The name of the region,
Haeseo, means "West of the Sea", in reference to the region being to the west of Gyeonggi Bay, the portion of the
Yellow Sea offshore of
Incheon and
Ganghwa Island. ==History== In 1395, the province was organized as Punghae (). In 1417, the province was renamed Hwanghae. The name derived from the names of the two principal cities of Hwangju () and Haeju ). In 1895, the province was reorganized into the
Districts of Haeju () in the west and
Gaeseong () in the east, but in 1896, a new system of thirteen provinces was established, and Hwanghae Province was reconstituted. In 1910, Korea was annexed into the
Empire of Japan, and its administrative divisions were rearranged. Hwanghae Province was reorganized into
Kōkai-dō, with Kaishū (Haeju) serving as its capital. In 1945, Korea was
divided into
Soviet and
American zones of occupation, north and south respectively of the
38th parallel. The southernmost part of Hwanghae (around the towns of
Ongjin and
Yeonan) was cut off from the rest of the province by the dividing line and joined
Gyeonggi Province in the southern half of the country. In 1948, Hwanghae and Gyeonggi Provinces became parts of the new countries of
North and
South Korea respectively. In 1953, at the end of the
Korean War, the
Northern Limit Line was established, which marked the
maritime boundary between North and South Korea. The line runs between the mainland portion of Gyeonggi Province that had been part of Hwanghae before 1945, and the adjacent offshore islands (the largest of which is
Baengnyeongdo). As a result, the mainland portion reverted to North Korean control, while the islands remained a part of South Korea. (Since 1999, North Korea has claimed a more southerly
Maritime Military Demarcation Line, which would make the islands a part of North Korea as well. Disputes between North and South Korean naval vessels often occur in this area.) In 1954, North Korea's Hwanghae Province was divided into
North and
South Hwanghae Provinces. ==Geography==