Kyonggi Province

The Kyonggi Province is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul, South Korea's largest city and national capital, was located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level Special City in 1946.

History
Kyonggi was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The province was first established in 1413. Its name denotes an area within a 200km radius of the royal capital Hanseong (modern-day Seoul).

In 1895, the province was replaced by the Districts of Hanseong around Seoul, Kaesŏng around Kaesŏng, and Inchon around Inchon and Suwon, with outlying areas in the east and south becoming part of the Districts of Chuncheon, Chungju, or Gongju.

In 1896, a new system of thirteen provinces was established, and Kyonggi was reconstituted with its pre-1895 boundaries. The provincial capital moved to Suwon, where it remains today.

At the end of the Japanese Colonial Period in 1945, Kyonggi-do was divided into American and Soviet zones of occupation. The boundary between the American zone in the south and the Soviet zone in the north was the 38th parallel. The southern zone of Hwanghae Province—also divided by the 38th parallel—joined the southern zone of Kyonggi.

In 1946, Seoul became a separately administered, provincial-level "Special City." That same year, the Soviet-controlled northern zone of Kyonggi-do joined the northern half of Kangwŏn Province. In 1948, Kyonggi-do became part of the newly independent country of South Korea.

In 1951, the area around Kaesŏng came under North Korean control during the Korean War, and officially came under the administration of that country at the end of hostilities in 1953. Also in 1953, the mainland section of Kyonggi-do that had previously been part of Hwanghae Province rejoined Hwanghae. In 1981, Inchon was split off as a separately administered Directly Governed City (now called a "Metropolitan City").