myeon
7 Okcheon County 옥천군 沃川郡 53,337 1 eup, 8 myeon
8 Yeongdong County 영동군 永同郡 50,732 1 eup, 10 myeon
9 Goesan County 괴산군 槐山郡 37,705 1 eup, 10 myeon
10 Jeungpyeong County 증평군 曾坪郡 34,194 1 eup, 1 myeon
11 Boeun County 보은군 報恩郡 34,500 1 eup, 10 myeon
12 Danyang County 단양군 丹陽郡 31,334 2 eup, 6 myeon

Religion

edit

Religion in Chungcheongbuk-do (2015)[5]

  Not religious (59.9%)
  Buddhism (16.3%)
  Protestantism (15.8%)
  Catholicism (7.3%)
  Other (0.7%)

According to the 2015 census, 16.3% of the population follows Buddhism and 23.1% follow Christianity (15.8% Protestantism and 7.3% Catholicism). 59.9% of the population is not religious and 0.7% of the population follows other religions.[5]

Education

edit

Chungcheongbuk-do is the site of several tertiary institutions, including:

References

edit
  1. ^ "연령별 인구현황". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2015-10-01.
  2. ^ "2022년 지역소득(잠정)". www.kostat.go.kr.
  3. ^ "Population Census". Statistics Korea.
  4. ^ "Population". Chungcheongbuk-do. September 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-07.
  5. ^ a b "2015 Census – Religion Results".
edit