South Chungcheong Province

South Chungcheong Province (Korean: 충청남도, Korean pronunciation: [tɕʰuŋ.tɕʰʌŋ.nam.do]), also known as Chungnam (충남), is a province of South Korea in the Hoseo region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. South Chungcheong borders the provinces of Gyeonggi to the north, North Chungcheong, Sejong Special Self-governing City, and Daejeon Metropolitan City to the east, and North Jeolla to the south.

Hongseong County is the capital and Cheonan is the largest city of South Chungcheong, with other major cities including Asan, Seosan, and Dangjin. Daejeon was the largest city of South Chungcheong until becoming a Metropolitan City in 1989, and the historic capital until the provincial government was relocated to Hongseong in 2012.

South Chungcheong was established in 1896 from the province of Chungcheong, one of the Eight Provinces of Korea, consisting of the southwestern half of the territory. South Chungcheong was known as Chūsei-nan Prefecture during the Japanese Colonial Period from 1910 and became part of South Korea following the division of Korea in 1945.

Overview

Chungcheongnam-do is South Korea's richest province, with a 2012 GDP per capita of $56,133. It is by far South Korea's fastest growing region, with an average GDP growth of 9.7% in 2001-2007 that accelerated to 12.4% in 2010. Such rapid growth transformed it from a mostly agricultural to a highly industrialized economy in the 21st century.

Along with Gangwon, Chungnam is the only province outside the Seoul Capital Area to be served by the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, with Seoul Subway Line 1 passing Cheonan and Asan.