This repo downloads and stores data for each country's national boundaries, administrative divisions and other geographic features. It's a growing work in progress. Contributions are welcome.
A Python script — scripts/fetch.py — downloads and processes the data and renames some files in English and makes them more descriptive. A main() function orchestrates these tasks.
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Esri world countries: The script downloads and saves the data from an Esri endpoint, splitting out national boundary files for North and South Korea.
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Database of Global Administrative Areas: The script downloads and extracts the data for both North and South Korea across their various administrative levels.
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Korean Geographic Information Institute: The script downloads other national files, including rivers, premier points, mountain peaks, railways, roads and the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
The downloaded and processed data is stored in source-specific directories inside data/raw and awaiting further work that's still needed, including:
- Converting files to common formats —
shptogeojson, for example, with the KGII data. - Compiling English and Korean names as attributes in the KGII data.
서울특별시vs.Seoul, for example
- Consistent storage on S3 for sharing with other users
Korean geography can be complicated to understand for outsiders. For reference, here are the administrative divisions of South Korea and North Korea in both English and Korean.
- Country: South Korea (대한민국)
- Provinces (도, Do)
- Special City (특별시, Teukbyeolsi) - e.g., Seoul (서울특별시)
- Metropolitan City (광역시, Gwangyeoksi) - e.g., Busan (부산광역시)
- Province (도, Do) - e.g., Gyeonggi-do (경기도)
- Cities/Districts (시, Si; 구, Gu)
- Si (시) - Cities not divided into districts, e.g., Suwon-si (수원시)
- Gu (구) - Districts within a city, especially in metropolitan cities, e.g., Gangnam-gu (강남구)
- Counties (군, Gun)
- Smaller towns and rural areas, e.g., Yeongwol-gun (영월군)
- Townships (읍, Eup), Towns (면, Myeon), and Neighborhoods (동, Dong)
- Eup (읍) - Larger towns in a county
- Myeon (면) - Smaller towns in a county
- Dong (동) - Divisions within cities and districts, especially urban areas
- Country: North Korea (조선민주주의인민공화국)
- Provinces (도, Do)
- Province (도, Do) - e.g., South Pyongan (평안남도)
- Special Cities (직할시, Jikhalsi) - e.g., Pyongyang (평양직할시)
- Cities (시, Si)
- Counties (군, Gun)
- Districts (구역, Guyeok)
- Towns and Villages (읍, Eup; 리, Ri)
- Eup (읍) - Town centers
- Ri (리) - Villages or small settlements in rural areas
| Level | English | Korean | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Country | 나라 | 대한민국/조선민주주의인민공화국 |
| Provinces | Province | 도 | 경기도/평안남도 |
| Special City | Special City | 특별시 | 서울특별시 |
| Metropolitan City | Metropolitan City | 광역시 | 부산광역시 |
| City | City | 시 | 수원시 |
| District (in city) | District | 구 | 강남구 |
| County | County | 군 | 영월군 |
| Township | Township | 읍 | 중구읍 |
| Town | Town | 면 | 사직면 |
| Neighborhood | Neighborhood | 동 | 명동 |
| Special City (North) | Directly Governed City | 직할시 | 평양직할시 |
| District (North) | District | 구역 | 평천구역 |
| Village | Village | 리 | 송천리 |
The geographic data included in this repository encompasses areas in the Sea of Japan (referred to as the East Sea in South Korean contexts), including Ulleung County and its surrounding islands. These islands are subject to territorial disputes between South Korea and Japan, most notably the Dokdo/Takeshima islands. The inclusion of these areas in the dataset is for geographic representation purposes and does not imply any stance on these disputes.
Please submit any issues or pull requests to contribute to this project.
The code in this project is licensed under Creative Commons. See the LICENSE file for more details. Any data usage is subject to terms outlined by each source.
The project is a non-commercial exercise in scripting the downloading, processing and analysis of spatial data. It is not affiliated with my employer.
Questions? Get in touch