Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 15, 2026

Gangwon dialect

The Gangwon dialect is spoken in South Korea's Gangwon Province and in North Korea's Kangwŏn Province. Although they are large provinces by area, relatively few people lived in the Gangwon Province. As a result, people living in the western side of Gangwon (Yeongseo) did not develop a highly distinctive dialect. However, the part of Gangwon that stretches along the eastern coast of Korea's Yeongdong region did develop a distinctive dialect. This is because the Taebaek Mountains bisect the Gangwon Province, and the people living eastern Gangwon were therefore isolated.

Last revised
Jun 15, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
178 w
Citations
2
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Gangwon
Kangwŏn
Native toNorth Korea, South Korea
RegionGangwon Province (ROK), Kangwŏn Province (DPRK)
Native speakers
c. 1.5 million (2014)
Dialects
  • Yeongdong
  • Yeongseo
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
IETFko-u-sd-kr42 (ROK)
ko-u-sd-kp07 (DPRK)

The Gangwon dialect (Korean: 강원 방언) is spoken in South Korea's Gangwon Province and in North Korea's Kangwŏn Province. Although they are large provinces by area, relatively few people lived in the Gangwon Province. As a result, people living in the western side of Gangwon (Yeongseo) did not develop a highly distinctive dialect. However, the part of Gangwon that stretches along the eastern coast of Korea's Yeongdong region did develop a distinctive dialect. This is because the Taebaek Mountains bisect the Gangwon Province, and the people living eastern Gangwon were therefore isolated.1

Distinguishing features of the Gangwon dialect:

  1. ㅆ (ss) is pronounced as ㅅ (s).
  2. The standard 아 (ah) sound is changed to 어 (eo) at the end of sentences.
  3. Questions may end in 나 (na), -노 (no), -고 (go), -가 (ga).2
References

References