Gangwon dialect

The Gangwon dialect is spoken in South Korea's Gangwon Province and in North Korea's Kangwŏn Province. Although they are large provinces by area, relatively few people lived in the Gangwon Province. As a result, people living in the western side of Gangwon (Yeongseo) did not develop a highly distinctive dialect. However, the part of Gangwon that stretches on the eastern coast of Korea (Yeongdong), did develop a distinctive dialect. This is because the Taebaek Mountains bisect the Gangwon Province, and the people on eastern Gangwon are isolated from the high mountains. The Gangwon dialect uses tones distinguish homophonic words, much like Chinese or Vietnamese do.