in the meanwhile, the land size by the sea levels can be divided into 946.2 ㎢ of lower than 100m sea level, or 5.6%, 7,773 ㎢ of higher than 100m sea level, or 46%, while the portion of mountainous lands between 500m and 1000m accounts for 8178.8 ㎢. when compared with the national land usages, the rice fields account for 4.9%, the mountainous fields for 9.9%, while the lands of forestry for 21% of the total national land size.

topography most of the land in gangwon-do (province) consists of mountainous areas. gangwon-do is largely divided into yeongdong on the east side of the taebaek summit, the backbone of korean peninsula, and yeongseo on the west side of that ridgeline. lands lower than 100 meters above sea level only account for 5.6% of the total land size of gangwon-do, even less than the 9.6% of south hamgyeong province. the land size of low mountainous regions between 100 m and 500 m make up 46%, and middle-low mountainous regions between 500 m and 1,000 m for 43.4%, which is the highest rate in the nation, while high mountainous regions over 1,000 m represent 5%. there are no large areas of flat lands in this province at all. some significant narrow coastal plains small are found in the gangneung, donhae and sokcho coastal areas between the taebaek range and the dong-hae [east sea]. various-sized valleys are found around bukpyeong and cheorwon in the yeongbuk region, and around chuncheon and wonju. ground transportation between the yeongdong and yeongseo regions is sometimes inconvenient (especially in winter), as it requires going over high mountains passes such as the daegwal-ryeong, misi-ryeong, jinbu-ryeong and hangye-ryeong. however, the views from these thousand-meter passes of the high mountains and deep valleys are truly beautiful sights. gangwon-do's highway infrastructure is constantly being upgraded, so that driving the trans-taebaek routes becomes ever safer and faster. the taebaek mountain range steeply inclines on its eastern side, which results in narrow plains along the seaside, while the western slopes of the taebaek gently incline towards the lowland seoul and gyeonggi-do regions. the highlands of yeongseo (west of the range) are mostly developed with high-altitude-type farm fields, with different characteristics than sea-level fields. many small springs rise up in the many high-mountain villages and gorges in this province, and their waters collect into clean streams, becoming the origins of great rivers like the han-gang and nakdong-gang, the main water sources of the korean nation. this is why our province was granted the auspicious name "gangwon," which means "origin of the rivers." most importantly for gangwon, the twin great waterways namhan-gang [south han river] and bukhan-gang [north han river] gather in the taebaek range and flow westwards, uniting just before seoul. the upper reaches of these rivers run through narrow scenic gorges, ideal for tourism activities, while their lower reaches have naturally become densely developed. the upstream watershed of the bukhan-gang river is in or near the dmz, and ordinary population is not permitted to live there, because of the current south-north confrontation. there, various species of fish are living (including some unique to korea), and the stream's ecological system is well preserved, as the quality of water is kept clean by careful observation and strict regulations. it flows into the dam of peace, the hwacheon-chuncheon dam, soyang-gang multipurpose dam and euiam dam, and then down to various dams in gyeonggi province, becoming the source of clean drinking water for tens of millions of people. in addition, the namhan-gang becomes a source of industrial electricity at the yeongwol thermal power station.

weather since the weather in gangwon-do belongs to a monsoon climate zone, it is cold and largely dry during the winter times as influenced by the continental climate, while it is hot and humid with lots of rain during the summer as influenced by the oceanic climate. during the dry and clear weather spells of the spring and fall seasons, many forest fires, small or large, occur in the mountainous areas covered with thick forests. the provincial and national park authorities have been making extreme efforts to prevent the fires, with some success. furthermore, as gangwon-do is diversified in its geological conditions, the weather conditions are particularly peculiar according to where the regions are located, taking the taebaek mountains as its dividing line into the inland zone, the seaside zone and mountainous zone. the yeongseo inland regions vary greatly in average temperature due to being affected by the continental climate alternating between severe cold and intense heat. the seaside regions in yeongdong, however, enjoy relatively moderate temperatures, as the temperature differences through the year do not fluctuate so much, attributed to the warm oceanic climate. in the highlands of mountainous regions, the temperatures continue to be relatively low, resulting in pleasant cool temperatures during the summertime, but in the winter the severe cold and high quantity of snow are characteristic, and therefore these areas are suitable for various winter sports including skiing. in particular, in february 1999, the winter asian games were held in the various places in the province scattered over pyeongchang-gun county (including the famous yongpyeong [dragon valley] resort), gangneung and chuncheon cities. at times like these many tourists came to visit our highlands for wintertime sightseeing, including the magical snowscapes. population (registered as of dec. 31, 2003) demographics: population and households in gangwon-do   households population total 552,319 1,533,331 cities 386,641 1,087,945 towns 165,678 445,386   households households and population of the cities and counties   households population chuncheon 89,901 254,366 wonju 97,162 282,025 gangneung 82,020 230,080 donghae 36,092 102,032 taebaek 19,870 54,043 sokcho 33,848 89,458 samcheok 27,748 75,941 hongcheon 25,809 71,733 hoengseong 15,852 44,599 yeongwol 17,004 44,134 pyeongchang 17,881 46,531 jeongseon 18,145 46,362 cheorwon 17,765 50,450 hwacheon 9,784 24,631 yanggu 8,132 22,146 inje 11,738 32,188 goseong 12,326 32,868 yangyang 11,242 29,744