Daegu (Korean: [tɛ̝.ɡu]), (대구, 大邱, literally 'large hill') formerly spelled Taegu[a] and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the nation[b] with over 2.5 million residents. Daegu is the principal city of the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province. The two areas combined are often referred to as Daegu-Gyeongbuk, with a total population of over 5 million.