Koryŏ In the latter half of the 11th Century during the reign of
Sŏnjong of Koryŏ, the administrative divisions of medieval Korea were being reorganized. During that time, the area that is now
Gyeonggi Province was called
Gwannae-do (關內道/관내도), so it is believed that Kwanbuk given its name in reference not only to the Machon mountain range, but also the region position north to Gyeonggi.
Chosŏn and Korean Empire periods (1392-1910) The
Chosŏn Dynasty (1392–1897), and later the
Korean Empire (1897–1910), ruled the entirety of the Korean Peninsula for nearly five and a half centuries. During the latter half of the Koryo Dynasty, Kwanbuk was administered as
Tonggye (東界/동계) from Hamju-mok (咸洲木/함주목). In the early days of the Choson Dynasty, the province was referred to as
Hamgil-do (咸吉道/함길도), then briefly
Yeonggil-do (永吉道/영길도) and
Yeongan-do (永安道/영안도), before receiving its current name,
Hamgyŏng-do (咸鏡道/함경도), by taking the first syllable from the names of the provinces two principal cities:
Hamhung (咸興/함흥) and
Kyongsong (鏡城/경성). Hamhung served as the provincial capital. Under the rule of the Choson monarchs, Koreans from the northern provinces,
Pyŏngan and Hamgyŏng, faced extreme discrimination, such as being subject to heavier taxation, compared to the rest of the country, as well as being prohibited from taking the
civil service examination (과거
kwagŏ). In 1895,
King Gojong divided the original Eight Provinces into twenty-three districts. Hamgyong Province was divided into three districts, or
bu (府/부): Kyŏngsŏng-bu (鏡城府/경성부),
Kapsan-bu (甲山府/갑산부), and Hamhŭng-bu (咸興府/함흥부). One year later, the twenty-three districts were reorganized into eighteen provinces. Kyongsong and Kapsan districts were reorganized into North Hamgyong Province, while Hamhung-bu was reorganized into South Hamgyong Province.
Japanese occupation (1910-1945) Korea was
annexed into the
Empire of Japan in 1910, with its internal borders being rearranged once again. North Hamgyong and South Hamgyong provinces were rearranged into
Kankyōhoku-dō and
Kankyōnan-dō, with Seishin (Chongjin) and Kankō (Hamhung) as their respective provincial capitals. Due to their proximity to
Manchukuo, the northern provinces (
North and
South Heian and North and South Kankyō) the region was heavily
industrialized.
Contemporary period (1945-present) Following the
Japanese surrender in September 1945, Korea regained its independence after thirty-five years under Japanese rule. The
People's Republic of Korea, a
provisional government, was founded shortly thereafter. The provisional republic remained a sovereign, independent state for several days, until the
United States and
Soviet Union devised a plan to temporary partition Korea into two occupied zones, then reunify the peninsula once it was determined that the Koreans were fit to govern themselves. Korea was divided at thirty-eight degrees north (
38th parallel), which divided Korea roughly in half. The entirety of the Korean northeast fell under the jurisdiction of the
Soviet Civil Administration, the zone of Korea north of the 38th parallel. The
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) was established in 1948, and made changes to its internal borders shortly thereafter, such as demarcation of several counties in South Hamgyong Province to be conjoined with a majority of
North Pyŏngan, to create
Chagang Province.
Ryanggang Province, known as
Yanggang-do (양강도) in
South Korea, was created in 1954 by demarcating the northernmost land from South Hamgyong and northwestern part of North Hamgyong. ==Administrative divisions==