Korean Provinces Vocabulary: 20 Words with Romanization and Audio

Korean Provinces Vocabulary at a Glance

South Korea is divided into provinces (도), large cities with their own status (특별시 and 광역시) and a number of smaller units. Almost every Korean has a hometown (고향) in one of the provinces, and the province name tells you what kind of food, accent and landscape to expect. Learning the names helps with maps, train and bus signs, weather forecasts, news and conversation about where someone is from. The words come in groups that follow the map: the capital region around Seoul, the middle (Chungcheong), the southeast (Gyeongsang), the southwest (Jeolla), and the mountains and island on the edges (Gangwon and Jeju). The list sits in Geography and Countries. For the cities inside the provinces, see Korean Cities Vocabulary.

Which Korean Province Names Should You Learn First?

Learn 도, 경기도, 강원도, 제주도, 경상도 and 전라도 first. They are the names you hear most in travel plans, food talk and the weather. Add 수도권 next, since news and housing talk in Korea often compares the capital region with the rest.

• Words to say. 도, 경기도, 강원도, 제주도, 경상도, 전라도.
• Words to recognise. 충청북도, 충청남도, 경상북도, 경상남도, 전라북도, 전라남도. They appear on signs and in forecasts.
• Words to match. 영남, 호남, 사투리. They link a province to a region or to a way of speaking.

The key to the double names is the pair 북 and 남. 북 means north and 남 means south, so 충청북도 is North Chungcheong and 충청남도 is South Chungcheong. The same pattern repeats for Gyeongsang and Jeolla. Many names also come from two old cities: 충청 from 충주 and 청주, 전라 from 전주 and 나주, and 경상 from 경주 and 상주. The scene below shows a simplified map with numbered regions that match the list.

Word · 10

1. 1

   도

   Play

   do

   province

2. 2

   수도권

   Play

   sudogwon

   capital region

3. 3

   경기도

   Play

   Gyeonggi-do

   Gyeonggi Province

4. 4

   광역시

   Play

   gwangyeoksi

   metropolitan city

5. 5

   충청도

   Play

   Chungcheong-do

   Chungcheong region

6. 6

   경상도

   Play

   Gyeongsang-do

   Gyeongsang region

7. 7

   전라도

   Play

   Jeolla-do

   Jeolla region

8. 8

   강원도

   Play

   Gangwon-do

   Gangwon Province

9. 9

   제주도

   Play

   Jeju-do

   Jeju Island; Jeju Province

10. 10

    사투리

    Play

    saturi

    dialect

Capital Region

Four words explain how the map is organised. 도 is the suffix that turns a place name into a province, as in 경기도. 수도권 is the capital region, the crowded area around Seoul that includes the city of Seoul, the port city of Incheon and Gyeonggi Province. 경기도 is the province that surrounds Seoul like a ring. 광역시 is a metropolitan city, a large city, such as Busan, that is governed by itself and not by a province.

Short Forms of Province Names

People shorten province names in speech, on signs and in news. The pattern is simple: drop the -도 and keep the first syllable of each part. The table below lists the short forms and how they are read. The short forms are not new words to memorise from scratch, since each is built from the full name you already know.

The short forms are used in headlines and on bus and train displays.

The short form takes the first syllable of the region name and the 북 or 남 that follows. So 경상남도 becomes 경남. When you hear 경남 on a weather report, you now know it means South Gyeongsang.

How Do You Say Chungcheong in Korean?

Chungcheong sits in the middle of the country, south of Gyeonggi. 충청도 is the old name for the whole region, and today it is split into 충청북도 and 충청남도. The north province is the only one in South Korea with no sea coast, while the south province faces the West Sea. The region has its own way of speaking, which you can read about on the accents page.

북 and 남 do the work here: 충청북도 is north, 충청남도 is south. Notice that 충청 appears in all three words.

Gyeongsang

Gyeongsang covers the southeast of the peninsula and is the home of cities such as Busan, Daegu and Ulsan. The region name 경상도 is still used for the accent and for local food, while the official provinces are 경상북도 and 경상남도. 영남 is a second, older name for the same region, found in news, history and the names of companies and schools.

Use 경상도 when you talk about food or an accent, and 경상북도 or 경상남도 when you need the exact province.

How Do You Say Jeolla in Korean?

Jeolla lies in the southwest and is known for rice fields, a long coastline and food. The name is spelled 전라 but said [절라], because ㄴ becomes ㄹ before ㄹ. The Revised Romanization shows this change, which is why the word is written Jeolla, not Jeonla. 호남 is the old name for the region, like 영남 for Gyeongsang. The two provinces are 전라북도 and 전라남도.

Say [절라도], not [전라도]. The spelling stays 전라 but the spoken sound is 절라, just as 신라 is said [실라].

Gangwon and Jeju

The last group holds the edges of the map and the words for talking about the provinces. 강원도 is the mountain province in the northeast, known for hiking and winter sport, and 제주도 is the island south of the peninsula. 특별자치도 is a special self-governing province, a status that Jeju has had since 2006 and that Gangwon (2023) and Jeonbuk (2024) now share. 지방 means the regions outside the capital, and 사투리 is a local dialect. For more about speech in different regions, see accents and dialects.

Two provinces changed their official names recently: 강원도 became 강원특별자치도 on 11 June 2023, and 전라북도 became 전북특별자치도 on 18 January 2024. Addresses, signs and official documents now use the new names, while daily speech still often uses 강원도 and 전라북도, so learn both. Check the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (행정안전부) for any later change.

How Do You Pronounce These Words?

Province names have two sound changes you need to know: tense consonants after a final ㄱ, and ㄴ turning into ㄹ before ㄹ. Standard pronunciation follows the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) rules, and the romanization follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which writes the ㄴ to ㄹ change (Jeolla) but does not show tensing caused by a neighbouring sound. In official place names, RR also puts a hyphen before the unit 도 (Gyeonggi-do, Chungcheongbuk-do), so sound changes across that hyphen are not written.

Say each tense sound without a puff of air: close the throat a little and let the sound come out short and firm. The pair 북도 is the key one, since it appears in three province names. Compare it with the plain ㄷ in 경기도.

Audio and Slow Playback

Each word and sentence has its own clip. The five clips below replay the hardest words slowly. Play one, repeat it aloud, then play it again and compare.

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Korean Province Names?

Five mistakes come up again and again.

1. Saying 전라도 as [전라도]. The spoken form is [절라도], and the Revised Romanization writes Jeolla, not Jeonla.
2. Mixing up 북 and 남. 북 is north and 남 is south, so 충청북도 is the northern Chungcheong province, not the southern one.
3. Treating 경상도, 전라도 and 충청도 as today's provinces. They are older region names. Today's provinces are the six with 북 and 남, plus 경기도, 강원도 and 제주도.
4. Forgetting the tense sound in 북도. 충청북도 is said [충청북또], with a firm ㄸ.
5. Reading 지방 as fat. The two words share one spelling. In a sentence about where you live, 지방 means the regions outside Seoul.

The practice section turns the list into drills.

Practice: Flashcards and Worksheet

Use three steps. Run the flashcard deck in recognition mode until the 20 words come quickly. Switch to listening mode, then take the quiz. The deck holds every word on this page with audio, and your progress stays in your browser. The vocabulary flashcard decks page lists the other decks.

A printable worksheet for these words (word list, matching, writing practice, fill-in-the-blank exercises and answer key) is available in A4 and US Letter from the download card on this page. For practice, draw a rough map of Korea and label five places in Korean: 경기도, 강원도, 경상도, 전라도, 제주도.

Where to Go Next

After this page, continue with Korean Landscape Words for mountains, rivers and fields, or go back to the cities on Korean Cities Vocabulary. To move up a level, return to Geography and Countries.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Provinces Does South Korea Have?

South Korea has nine provinces (도): Gyeonggi, Gangwon, North and South Chungcheong, North and South Jeolla, North and South Gyeongsang and Jeju. Gangwon and Jeonbuk (North Jeolla) are now officially special self-governing provinces. Large cities such as Seoul and Busan are governed separately and are not part of a province.

How Do You Say Gyeonggi Province in Korean?

Gyeonggi Province is 경기도 (Gyeonggi-do). The short form is 경기. Say 저는 경기도에 살아요 for I live in Gyeonggi Province.

What Do 북 and 남 Mean in Province Names?

북 means north and 남 means south. 충청북도 is North Chungcheong and 충청남도 is South Chungcheong. The same pair is used for Jeolla and Gyeongsang.

Why Is 전라도 Pronounced [절라도]?

ㄴ turns into ㄹ when it is next to ㄹ, so 전라 is said [절라]. The Revised Romanization shows this change and writes Jeolla. The same rule makes 신라 sound like [실라].

What Are 영남 and 호남?

영남 is an older name for the Gyeongsang region and 호남 is an older name for the Jeolla region. They appear in news, history and the names of organisations.

Is the Romanization on This Page Official?

It follows the Revised Romanization of Korean, which South Korea adopted on 7 July 2000 and whose rules the National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) publishes. It is a learning aid and does not mark every sound change, so rely on the Hangul and the audio.

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