North Chungcheong

North Chungcheong (Chungcheong-bukdo; 충청 북도; 忠清北道) is a province (Do) 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.

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. Chungcheong is the only province in South Korea with no access to the sea. The province is mostly mountainous, dominated by the Noryong Mountains to the north and the Sobaek Mountains to the east.

Agricultural produce 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, molybdenum, as well as marble and limestone in the northern part of the province. Silk weaving plays an important role.

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.

Apart from Cheongju, other large or notable cities in the province include Chungju, Jecheon, and Yeongdong.

Area: 7,436 square kilometres

Population: 1,462,621 (2000 census).

Administrative Divisions:

• Cheongju-si (청주시, 淸州市}
• Chungju-si (충주시, 忠州市}
• Jecheon-si (제천시, 堤川市}
• Boeun-gun (보은군, 報恩郡)
• Cheongwon-gun (청원군, 淸原郡)
• Danyang-gun (단양군, 丹陽郡)
• Eumseong-gun (음성군, 陰城郡)
• Goesan-gun (괴산군, 槐山郡)
• Jincheon-gun (진천군, 鎭川郡)
• Okcheon-gun (옥천군, 沃川郡)
• Yeongdong-gun (영동군, 永同郡)