North Chungcheong Province (Korean: 충청북도; RR: Chungcheongbuk-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 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.

Geography

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

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:

Resources

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

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

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

Map#NameHangulHanjaPopulation (2012)Subdivisions
— Specific City —
1Cheongju청주시淸州市845,3254 ilban-gu—3 eup, 10 myeon, 30 haengjeong-dong
— City —
2Chungju충주시忠州市208,4041 eup, 12 myeon, 12 haengjeong-dong
3Jecheon제천시堤川市137,6121 eup, 7 myeon, 9 haengjeong-dong
— County —
5Eumseong County음성군陰城郡92,5812 eup, 7 myeon
6Jincheon County진천군鎭川郡63,3441 eup, 6 myeon
7Okcheon County옥천군沃川郡53,3371 eup, 8 myeon
8Yeongdong County영동군永同郡50,7321 eup, 10 myeon
9Goesan County괴산군槐山郡37,7051 eup, 10 myeon
10Jeungpyeong County증평군曾坪郡34,1941 eup, 1 myeon
11Boeun County보은군報恩郡34,5001 eup, 10 myeon
12Danyang County단양군丹陽郡31,3342 eup, 6 myeon

Religion

  1. Not religious (59.9%)
  2. Buddhism (16.3%)
  3. Protestantism (15.8%)
  4. Catholicism (7.30%)
  5. Other (0.70%)

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.

Education

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

External links

  • (in English)