The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs decided to assign different colors showing regional characteristics to apartments and government buildings under construction in 10 cities across the country, it said Wednesday.

The decision aims to give Korea's largely featureless and interchangeable cities some regional features, in the manner of Santorini Island in Greece, with its distinctive whitewashed houses with blue doors, or Heidelberg in Germany, which has a lot of red-roofed houses.

The ministry suggested up to eight roof colors and 12 accent colors to each city and had them choose a range. When a city issues building permits for houses, apartments, and commercial and other facilities, it will now make sure the designated colors are used.

Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, a model for green energy, chose warm yellowish hues, while Gimcheon in North Gyeongsang Province, a city of water and transport, chose blue and gold. And Jeju, the center of international exchange, chose white and black.

"Adopting colors that reveal a city's characteristics will add an aesthetic charm to the city and promote tourism," a ministry official claimed.