North Gyeongsang Province

North Gyeongsang Province (Korean: 경상북도; RR: Gyeongsangbuk-do, Korean pronunciation: [kjʌŋ.saŋ.buk̚.t͈o]) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of 18,420 km² (7,110 sq mi), it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea (as Keishōhoku-dō during Japanese rule) until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea.

North Gyeongsang Province 경상북도
Province
Korean transcription(s)
• Hangul	경상북도
• Hanja	慶尙北道
• McCune‑Reischauer	Kyŏngsangbuk-to
• Revised Romanization	Gyeongsangbuk-do
Juwangsan Jeomchon Station Bulguksa Gyeongju World Homigot
Flag Logo
Country	South Korea
Region	Yeongnam
Largest city	Pohang
Capital	Andong
Subdivisions	10 cities; 12 counties
Government
• Governor	Lee Cheol-woo (People Power)
Area
• Total	19,030 km2 (7,350 sq mi)
• Rank	1st
Population  (October, 2014)[1]
• Total	2,546,960
• Rank	3rd
• Density	141.7/km2 (367/sq mi)
Demonym	Gyeongbukite
Metropolitan Symbols
• Flower	Crape-myrtle
• Tree	Zelcova
• Bird	Common heron
GDP [2]
• Total	KR₩ 115 trillion US$ 92 billion (2022)
ISO 3166 code	KR-47
Dialect	Gyeongsang
Website	Official website (English)

Daegu was the capital of North Gyeongsang Province between 1896 and 1981, but has not been a part of the province since 1981. In 2016, the provincial capital moved from Daegu to Andong.^[3]

History

See also: Gyeongsang Province

The 1,000-year-old Silla Kingdom flourished and unified the previous three kingdoms. The area was named Gyeongsang-do in 1314 during the Goryeo Dynasty. In 1896, during the Joseon Dynasty, the area was renamed Gyeongsangbuk-do as 13 roads were reorganized. The current administrative district was reorganized with the reorganization of Bu, Gun, and Myeon in 1914.^[4]

Geography and climate

The province is part of the Yeongnam region, bordered to the south by South Gyeongsang Province, to the west by North Jeolla and North Chungcheong Provinces, and to the north by Gangwon Province. It is largely surrounded by mountains: the Taebaek Mountains in the east and the Sobaek Mountains in the west.^{[citation needed]}

Culture

Cuisine

Andong Sikhye, a local food from Andong and northern North Gyeongsang Province, is essential for entertaining guests on Seollal or feast days. Unlike ordinary Sikhye, it is red with Chili powder, has more grains of rice, and less soup.^[5]

Tourism

North Gyeongsang Province is the homeland of the former kingdom of Silla and has retained much of its cultural tradition. A number of artists, political leaders and scholars have come from the province.

• 
  View of Hahoe Folk Village in Andong
• 
  View of Yangdong Folk Village in Gyeongju
• 
  View of Muryangsojieon lantern statue and Buseoksa in Yeongju
• 
  Bulguksa in Gyeongju

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1980	3,102,060	—
1990	2,766,797	−1.14%
2000	2,724,931	−0.15%
2010	2,600,032	−0.47%
2015	2,680,294	+0.61%
2020	2,644,757	−0.27%
Source: Citypopulation[6]

Cities, towns, and villages

Largest cities in North Gyeongsang Province Citypopulation[7]
	Rank		Pop.
Pohang Gumi	1	Pohang	501,109	Gyeongsan Gyeongju
	2	Gumi	416,603
	3	Gyeongsan	283,733
	4	Gyeongju	261,778
	5	Andong	159,412
	6	Gimcheon	139,145
	7	Chilgok	115,756
	8	Yeongju	103,818
	9	Yeongcheon	100,353
	10	Sangju	95,473

Religion

Religion in North Gyeongsang (2015)^[8]

  Not religious (55.4%)

  Buddhism (25.3%)

  Protestantism (13.3%)

  Catholicism (5.2%)

  Other (0.8%)

According to the census of 2015, 25.3% followed Buddhism and 18.5% followed Christianity (13.3% Protestantism and 5.2% Catholicism). 55.4% of the population is irreligious.^[8]

Administrative divisions

Gyeongsangbuk-do is divided into 10 cities (si) and 12 counties (gun). The names below are given in English, hangul, and hanja. Gyeongsang do is originated from Gyeongju & Sangju old city of Gyeong+Sang from Joseon Dynasty (1392–1910). Do means road to 8 directional road from Seoul. Pohang is Korean steel production hub, Gumi is electronics capital of South Korea.

Night view of Pohang

Map	#	Name	Hangul	Hanja	Population (2024)[9]	Subdivisions
	— Specific City —
	1	Pohang	포항시	浦項市	492,041	2 ilban-gu — 4 eup, 10 myeon, 15 haengjeong-dong
	— City —
	2	Gumi	구미시	龜尾市	404,691	2 eup, 6 myeon, 19 haengjeong-dong
	3	Gyeongsan	경산시	慶山市	266,951	2 eup, 6 myeon, 7 haengjeong-dong
	4	Gyeongju	경주시	慶州市	245,365	4 eup, 8 myeon, 11 haengjeong-dong
	5	Andong	안동시	安東市	153,348	1 eup, 13 myeon, 10 haengjeong-dong
	6	Gimcheon	김천시	金泉市	135,767	1 eup, 14 myeon, 7 haengjeong-dong
	7	Yeongju	영주시	榮州市	99,309	1 eup, 9 myeon, 9 haengjeong-dong
	8	Sangju	상주시	尙州市	92,452	1 eup, 17 myeon, 6 haengjeong-dong
	9	Yeongcheon	영천시	永川市	99,034	1 eup, 10 myeon, 5 haengjeong-dong
	10	Mungyeong	문경시	聞慶市	67,544	2 eup, 7 myeon, 5 haengjeong-dong
	— County —
	11	Chilgok County	칠곡군	漆谷郡	108,119	3 eup, 5 myeon
	12	Uiseong County	의성군	義城郡	56,777	1 eup, 17 myeon
	13	Uljin County	울진군	蔚珍郡	46,112	2 eup, 8 myeon
	14	Yecheon County	예천군	醴泉郡	45,948	1 eup, 11 myeon
	15	Cheongdo County	청도군	淸道郡	43,787	2 eup, 7 myeon
	16	Seongju County	성주군	星州郡	44,824	1 eup, 9 myeon
	17	Yeongdeok County	영덕군	盈德郡	40,213	1 eup, 8 myeon
	18	Goryeong County	고령군	高靈郡	35,281	1 eup, 7 myeon
	19	Bonghwa County	봉화군	奉化郡	33,936	1 eup, 9 myeon
	20	Cheongsong County	청송군	靑松郡	26,432	1 eup, 7 myeon
	21	Yeongyang County	영양군	英陽郡	18,259	1 eup, 5 myeon
	22	Ulleung County	울릉군	鬱陵郡	10,557	1 eup, 2 myeon

Economy

In October 2022, the Province announced its plan to make the province a leading area centered on the domestic metaverse. It is also a specialized complex for semiconductor and secondary battery national high-tech strategic industries.^[10]

Industry

The service industry accounts for 58.3%, mining manufacturing industry account for 30.6%, construction account for 10.5%, and agriculture and fishing account for 0.6%. Mobile convergence, digital device parts, and energy material parts are major specialized industries.^[11]

Transportation

Railway

Gyeongbuk Line

• Gyeongbuk Line
• Yeongdong Line

The railway stations in North Gyeongsang Province are as follows:

• Andong station
• Apo station
• Bonghwa station
• Cheongdo station
• Daesin station
• Gimcheon station
• Gimcheon (Gumi) station
• Gumi station
• Gyeongju station
• Gyeongsan station
• Hwabon station
• Jeomchon Station
• Jicheon station
• Jikjisa station
• Jinyeong station
• Moryang station
• Mungyeong station
• Munsu station
• Namseonghyeon station
• Pohang station
• Punggi station
• Sagok station
• Samseong station
• Sinam station
• Sindong station
• Singeo station
• Uiseong station
• Waegwan station
• Yangmok station
• Yeongcheon station
• Yeongdeok station
• Yeongju station
• Yeonhwa station

Recent discoveries

In September 2021, archaeologists announced the discovery of 1500 years-old woman skeleton with a necklace and a bracelet in North Gyeongsang Province. The remains of a 135-centimeter-tall woman, who is estimated to have died in her 20s, were discovered along with the bones of animals such as horses and cows, as well as earthenware.^{[12][13][14][15]}

Notable people from North Gyeongsang Province

Lee Myung-bak

Kim Boo-kyum

• Lee Myung-bak, Former President of South Korea
• Han Duck-soo, the Prime minister of South Korea
• Cho Tae-yul, 41st Foreign Minister of South Korea
• Taeyeon (born Kim Tae-yeon 1989), singer and member of Girls' Generation
• Kwon Yong-jin, South Korean politician
• Kim Boo-kyum, South Korean politician
• Park Chung Hee, Former South Korean President
• Ahn Ji-young, a member of Korean band Bolbbalgan4
• Yoo Jae-ha, South Korean singer and songwriter

See also

• Liancourt Rocks
• People Power Party (South Korea)
• South Gyeongsang Province

References

1. "연령별 인구현황". Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
2. "2022년 지역소득(잠정)". www.kostat.go.kr.
3. 도로망 구축 10조 원, 경북도청 신청사 지역의 위용(사진). HuffPost (in Korean). 15 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
4. "History". Gyeongsangbuk-do.
5. "Andong sweet rice punch (안동식혜)". Korea Tourism Organization.
6. "South Korea: Provinces".
7. "South Korea: Provinces".
8. "2015 Census – Religion Results" (in Korean). KOSIS KOrean Statistical Information Service. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
9. 2013년 1분기 주민등록인구현황 (in Korean). North Gyeongsang Province. March 2013. Retrieved 10 June 2013.
10. "North Gyeongsang Province aims to position itself as hub of metaverse". The Korea Times. 19 October 2023.
11. "Gyeongsangbuk-do Province". The Association of Nort East Asia Regional Governments.
12. "More human sacrifice evidence unearthed at Gyeongju palace site". koreatimes. 7 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
13. "Human Remains Found in Foundation of Silla Dynasty Palace - Archaeology Magazine". www.archaeology.org. 9 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
14. Seung-hyun, Song (7 September 2021). "More evidence unearthed of Silla-era human sacrifice". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
15. "Remains from human sacrifices unearthed at Wolseong Palace in Gyeongju". english.hani.co.kr. Retrieved 11 September 2021.

External links

• Official website (in English)
• (in French) Alsace/Gyeongsangbuk-do
• North Gyeongsang Province travel guide from Wikivoyage

36°15′N 128°45′E