From the five regions of the Three Kingdoms through nine provinces, the five circuits and two frontiers and the eight provinces to the thirteen — how directly the centre came to rule the regions
Kim Jeong-ho · Public domain · Source
| Period | Local system | Key points |
|---|---|---|
| Goguryeo | Five capital wards; five regions (yoksal) | Three capitals; governors command troops |
| Baekje, Ungjin period (King Muryeong) | 22 damno | Royal kin sent to control the regions |
| Baekje, Sabi period (King Seong) | Five capital wards; five bang (bangnyeong) | 22 central bureaus |
| Silla (King Jijeung –) | Six capital wards; ju and gun (gunju) | First gunju at Siljik; later five ju and sogyeong |
| Unified Silla (King Sinmun) | Nine ju (dodok), five sogyeong | Inspectors (oesajeong); sangsuri hostage system |
| Balhae (King Seon) | Five capitals, 15 bu, 62 ju | Malgal villages under native chiefs |
| Early Goryeo (Taejo) | Sasimgwan and giin systems | Winning over and checking local magnates |
| Goryeo (Seongjong, 983) | First governors sent to 12 mok | Local magnates made hyangni clerks |
| Goryeo (Hyeonjong –) | Five circuits (anchalsa), two frontiers (byeongmasa), Gyeonggi | More unsupervised counties; hyang, bugok, so |
| Joseon | Eight provinces (gwanchalsa); magistrates in every county | Hyangni lowered; yuhyangso and gyeongjaeso |
| Second Gabo Reform (1895) | 23 bu; all counties made gun | Eight provinces abolished; local officials’ powers cut |
| After the Russian legation flight (1896) | 13 provinces | Five provinces split north/south → basis of today’s provinces |
The Three Kingdoms ranked their aristocrats by office grades and decided great matters in noble councils: the daedaero and the council of chiefs in Goguryeo, the chief jwapyeong and the Jeongsaam council in Baekje, and the sangdaedeung and the Hwabaek council in Silla.
King Muryeong sent royal kin to govern the 22 damno districts and traded with the Liang dynasty, restoring Baekje’s strength.
King Jijeung fixed the country’s name as Silla and the ruler’s title as wang (king), promoted ox ploughing and banned human sacrifice at burials.
King Seong moved the capital to Sabi (Buyeo) on the Geum River plain and renamed the country Nambuyeo ("Southern Buyeo").
King Sinmun divided the realm into nine provinces (ju) and set up five secondary capitals (sogyeong), completing the provincial system of unified Silla.
King Seon subdued most of the Malgal and pushed into Liaodong, giving Balhae its greatest extent, and organized five capitals, 15 prefectures and 62 districts; Tang called Balhae the Flourishing Land in the East.
Wang Geon both embraced and checked the regional lords, pursued a northward policy, and left his successors the Ten Injunctions before he died.
Adopting Choe Seung-ro’s memorial, King Seongjong built the two-chancellery, six-ministry system, set up twelve provincial governorships and founded the National University.
Under Hyeonjong the provinces were reorganized around four protectorates and eight governorships, and a capital region (Gyeonggi) was set up around Gaegyeong; the five circuits and the two military frontier regions took shape thereafter.
Joseon built a central government around the State Council and Six Ministries, checked by the Three Offices, and a local administration sending governors and magistrates to the eight provinces. It was codified in the Gyeongguk daejeon (1485).
Gojong went to the royal ancestral shrine and proclaimed the Fourteen Articles setting out the course of reform — the charter of the second Gabo Reform.
In the second Gabo Reform the eight provinces were abolished and the country divided into 23 bu; after the king’s flight to the Russian legation they were reorganized into 13 provinces, the basis of today’s provinces.
Prime minister who led the Gabo Reform; killed by a crowd after the king fled to the Russian legation
Twenty-fifth king of Baekje, who sent royal kin to the 22 damno districts and revived the kingdom
Twenty-second ruler of Silla, who fixed the names Silla and wang (king), promoted ox ploughing and annexed Usan-guk
Twenty-sixth king of Baekje, who moved the capital to Sabi and died at Gwansan Fortress
Munmu's son and 31st king of Silla, who crushed Kim Heum-dol's revolt and strengthened royal power through the National Academy, the nine provinces and office-land grants
Balhae's tenth king, who subdued most of the Malgal, reached Liaodong and organized five capitals, 15 prefectures and 62 districts; Balhae was then called the Flourishing Land in the East
Songak magnate who served Gung Ye, took Naju, overthrew Gung Ye to found Goryeo in 918 and reunified the Later Three Kingdoms in 935–936
Sixth king of Goryeo, who adopted Choe Seung-ro’s 28-article memorial and built a Confucian central and local administration
Confucian scholar of Silla head-rank-six origin whose 28-article memorial shaped Seongjong’s Confucian state
Eighth king of Goryeo, who weathered the second and third Khitan invasions and began the first Tripitaka
Third king of Joseon, who seized power in the Strifes of Princes and strengthened royal authority