Special cities of South Korea

Special cities are one of the first-level administrative division 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.

• 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 "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.

List of metropolitan cities

• Notes: There is no hanja for "Seoul," but in Chinese, it is written by its Joseon Dynasty name Hanseong (漢城). The new Chinese name, (首爾/首尔; pinyin: Shǒu'ěr), is a transcription based on the pronunciation of "Seoul". As a suffix, the character Gyeong (경/京) is used, which means "capital".

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

References

Regions and administrative divisions of South Korea Region Capital area/Sudogwon Gwandong Yeongdong Yeongseo Hoseo Daejeon-Sejong-Chungnam Chungbuk Honam Jeju Yeongnam Daegu-Gyeongbuk Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam Southeastern MIR Province North Chungcheong South Chungcheong Gangwon Gyeonggi North Gyeongsang South Gyeongsang North Jeolla South Jeolla Special self-governing province Jeju Special city Seoul Metropolitan autonomous city Sejong Metropolitan city Busan Daegu Daejeon Gwangju Incheon Ulsan The Committee for the Five Northern Korean Provinces North Hamgyeong South Hamgyeong Hwanghae North Pyeongan South Pyeongan