Dong (administrative division)

In South Korea, a dong (동; 洞) is a type of neighborhood, constituting the smallest level of urban administrative division. Dong are subdivisions of gu (districts) in larger cities, or of cities directly in smaller cities.

A dong is typically further divided into smaller units called tong (통; 統), and these are often subdivided into ban (반; 班). However, these sub-units ( tong and ban) have little administrative significance and primarily exist for assisting with tasks like resident notification and communication.

The administrative functions of a dong are managed by a dong office (동사무소; 洞事務所), staffed by local civil servants. The office provides services such as resident registration, issuance of certificates, and handling minor community issues.

There are different types of dong, including:

• Beopjeong-dong (법정동; 法定洞): These are dong defined by law for legal purposes.

• Haengjeong-dong (행정동; 行政洞): These are dong established for administrative convenience, and may encompass one or more beopjeong-dong. Sometimes haengjeong-dong are created by merging smaller beopjeong-dong to improve efficiency. The dong office serves the haengjeong-dong.

The number and boundaries of dong can change over time as cities grow and evolve, impacting the needs of local governance.