16 Regions
Korea Gateway · Regional Archive
Korea's 16 Regions
One Complete Picture
From the ancient capitals of Gyeongju to the volcanic shores of Jeju, every corner of Korea holds a story that no algorithm can replicate. This is where we record them.
16
Regions & Cities
5,000+
Years of History
17
UNESCO Heritage Sites
51M
People, One Peninsula
Why 16 Regions
Korea is not one place.
It is sixteen worlds.
Most visitors see Seoul. Some discover Jeju or Busan. But Korea's true depth lives in the regions — in the bronze-green mountains of Gangwon where monks have chanted for a thousand years, in the slow-fermented flavors of the southern coast that have no equivalent anywhere on Earth, in the industrial shoreline of Ulsan where Korea built itself into a global power with bare hands and extraordinary will.
Korea Gateway created this regional archive as a record of what tourism guides cannot hold: the texture of daily life, the weight of regional identity, the quiet pride of communities that shaped a nation. Each regional guide is researched, written, and published as a permanent reference — not for the algorithm, but for the traveler, the scholar, the diaspora, and the curious.
Because some things should not be forgotten.
Archive Note · July 1, 2026
On this date, Gwangju Metropolitan City and Jeollanam-do — separated since 1986 — reunited as the Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City (전남광주통합특별시), Korea's first integrated special metropolitan city. The country's first-level administrative divisions changed from seventeen to sixteen. Maps were redrawn overnight. The stories were not. Both regional archives remain preserved here, in full, under their new shared roof.
How to explore
I
Find your region
Browse the full grid below. Six metropolitan cities, one integrated special metropolitan city, four self-governing regions, and five provinces — each with its own character, cuisine, and calendar.
II
Read the full guide
Every regional entry is a long-form editorial — introduction, attractions, food, festivals, hidden gems, transport, and the Korea Gateway perspective.
III
Go beyond the guide
Follow our KG Archive and KG SCA series for deeper stories: the people, the brands, and the cultural moments that define each region's living identity.
"The map shows you borders.Korea Gateway — Regional Archive Mission
The archive shows you what lives inside them."
All 16 Regions & Cities
Special & Metropolitan Cities
Special City
Seoul
서울특별시
Where ancient palaces and neon towers share the same skyline. The capital and the pulse.
↗Metropolitan City
Busan
부산광역시
Korea's port city — where the sea, cinema, and seafood define a culture of their own. Host of the 2026 UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
↗Metropolitan City
Daegu
대구광역시
The textile city, the fashion city, the apple city — Daegu's identity is unexpectedly layered.
↗Metropolitan City
Incheon
인천광역시
Korea's gateway to the world. Asia's premier airport, a Chinatown, and islands scattered like stones.
↗Metropolitan City
Daejeon
대전광역시
Korea's science capital. Where research institutes and traditional markets stand side by side.
↗Metropolitan City
Ulsan
울산광역시
The industrial giant that built modern Korea — home of the Bangucheon Petroglyphs, Korea's newest UNESCO World Heritage site.
↗Integrated Special Metropolitan City — Est. July 2026
New · 2026
Integrated Special Metropolitan City
Jeonnam-Gwangju
전남광주통합특별시
Korea's first integrated special metropolitan city — the democratic spirit of Gwangju and the culinary soul of the southern coast, reunited after 40 years. Includes the former Gwangju & Jeollanam-do archives.
↗Special Autonomous City & Self-Governing Provinces
Special Autonomous City
Sejong
세종특별자치시
Korea's youngest city and its administrative future — a planned capital rising from the center of the peninsula.
↗Special Self-Governing Province
Gangwon State
강원특별자치도
Mountain temples, ski slopes, and the East Sea. Korea's wild, unspoiled heartland — self-governing since 2023.
↗Special Self-Governing Province
Jeonbuk State
전북특별자치도
Jeonju's heritage village, the taste of bibimbap at its origin, and the soul of Korean pansori music — self-governing since 2024.
↗Special Self-Governing Province
Jeju
제주특별자치도
Volcanic peaks, turquoise waters, haenyeo divers, and a culture that has always stood apart.
↗Provinces — Do (도)
Province
Gyeonggi-do
경기도
The ring around the capital — ancient fortresses, royal tombs, and Korea's most diverse provincial landscape.
↗Province
Chungcheongbuk-do
충청북도
Korea's only landlocked province — lakes, limestone caves, and Confucian academies in the hills.
↗Province
Chungcheongnam-do
충청남도
The ancient Baekje kingdom's homeland, where lotus festivals bloom and mud flats stretch to the horizon.
↗Province
Gyeongsangbuk-do
경상북도
Gyeongju, the millennium capital. Andong, the Confucian stronghold. This is where Korea's classical soul resides.
↗Province
Gyeongsangnam-do
경상남도
Naval fortresses, tea fields, and Korea's industrial spine — the south coast shaped by history and the sea.
↗Korea Gateway is a media archive — not a travel agency, not a tourism board. We document what is at risk of being reduced to a thumbnail: the complexity, the contradiction, the beauty of a country that refuses to be understood in a single image.
Borders change. In 2026, seventeen regions became sixteen — and this archive recorded it. Every regional guide is a permanent record. Built to last beyond the algorithm. Written for the reader who wants more than information — who wants wisdom.
Start exploring
Every region holds a story
worth recording.
Select any region above, or explore our broader archive of Korean culture, brands, and stories.