What are the Administrative Divisions of South Korea?

South Korea's top-level administrative divisions are its 17 provincial-level units: one special city (Seoul), six metropolitan cities (Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon and Ulsan), one special self-governing city (Sejong) and nine provinces, three of which (Jeju, Gangwon and Jeonbuk) have special self-governing status. The provinces trace back to the Eight Provinces of the Joseon dynasty, set up in 1413, most of which were split into northern and southern halves in 1896. When Korea was divided in 1945 the south kept the southern provinces, and over the following decades its largest cities were separated from their provinces to become metropolitan cities, from Busan in 1963 to Ulsan in 1997. Sejong was created in 2012 to host government ministries moved out of Seoul.