The sound of the waves to relieve stress in Gangwon-do, South Korea

Gangwon Province (Korean pronunciation: [kaŋ.wʌn.do]) is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. It is bounded on the east part by the sea of japan, and borders Gyeonggi Province to its west, and North Gyeongsang Province and North Chungcheong Province to its south. Its northern boundary is the Military Demarcation Line, separating it from North Korea's Kangwŏn Province. Before the division of Korea in 1945 Gangwon and Kangwŏn formed a single province. Pyeongchang County in Gangwon hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics and 2018 Winter Paralympics. Gangwon will host the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics.

Gangwon-do was one of the Eight Provinces of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The province was formed in 1395, and derived its name from the names of the principal cities of Gangneung (강릉; 江陵) and the provincial capital Wonju (원주; 原州).

In 1895 Gangwon-do was replaced by the Districts of Chuncheon (Chuncheon-bu; 춘천부; 春川府) in the west and Gangneung (Gangneung-bu; 강릉부; 江陵府) in the east. (Wonju became part of Chungju District.)

In 1896 Korea was redivided into thirteen provinces, and the two districts were merged to re-form Gangwon-do Province. Although Wonju rejoined Gangwon-do province, the provincial capital was moved to Chuncheon, where it remains today.

In 1945 Gangwon-do (along with the rest of Korea) was divided by the 38th parallel north in 1945 into American and Soviet zones of occupation in the south and north respectively, which led to Wonsan joining the province's northern half in 1946 to serve as its administrative center. In 1948, the southern half of the province became part of the new Republic of Korea. As a result of the Korean War Armistice Agreement of 1953, the boundary between the South and North Korean portions of the province was shifted northward to the Military Demarcation Line.

Gangwon-do is bounded on the west by Gyeonggi-do province, on the south by the provinces of Chungcheongbuk-do and Gyeongsangbuk-do. To the north lies the province's North Korean counterpart, Kangwŏn province. The province's landscape is dominated by the Taebaek Mountains (called Taebaek Sanmaek) which almost reach the sea. As a consequence the coast is very steep.