List of provincial-level cities of South Korea

For a list of current officeholders, see List of current South Korean mayors and governors.

Special metropolitan city
Hangul	특별시
Hanja	特別市
Revised Romanization	teukbyeolsi
McCune–Reischauer	t'ŭkpyŏlsi
Metropolitan city
Hangul	광역시
Hanja	廣域市
Revised Romanization	gwangyeoksi
McCune–Reischauer	kwangyŏksi
Special self-governing city
Hangul	특별자치시
Hanja	特別自治市
Revised Romanization	teukbyeol-jachisi
McCune–Reischauer	t'ŭkpyŏl-chach'isi

Province-level cities are one of the first-level administrative divisions within South Korea. There are three types: special, metropolitan, and special self-governing.

Position in hierarchy and types

Province-level cities have equal status to provinces in the South Korean administrative scheme, and are among the highest-ranked administrative divisions of South Korea. There are three kinds of first-level city in South Korea.

Type	Hangul	Hanja	RR	City names	No. of cities
Special Metropolitan City	특별시	特別市	teukbyeolsi	Seoul	1
Metropolitan City	광역시	廣域市	gwangyeoksi	Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon, Ulsan	6
Special Self-Governing 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 metropolitan city" on August 15, 1949.
• Metropolitan cities were called "direct control (meaning directly-administered) city" (jikhalsi; 직할시; 直轄市) before 1995.

Administration

In South Korean special metropolitan 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., the 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 provincial-level cities

Seoul

Busan

Daegu

Incheon

Gwangju

Daejeon

Ulsan

Sejong

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Special cites in South Korea

Name	Hangul	Hanja	Type	ISO	Population (2017)	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)	City seat	Region	Province split from	Year of Split
Busan	부산광역시	釜山廣域市	Metropolitan city	KR-26	3,416,918	769.89	4,438.18	Yeonje	Yeongnam	South Gyeongsang	1963
Daegu	대구광역시	大邱廣域市	Metropolitan city	KR-27	2,453,041	883.56	2,776.31	Jung	Yeongnam	North Gyeongsang	1981
Incheon	인천광역시	仁川廣域市	Metropolitan city	KR-28	2,925,967	1,062.60	2,753.59	Namdong	Sudogwon	Gyeonggi	1981
Gwangju	광주광역시	光州廣域市	Metropolitan city	KR-29	1,496,172	501.24	2,984.94	Seo	Honam	South Jeolla	1986
Daejeon	대전광역시	大田廣域市	Metropolitan city	KR-30	1,525,849	539.35	2,829.05	Seo	Hoseo	South Chungcheong	1989
Sejong	세종특별자치시	世宗特別自治市	Special self-governing city	KR-50	356,278	465.23	594.52	Boram-dong	Hoseo	South Chungcheong	2012
Seoul	서울특별시	서울特別市*	Special metropolitan city	KR-11	9,741,381	605.21	16,095.86	Jung	Sudogwon	Gyeonggi	1946
Ulsan	울산광역시	蔚山廣域市	Metropolitan city	KR-31	1,157,077	1,060.79	1,090.76	Nam	Yeongnam	South Gyeongsang	1997

Notes: There are no Hanja for "Seoul"; in Chinese, it is written as 首爾/首尔 (pinyin: Shǒu'ěr), a transcription based on the pronunciation of "Seoul". As a suffix, the character Gyeong (경; 京) is used, which means "capital".

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