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City profile · South Korea · Asia

Daejeon

South Korea
City population
1,441,203
#5
in South Korea
#341
worldwide
SeoulDaejeon
36.349, 127.385 · 140 km from Seoul
Share of South Korea
2.8%
Of the national population
Elevation
58 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Distance to capital
140 km
To Seoul
Time zone
Asia/Seoul
IANA zone identifier

About Daejeon

The fifth-largest listed city in South Korea, Daejeon has a population of 1,441,203 and accounts for 2.8% of the national total. It sits 140 km from Seoul. Sejong, with 394,630 residents, lies 28 km away; Gongju (72,435) and Okcheon (56,634) are closer still at 26 km and 17 km respectively.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in South Korea
#5of 144
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
South Korea
Region
Daejeon
Coordinates
36.349, 127.385
Record updated
14 April 2026
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 144 in South Korea

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

17KMOkcheon57K people26KMGongju72K people28KMSejong395K people29KMKinzan25K people31KMNonsan44K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Daejeon1.44M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Daejeon compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Daejeon1.44M

Daejeon Population FAQ

What is the population of Daejeon?

Daejeon has a city population of 1,441,203. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Daejeon?

Daejeon is in Daejeon, South Korea, 140 km from the capital, Seoul. Its coordinates are 36.349, 127.385.

How big is Daejeon compared with other cities in South Korea?

It is the 5th largest of the 144 cities listed in South Korea, holding 2.8% of the national population.

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