List of provincial-level cities of South Korea
Special city | |
Hangul | |
---|---|
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | teukbyeolsi |
McCune–Reischauer | t'ŭkpyŏlsi |
Metropolitan city | |
Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | gwangyeoksi |
McCune–Reischauer | kwangyŏksi |
Special autonomus city | |
Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | teukbyeol-jachisi |
McCune–Reischauer | t’ŭkpyŏl-chach’isi |
This article is part of a series on the |
Administrative divisions of South Korea |
---|
Provincial level |
Province (list) |
Special self-governing province (Jeju, Gangwon and Jeonbuk) |
Special city (Seoul) |
Metropolitan city (list) |
Special self-governing city (Sejong) |
Municipal level |
Specific city (list) |
City (list) |
County (list) |
Autonomous District (list) |
Submunicipal level |
Administrative city (list) |
Non-autonomous District (list) |
Neighborhoods and Towns |
Town (list) |
Township (list) |
Neighborhood (list) |
Villages |
Village (list) |
Communities |
Ward |
Special cities are one of the first-level administrative divisions within South Korea. There are 8 first-level cities in South Korea: Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju, Incheon, Sejong, Seoul and Ulsan.
Position in hierarchy and types
Special cities are the highest-ranked administrative divisions in South Korea. These cities have equal status to the provinces. There are three kinds of first-level city in South Korea.
Type | Hangul | Hanja | RR | City names | No. of cities |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Special city | 특별시 | 特別市 | teukbyeolsi | Seoul | 1 |
Metropolitan city | 광역시 | 廣域市 | gwangyeoksi | Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon, Ulsan | 6 |
Special autonomous city | 특별자치시 | 特別自治市 | teukbyeol-jachisi | Sejong | 1 |
- Seoul was designated a "special free city" (teukbyeol jayusi; 특별자유시; 特別自由市) separate from Gyeonggi Province on August 15, 1946; it became a "special city" on August 15, 1949.[1]
- Metropolitan cities were called "direct control (meaning directly-administered) city" (jikhalsi; 직할시; 直轄市) before 1995.
Administration
In South Korean special city and metropolitan cities, the Mayor is the highest-ranking official in charge. The Mayor is directly elected by the people registered in the city for a duration of four years. e.g. Mayor of Seoul.
Metropolitan functions such as water supply and public transport are integrated into the sole prefecture other than scattered to each municipality.
List of metropolitan cities
Name | Hangul | Hanja | Type | ISO | Population | Area (km²) |
Density (/km²) |
City seat | Region | Province split from |
Year of Split |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Busan | 부산광역시 | 釜山廣域市 | Metropolitan city | KR-26 | 3,574,340 | 766 | 4,666 | Yeonje | Yeongnam | South Gyeongsang | 1963 |
Daegu | 대구광역시 | 大邱廣域市 | Metropolitan city | KR-27 | 2,512,604 | 884 | 2,842 | Jung | Yeongnam | North Gyeongsang | 1981 |
Incheon | 인천광역시 | 仁川廣域市 | Metropolitan city | KR-28 | 2,953,255 | 1,062 | 2,810 | Namdong | Sudogwon | Gyeonggi | 1981 |
Gwangju | 광주광역시 | 光州廣域市 | Metropolitan city | KR-29 | 1,415,953 | 501 | 2,824 | Seo | Honam | South Jeolla | 1986 |
Daejeon | 대전광역시 | 大田廣域市 | Metropolitan city | KR-30 | 1,442,857 | 540 | 2,673 | Seo | Hoseo | South Chungcheong | 1989 |
Sejong | 세종특별자치시 | 世宗特別自治市 | Special autonomous city | KR-50 | 122,263 | 465 | 380 | Hansol-dong | Hoseo | South Chungcheong | 2012 |
Seoul | 서울특별시 | 서울特別市* | Special city | KR-11 | 10,464,051 | 605 | 17,288 | Jung | Sudogwon | Gyeonggi | 1946 |
Ulsan | 울산광역시 | 蔚山廣域市 | Metropolitan city | KR-31 | 1,126,879 | 1,056 | 1,030 | Nam | Yeongnam | South Gyeongsang | 1997 |
- Notes
Specific cities that meet the minimum requirements for Metropolitan city status but have not yet been nominated
- Suwon (수원시 / 水原市) - Population: 1,177,376; Area: 121.1 km²; Density: 9,722.34 /km²
- Changwon (창원시 / 昌原市) - Population: 1,106,081; Area: 736.34 km²; Density: 1,502.13 /km²
- Goyang (고양시 / 高陽市) - Population: 1,014,162; Area: 267.29 km²; Density: 3.794.23 /km²
Specific cities with more than 900,000
- Seongnam (성남시 / 城南市) - Population: 972,797; Area: 141.70 km²; Density: 6,865.18 /km²
- Yongin (용인시 / 龍仁市) - Population: 968,346; Area: 591.36 km²; Density: 1,637.48 /km²
See also
- Administrative divisions of South Korea
- Cities of South Korea
- List of cities in South Korea
- Provinces of South Korea
- Special cities of North Korea