North Chungcheong is a province in the centre of South Korea. It was formed in 1896 from the northeastern half of the former Chungcheong province, was a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea. The provincial capital is Cheongju.
Geography
The province is part of the Hoseo region, and is bounded on the west by South Chungcheong province, on the north by Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, on the south by North Jeolla province, and on the east by North Gyeongsang. North Chungcheong is the only province in South Korea with no access to the sea. The province is mostly mountainous, dominated by the Noryeong Mountains to the north and the Sobaek Mountains to the east.
Resources
Agricultural products includes rice, barley, beans, and sweet potatoes, but the province is specialized on ginseng and tobacco. The tobacco has been introduced from the US in 1912 and has been transplanted from Virginia, US.
There are mineral reserves of gold, iron, coal, steatite, fluorite, and molybdenum, as well as marble and limestone in the northern part of the province. Silk weaving plays an important role.
Attractions
The main attractions of the province are Mount Songni (1,058 metres) in the Sobaek mountains with its national park. Pobju-sa , the site of one of the oldest temples of Korea is located in this national park. There is another national park around Mount Worak .
Administrative divisions
North Chungcheong is divided into 3 cities ("Si" or "Shi") and 9 counties ("Gun"). Each entity is listed below in English, Hangul, and Hanja.
Cities
Counties
See also
External link
