The very purpose of this study is to, first, classify rural areas and then following this classification scheme, delve into their area-specific characteristics, especially concentrating upon their relationships to cities. Upon factor analysis, non-agricultural regional-economic factors, urban area factors, and suburbanization factors are found to be major determinants in classifying rural areas. Accordingly rural areas in Korea are classified into four major groupings; rural areas with strong emphasis on non-agricultural sector, areas with high degree of self-sufficiency, areas with strong interaction with cities, and finally, typical rural areas. Finally, after studying and comparing their characteristics, such as demography, farming households, and land uses, strong interaction with cities is judged not to be a propellant of their growth.