Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
For foreign residents, Gyeonggi-do can be an attractive proposition. Many areas offer
quick and easy access to Seoul, with direct connections to the capital via subway or
express bus lines, and without, or at least with less of, some of Seoul's chief down-
sides—overcrowding, pricey real estate, and pollution. Because many cities in Gyeonggi-
do developed relatively recently, they tend to be better laid-out, better appointed, and have
more green space than Seoul's older high-density districts. The province's relatively young,
upwardly mobile population has encouraged the development of a range of dining, night-
life, and retail districts that are almost as broad as those found in the capital proper, as well
as highly-ranked educational, cultural, and medical facilities.
It could be said that Gyeonggi-do lacks a character of its own, but the flip side of
that—diversity, at least by South Korean standards—is Gyeonggi-do's defining and perhaps
most attractive trait. It draws not only families who commute to schools or offices in Seoul
but also workers and experts from throughout the country—and beyond—who serve the
province's varied industrial base. And it offers new arrivals an unrivaled assortment of
living options, from long-established commercial centers like Suwon and Incheon to ul-
tramodern “new towns” such as Seongnam, as well as quieter communities in less-sculpted
natural settings. Authorities are adding some of the region's most ambitious infrastructure
projects to the mix, including Songdo, an expanding “international business district” on a
patch of reclaimed land along the west coast that the government and developers hope to
groom into one of Asia's preeminent economic hubs. It looks like Gyeonggi-do will soon
be able to say—if it can't already—that it has something for everyone.
Occupying the northwestern corner of South Korea, Gyeonggi-do has a total area of around
11,000 square kilometers (4,250 square miles) and borders mountainous Gangwon-do to
the east and the Chungcheong provinces to the south. Much of the province consists of flat
broad plains that once made it an ideal spot for the cultivation of rice and other crops, but
farms have given way to housing estates and factories in most areas. In the north and east of
the province the terrain grows more mountainous, and there are several national parks and
ski resorts that serve as a much-needed recreational outlet for stressed Seoulites. Gyeonggi-
do's western extreme is a muddy segment of coastline dotted with small islets and pierced
by several bays that sometimes shelter fishing fleets but were never deep enough to serve
as natural ports.
