For first time, more people are living inside Seoul capital area than outside

By Jung Min-ho

The Seoul capital area is more crowded than ever, with more people living inside Gyeonggi region than outside out it.

Data from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) show that 50.001 percent of the country's population lives in Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi Province.

The number of Seoul residents has gradually fallen in recent years to 9.72 million in 2019. But meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province's population increased to nearly 13.24 million; Incheon's was 2.95 million.

According to KOSIS, overpopulation in the capital area has become increasingly serious. In 1970, 28.7 percent of the country's population lived there, but this rose to 42.8 percent in 1990 and to 49.2 percent in 2010.

Following the release of the data, civic groups criticized the government for not doing enough about the situation.

“It is a major crisis that 11.8 percent of the country's land area accounts for more than half its population,” they said in a statement Sunday. “All the resources are concentrated in the capital area … It is getting ever more serious with policymakers pushing to dissolve more greenbelt zones.

“President Moon Jae-in may have a will to solve the problem but has not been able to deliver it, following a decade of conservative rule that focused on developing the capital area and concentrating the power … The government should push harder for balanced development and decentralization.”