Sejong or Sejong City (Korean: [seːdʑoŋ] ; Korean: 세종; Hanja: 世宗), officially the Sejong Special Self-Governing City (세종특별자치시; 世宗特別自治市), is a special self-governing city and the de facto administrative capital of South Korea.
Sejong was founded in 2007 as the new planned capital of South Korea from many parts of the South Chungcheong province and some parts of North Chungcheong province to ease congestion in South Korea's current capital and largest city, Seoul, and encourage investment in the country's central region. Since 2012, the government of South Korea has relocated numerous ministries and agencies to Sejong, but many still reside in other cities, primarily Seoul, where the National Assembly and many important government bodies remain.
Sejong has a population of 351,007 as of 2020 and covers a geographic area of 465.23 km2 (179.63 sq mi), making it the least-populous and smallest first-level administrative division in South Korea. Sejong is located in the west-central Hoseo region, bordering South Chungcheong to the west, Daejeon Metropolitan City to the south, and North Chungcheong to the east.
The construction of the city is expected to be completed in 2030, at which time 500,000 people are expected to live there.
While Sejong has bus rapid transit, the buses are not frequent enough to be considered reliable. Most people rely on driving to get between destinations.
An adult bus ticket costs ₩1200 by cash and ₩1150 with transit card for travel within Sejong City boundary. Additional charges apply for travel outside of the city boundary. Up to three free transfers within 60 mins are allowed if you pay by transit card.
Originally intended to shift the South Korean economy and government away from Seoul as the nations new capital city, it has now more modest goals of hosting many government agencies. It was also noted to be comfortably more distant from the border with North Korea, which would allow the government to function more effectively in the event of war. It opened in 2012 and much of the city is still under construction.
