North Chungcheong Province
Province of South Korea
North Chungcheong Province (Korean: 충청북도; Korean pronunciation: [tɕʰuŋ.tɕʰʌŋ.buk̚.t͈o]), also known as Chungbuk (충북), 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 mi2) 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.
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.
01Geography
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.
02Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 890,877 | , |
| 1940 | 935,111 | +5.0% |
| 1949 | 1,145,964 | +22.5% |
| 1960 | 1,369,780 | +19.5% |
| 1970 | 1,453,899 | +6.1% |
| 1980 | 1,424,083 | −2.1% |
| 1990 | 1,389,686 | −2.4% |
| 2000 | 1,466,567 | +5.5% |
| 2010 | 1,512,157 | +3.1% |
| 2020 | 1,632,088 | +7.9% |
| Source: | ||
03Resources
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.
04Attractions
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.
05Administrative divisions
Chungcheongbuk-do is divided into three cities (si) and eight counties (gun). Each entity is listed below in English, Hangul, and Hanja.
| Map | # | Name | Hangul | Hanja | Population (2012) | 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 | |
06Religion
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.
07Education
Chungcheongbuk-do is the site of several tertiary institutions, including:
- Cheongju National University of Education
- Cheongju University
- Chung Cheong College
- Chungbuk National University
- Daewon Science College
- Far East University
- Gangdong College
- Konkuk University
- Korea Air Force Academy
- Korea National University of Education
- Korea National University of Transportation (formerly Chungju National University)
- Youngdong University
- Jusung College
- Semyung University
- Seowon University
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “North Chungcheong Province”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Chungcheongbuk-do in South Korea 2023.svg by NordNordWest, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.