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Gyeonggi is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but is separately administered as a provincial-level Special City.
Geography
Gyeonggi Province is located in the northwest of South Korea. The province is bounded on the east by Gangwon province, on the south by North and South Chungcheong provinces, and on the west by Incheon and the Yellow Sea. The province almost completely surrounds Seoul. To the north lies Kaesŏng Industrial Region and North Hwanghae Province in North Korea.
History
At the end of the Japanese Colonial Period in 1945, Gyeonggi Province 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 Gyeonggi Province.
In 1946, Seoul became a separately administered, provincial-level "Special City." That same year, the Soviet-controlled northern zone of Gyeonggi Province joined the northern half of Kangwŏn Province. In 1948, Gyeonggi Province 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 became part of that country at the end of hostilities in 1953. Also in 1953, the mainland section of Gyeonggi Province that had previously been part of Hwanghae Province rejoined Hwanghae. In 1981, Incheon was split off as a separately administered Directly Governed City (now called a "Metropolitan City").
Economic growth
As the industrial hinterland of Seoul, agriculture in the province has largely given way to industry. This was forced by the construction of highways in the 1960s. Many cities have become satellite cities of Seoul, including Anyang, Bucheon, Seongnam, and Uijeongbu. Dominant industries include shipbuilding, steel manufacturing and plate-glass production. Among more traditional industries, fishing is still important.
International communications
Incheon serves as Seoul's seaport and has Seoul's main international airport, Incheon International Airport.
Before the opening of Incheon Airport in 2001, Gimpo Airport handled all of Seoul's international traffic. Gimpo Airport now is mainly a domestic airport.
Administrative divisions
Gyeonggi Province is divided into 27 cities ("Si") and 4 counties ("Gun"). Listed below is each entity's name in English and Hangul.
Cities
Counties
See also
External link
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