Kwanbuk

Its name, Kwanbuk, means "North of the Ridge". The ridge in question is the Machon mountain range (Hanja: 摩天嶺; North Korean (Munhwa'ŏ): 마천령 machŏnryŏng; South Korean (Pyojuneo): 마천영 macheonyeong). Machŏnryŏng is a part of the greater Hamgyong mountain range that runs through northeast Korea.

Kwanbuk can further be divided into another subregion, Kwannam (關南/관남, gwannam), which demarcates South Hamgyong from the rest of the region.

In modern times, the name has fallen out of use in most parts of Korea.

History

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.