Kangwon Province (North Korea)

Kangwon Province 강원도
Province
Korean transcription(s)
• Chosŏn'gŭl
• Hancha
• McCune‑Reischauer	Kangwŏndo
• Revised Romanization	Gangwon-do
Country	North Korea
Region	Gwandong (Yeongseo: western Kangwŏn; Yeongdong: eastern Kangwŏn)
Capital	Wŏnsan
Subdivisions	2 cities; 15 counties
Area
• Total	11,255 km2 (4,346 sq mi)
Population (2008)
• Total	1,477,582
• Density	130/km2 (340/sq mi)
Dialect	Kangwŏn, Hamgyŏng

Kangwon Province (Kangwŏndo; Korean pronunciation: [kaŋ.wʌn.do]) is a province of North Korea, with its capital at Wŏnsan. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Kangwŏn Province and its South Korean neighbour Gangwon Province (also spelled Kangwon Province) formed a single province that excluded Wŏnsan.

Kangwŏn was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The province was formed 1395, and derived its name from the names of the principal cities of Gangneung (or Kangnŭng; 강릉; 江陵) and the provincial capital Wonju (or Wŏnju; 원주; 原州).

In 1895, Kangwŏn was replaced by the Districts of Chuncheon (Chuncheon-bu; 춘천부; 春川府) in the west and Gangneung (Gangneung-bu; 강릉부; 江陵府) in the east. Wonju became part of Chungju District.

In 1896, Korea was redivided into thirteen provinces, and the two districts were merged to re-form Kangwŏn Province. Although Wonju rejoined Kangwŏn province, the provincial capital was moved to Chuncheon.

In 1945, Kangwŏn Province (along with the rest of Korea) was divided by the 38th parallel north in 1945 into Soviet and American zones of occupation in the north and south respectively. In 1946, the northern province was expanded to include the North Korean portion of Gyeonggi Province, and the area around Wŏnsan in South Hamgyŏng Province. The provincial capital of the North Korean portion of the province was established at Wŏnsan, as Kangwŏn's traditional capitals Wonju and Chuncheon both were south of the 38th parallel. In 1948, the province became part of the new Democratic People's Republic of Korea. As a result of the Korean War of 1953, the boundary between the North and South Korean portions of the province was shifted northward to the Military Demarcation Line.

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