Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've been to HK only out of these 2, it looked pretty cool but not my idea for best place either. Seoul is probably smaller version of Tokyo not? In that case HK beats it in your question.
Location: Watching half my country turn into Gilead
3,530 posts, read 4,172,482 times
Reputation: 2925
I've also been to HK, but not Seoul. Given that Seoul is the much larger city, without dropping off in population density, it should easily be more urban, though Hong Kong is no slouch.
I've been to HK only out of these 2, it looked pretty cool but not my idea for best place either. Seoul is probably smaller version of Tokyo not? In that case HK beats it in your question.
The Seoul metro area has a smaller population than Tokyo, however Seoul is also considerably denser. The Seoul special city is at 16,000 per squre km vs 6,000 for the tokyo metroplios area.
Having said that seoul also has nothing approaching places like kowloon either, the buildings are just not as tall in Seoul. Having been to both cities many times by my definition of urban Hong Kong wins.
I've been to HK 5 or 6 times and kind of consider it my Asian base these days. Basically I'm not an expert on HK but I'm familiar enough with the city, at this time certainly more familiar with it than any other city in Asia. I've been to Seoul twice for about 8 days or so. So I've got an idea of the city but I've really only scratched the surface.
With that said, I don't think I can pick one. HK's developed area is almost as urban as an area can possibly be, but Seoul is absolutely enormous and stretches on for much farther so in many ways it outdoes HK.
I am a Hong Kong local, local generally means Hong Kong Chinese and mother tongue is Cantonese.
Hong Kong SAR is 1,106 sq km and 1,649 sq km in water, population is 7,374,900, with additional people like HK people living in Shenzhen entering and leaving daily, day trip Mainland Chinese and Macau residents from the Peral River Delta, and also overnight visitors from all over the world. Mainland Chinese need visas to enter HK.
Seoul Special City is 605 sq km mostly land, population 9,914,381. It is smaller than HKSAR and larger in population. The Seoul Capita Area is 11,704 sq km. Population is 25,514,000
About 50% of South Korea's population live there.
Both cities have mountains. Hong Kong has 263 islands , the total area of all islands is 309 sq km. The total length of coastline of Hong Kong is 733 km.
HK has 2 "neighbors" and most HK locals can reach them in a few minutes to 1 hour with only a card.
Lots of daily commuters between Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi.
Seoul Capital Area has much more metro stations and lines than HK. Seoul's public transports are much more packed than HK during rush hours.
Eating local food in South Korea and public transport is slightly or more expensive than HK. Shopping in HK is cheaper, no shopping tax and close to factories and farms in Mainland China and Southeast Asia.
Seoul's history is very long and has palaces. HK became a city after British occupation.
I've been to HK only out of these 2, it looked pretty cool but not my idea for best place either. Seoul is probably smaller version of Tokyo not? In that case HK beats it in your question.
Seoul is also quite large. But, it's definitely similarly designed to Tokyo, but nowhere near as polished. It has a gritty feel, but designed similarly.
-----
Anyways, for the OP's question. Both cities are very dense and urban. HK has more 'other' amenities - i.e. ocean beaches and hiking mountains, also in the city limits.
Seoul is pretty much straight cement and buildings through and through.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
