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busy suburbs to coastal mudflats and the nearly deserted badlands near the inter-Korean
border, it is home to some of the country's fastest-growing “new towns,” modern and metic-
ulously planned communities such as Songdo and Bundang that offer easy access to Seoul
and newer, more spacious apartment complexes, without the traffic snarls and cramped
conditions of the capital. Many expatriates find these areas a good compromise between
Seoul's nonstop hustle and the more sustainable pace of smaller-town life.
Its proximity to the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas means Gyeonggi
Province is also home to a substantial number of U.S. military and support staff, particularly
in towns like Uijeongbu and Dongducheon, though the atmosphere in these places is more
family-oriented than frontline. Gyeonggi-do's largest cities are the industrial centers of Su-
won, the provincial capital, and Incheon, an independently administered Yellow Sea port
where South Korea's main international airport is located. The development of Songdo, a
futuristic city taking shape on reclaimed land along the Incheon waterfront that the govern-
ment is determined to groom into a major regional finance center, looks set to lure more
foreign nationals to the province.
a country home in Gyeonggi-do
