The price gap between prices of apartments in Seoul and in the provinces has widened to nearly 11 times. According to Real Estate 114, which tracks housing prices across the country, apartment units in the Gangnam District, south of the Han River in Seoul, were valued at W33 million (US$1=W1,283) per 3.3 sq. m as of Friday, which was the most expensive in the country. Next was Gwacheon city in Gyeonggi Province at W29.83 million and Seocho District in Seoul at W26.78 million.

In contrast, apartment units in South Jeolla Province were valued at W3.05 million per 3.3 sq. m, which was the lowest, with Gangwon Province second from the bottom at W3.44 million. The price gap has widened to 10.8 times for apartments in Seoul and South Jeolla and 9.6 times for apartments in Gangwon.

The difference between price increases in Seoul and the provinces has also widened by a large margin. According to real estate data compiled by Kookmin Bank, apartment prices across the country rose 28.2 percent from June 2006 to June of this year. Over that period, apartment prices in Seoul rose 50.4 percent, while those in Busan rose only 3.3 percent, resulting in a 15.3-fold difference in price increases.