2.3 3. Urban Spaces
Geography of Korea: II. Population and Living Space > 3. Urban Spaces
3. City: Concentrated Metropolitan Regions and Great Amount of Apartment Areas
In Korea an area with over 50,000 population is designated a city, while an area whose population surpasses one million is promoted to a metropolitan area. As of 2010, Korea has two special autonomous cities (Seoul and Sejong City), six metropolitan areas, and seventy-five designated cities. The population of these cities and metropolitan areas amounts to some 85 percent of the country’s total population. Meanwhile, as of 2010 there were 214 eup (sometimes translated as “township”), areas with urban infrastructure and facilities but with populations betwee 20,000 and 50,000. The combined populations of both cities and townships amounts to about 89.6 percent of South Korea’s total population, reflecting the urbanization that has resulted in the vast majority of the population residing in urban areas.
