Jump to content

List of cities in South Korea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 121.172.134.148 (talk) at 17:21, 24 January 2010 (→Most populous South Korean cities). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Map of South Korea

The largest cities of South Korea have self-governing status equivalent to that of provinces. Seoul, the largest city and capital, is classified as a teukbyeolsi (Special City), while the next 6 largest cities (see the list below) are classified as gwangyeoksi (Metropolitan Cities; see Special cities of Korea). Smaller cities are classified as si ("cities") and are under provincial jurisdiction, at the same level as counties (see Administrative divisions of South Korea).

Self-governing cities with the status of provinces

Table 2: Special Cities and Metropolitan Cities of South Korea Note: South Korea uses the Revised Romanisation of Korean.
Romanization Hangul Hanja Year of Split Province split from
Seoul Teukbyeolsi 서울 특별시 See note below December, 1067 Yangju (then Namgyeong)
Busan Gwangyeoksi 부산 광역시 釜山廣域市 January 1, 1963 S. Gyeongsang
Daegu Gwangyeoksi 대구 광역시 大邱廣域市 July 1, 1981 N. Gyeongsang
Incheon Gwangyeoksi 인천 광역시 仁川廣域市 July 1, 1981 Gyeonggi
Gwangju Gwangyeoksi 광주 광역시 光州廣域市 November 1, 1986 S. Jeolla
Daejeon Gwangyeoksi 대전 광역시 大田廣域市 January 1, 1989 S. Chungcheong
Ulsan Gwangyeoksi 울산 광역시 蔚山廣域市 July 15, 1997 S. Gyeongsang

Notes

  • The name "Seoul" does not originate from hanja. In China, it is written as 首爾/首尔, which is a transcription based on the pronunciation of "Seoul". As a suffix, the character gyeong (京) is used, which means "capital".
  • Seoul was designated a "Special Free City" (Teukbyeol Jayusi; 특별 자유시; 特別自由市) separate from Gyeonggi Province on August 15, 1946; it became a "Special City" on August 15, 1949.
  • All of the above cities except Ulsan have metro (subway) systems either in operation or under construction.
  • The Ma-Chang-Jin metropolian area which consists of the cities Changwon, Masan, and Jinhae has a population of 1.2 million.

Provincial Cities of Gyeonggi-do

Main article: Cities and Counties of Gyeonggi-do

Other Provincial Cities

Main article: Cities and Counties of Chungcheongbuk-do
Main article: Cities and Counties of Chungcheongnam-do
Main article: Cities and Counties of Gangwon-do
Main article: Cities and Counties of Gyeongsangbuk-do
Main article: Cities and Counties of Gyeongsangnam-do
Main article: Cities and Counties of Jeollabuk-do
Main article: Cities and Counties of Jeollanam-do

Most populous South Korean cities

Rank Hangul City Population Image Description
1 서울 Seoul 10,456,034 (2008) File:Gangnampicturefromtheoffice.jpg Located along the Han River, Seoul is South Korea's economic powerhouse, capital, and largest city. It is governed as a Special City.
2 부산 Busan 3,596,076 (2008) File:Busan Skyline.JPG South Korea's second largest city and busiest seaport, Busan is considered a Metropolitan City.
3 인천 Incheon 2,741,217 (2008) File:Incheon Skyline.jpg Incheon is a Metropolitan City and the second largest seaport in South Korea.
4 대구 Daegu 2,512,601 (2008) File:Daegu Skyline.jpg Daegu is a Metropolitan City and the Capital of North Gyeongsang province.
5 대전 Daejeon 1,494,951 (2008) File:Daejeon Skyline.jpg Daejeon is a Metropolitan City and the Capital of South Chungcheong province.
6 광주 Gwangju 1,434,625 (2008) File:Gwangju Skyline.jpg Gwangju is a Metropolitan City and the site of a political massacre in modern Korean history.
7 울산 Ulsan 1,126,879 (2008) File:Ulsan Skyline.jpg Ulsan is a metropolitan city known for its industrial district and high standard of living.
8 수원 Suwon 1,090,678 (2008) File:File:Suwon by night.jpg Suwon is the capital of Gyeonggi province and home to Hwaseong Fortress. Suwon is south of Seoul.
9 성남 Seongnam 958,349 (2008) File:Seongnam Skyline.jpg Seongnam is a suburban city in Gyeonggi-do. The prosperous district of Bundang is located here and is connected to the Seoul Metropolitan Subway.
10 고양 Goyang 950,750 (2008) File:Goyang Skyline.jpg Goyang is a suburban city in Gyeonggi-do, and in it is Ilsan districts.

Sources

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=List_of_cities_in_South_Korea&oldid=339753661"