Discover the 20 largest cities in South Korea

South Korea is an Asian republic located in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, covering an area of 100,000 square kilometers and populated by 51 million inhabitants distributed across a range of cities, some of which are among the largest in the world.

The Largest City in South Korea

Seoul is the capital and the largest city of South Korea, as well as the fourth largest city in the world after Tokyo, New York, and Los Angeles.

The city has a population of 10 million inhabitants.

Despite the city’s strong economy, its population is growing very slowly, and many of its residents are moving to other cities due to the high cost of living and overpopulation.

Busan

Busan is located in the far southeast of the Korean Peninsula and serves as the economic, cultural, and educational center of the southeastern part of the country. Its port is the busiest in South Korea and the sixth largest in the world.

The city covers an area of 4,400 square kilometers and is divided into 16 administrative districts and one district.

It has a population of 3.6 million inhabitants, while the metropolitan area is home to approximately 8 million people.

Incheon

Incheon, located in the northwest of South Korea, is the third largest city in the country.

With a population of 2.8 million inhabitants, it is part of the Seoul metropolitan area, the fourth largest urban agglomeration in the world.

The city’s strategic location on the coast makes it an important hub for national and international transportation in South Korea. The city’s airport is the country’s main international airport, serving over 49 million passengers a year.

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The 20 largest cities in South Korea

This list includes divisions at the provincial level: special city (특별시/特別市) and metropolitan cities (광역시/廣域市), as well as divisions at the municipal level: cities (시/市). Other municipal divisions, such as counties (군/郡, which have populations below 50,000) and districts (구/區), are not included. All demographic data is based on population and housing censuses in South Korea from 2000 to 2020.[1]

RankDivision20202015201020052000
1Seoul(Special City)9,586,1959,904,3129,631,4829,762,5469,853,972
2Busan(Metropolitan city)3,349,0163,448,7373,393,1913,512,5473,655,437
3Incheon(Metropolitan city)2,945,4542,890,4512,632,0352,517,6802,466,338
4Daegu(Metropolitan city)2,410,7002,466,0522,431,7742,456,0162,473,990
5Daejeon(Metropolitan city)1,488,4351,538,3941,490,1581,438,5511,365,961
6Gwangju(Metropolitan city)1,477,5731,502,8811,466,1431,413,6441,350,948
7SuwonGyeonggi1,210,1501,194,3131,054,0531,039,233944,239
8Ulsan(Metropolitan city)1,135,4231,166,6151,071,6731,044,9341,012,110
9YonginGyeonggi1,066,975971,327847,138686,842384,741
10GoyangGyeonggi1,045,497990,073897,222864,402762,598
11Changwon[2]South Gyeongsang1,029,3891,059,2411,047,4881,075,3261,076,448
12SeongnamGyeonggi922,025948,757936,267931,019912,222
13Hwaseong[3]Gyeonggi880,859608,725474,160282,124185,979
14Cheongju[4]North Chungcheong855,326833,276804,119752,768701,256
15BucheonGyeonggi833,148843,794842,482833,931757,832
16AnsanGyeonggi717,345747,035699,063669,839554,998
17NamyangjuGyeonggi696,033629,061526,639424,446339,545
18CheonanSouth Chungcheong682,199629,062565,201518,171415,818
19JeonjuNorth Jeolla666,517658,172646,512622,092615,804
20GimhaeSouth Gyeongsang552,427534,124484,244428,893330,829
21PyeongtaekGyeonggi542,522457,873381,731374,262342,806
22AnyangGyeonggi542,336585,177596,772609,886578,845
23SiheungGyeonggi535,147425,184393,293384,304304,260
24PohangNorth Gyeongsang501,109511,804508,736488,433515,187
25Jeju (City)[5]Jeju (Prov.)492,306451,758398,677391,132366,809
26UijeongbuGyeonggi449,572421,579415,170397,694354,422
27GimpoGyeonggi474,546352,683217,280192,716148,576
28PajuGyeonggi460,541415,345323,955239,823177,128
29GumiNorth Gyeongsang416,603421,075399,019381,583339,457
30Gwangju[6]Gyeonggi385,141310,278224,269204,266124,789
31Sejong[7](Special autonomous city)353,933204,08880,54280,38979,745
32WonjuGangwon352,429330,854309,803283,583267,849
33JinjuSouth Gyeongsang352,403349,788335,297336,355339,413
34YangsanSouth Gyeongsang351,206297,532249,529215,845191,147
35AsanSouth Chungcheong340,518319,929272,282206,851179,900
36GwangmyeongGyeonggi298,116338,509326,418319,452333,596
37IksanNorth Jeolla285,312301,723294,479306,974322,636
38ChuncheonGangwon284,645281,596274,220260,234252,177
39GyeongsanNorth Gyeongsang283,733278,500260,643240,371226,713
40HanamGyeonggi279,795154,838137,569121,646120,149
41GunpoGyeonggi275,571285,721274,198268,917262,593
42SuncheonSouth Jeolla272,449265,390257,800261,519265,724
43YeosuSouth Jeolla271,505273,761268,727277,420303,115
44GunsanNorth Jeolla269,023275,155258,845249,212272,129
45GyeongjuNorth Gyeongsang261,778262,310252,750266,131275,132
46GeojeSouth Gyeongsang246,965261,371225,014193,398167,231
47OsanGyeonggi240,645213,840180,996131,792102,287
48Yangju[8]Gyeonggi233,286205,988183,673149,931107,440
49IcheonGyeonggi226,212209,003192,918187,514179,081
50MokpoSouth Jeolla224,509239,524248,694244,543250,336
51ChungjuNorth Chungcheong218,412211,005201,361204,248217,510
52GangneungGangwon216,542215,677217,481220,706227,856
53AnseongGyeonggi203,030194,765175,824157,632132,906
54GuriGyeonggi192,051180,063184,503186,954160,485
55Seogwipo[9]Jeju (Prov.)178,552153,861129,734139,554145,732
56SeosanSouth Chungcheong176,379169,221155,082143,692142,972
57Dangjin[10]South Chungcheong168,955163,762135,106112,267117,447
58UiwangGyeonggi160,230154,879143,378143,568117,594
59AndongNorth Gyeongsang159,412168,581165,399169,436181,974
60Pocheon[11]Gyeonggi157,939163,388136,580139,472135,758
61GwangyangSouth Jeolla143,928144,414137,100135,583132,568
62GimcheonNorth Gyeongsang139,145137,540126,823135,166147,269
63JecheonNorth Chungcheong134,768136,350133,626132,483143,537
64TongyeongSouth Gyeongsang127,984137,208127,896121,115123,747
65NonsanSouth Chungcheong119,707124,246117,686124,779137,452
66Yeoju[12]Gyeonggi113,352109,937100,05298,44197,412
67NajuSouth Jeolla113,29392,58277,82586,82399,233
68SacheonSouth Gyeongsang111,184113,335106,175106,532110,912
69Gongju[13]South Chungcheong108,333113,542120,660126,484130,223
70JeongeupNorth Jeolla106,706110,627109,458115,416128,892
71YeongjuNorth Gyeongsang103,818109,266108,268113,670126,415
72MiryangSouth Gyeongsang103,228103,06998,564105,651115,787
73YeongcheonNorth Gyeongsang100,35397,66994,350103,289110,918
74BoryeongSouth Chungcheong99,088101,85297,09196,992109,423
75SangjuNorth Gyeongsang95,47398,76097,559105,600116,365
76DongducheonGyeonggi95,23997,42490,43378,89772,366
77DonghaeGangwon87,80190,25590,32193,01896,280
78SokchoGangwon80,05479,84680,50584,70687,880
79GimjeNorth Jeolla79,73384,26982,73990,376102,428
80NamwonNorth Jeolla78,09780,49978,42585,82894,810
81MungyeongNorth Gyeongsang68,21271,86368,69270,81390,778
82SamcheokGangwon65,93969,50967,13167,95775,592
83GwacheonGyeonggi58,01864,81766,31956,58766,592
84TaebaekGangwon41,49446,71551,40055,24154,164
85Gyeryong[14]South Chungcheong40,85439,24341,39531,64627,104
Source Wikipedia

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Article updated on 21 October 2024

Mohamed SAKHRI
Mohamed SAKHRI

I am Mohamed, the creator and editor-in-chief of this Blog, "Exploring Earth's Wonders" is your ultimate travel guide, offering expert tips, destination insights, and inspiration for every traveler. Discover new horizons with endless adventures, unique experiences, and world-class travel advice

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