What are the Administrative Divisions of South Korea?

South Korea has 17 top-level divisions: one special city (Seoul), six metropolitan cities, one special self-governing city (Sejong) and nine provinces.

• The provinces trace back to the Eight Provinces of the Joseon dynasty, created in 1413.
• In 1896 most of them were split into northern and southern halves.
• When Korea was divided in 1945, the south kept the southern provinces.
• Large cities were later separated from their provinces as metropolitan cities, from Busan in 1963 to Ulsan in 1997.
• Sejong was created in 2012 to house government ministries moved out of Seoul.
• Jeju, Gangwon and Jeonbuk now have special self-governing status.