This study proposes a rule-based image classification method for the time-series analysis of changes in the land surface of the Seongnam-Yongin area using satellite-image data from 2000 to 2009. In order to identify the change patterns during each period, 11 classes were employed in accordance with statistical/mathematic rules. A generalized algorithm was used so that the rules could be applied to the unsupervised-classification method that does not establish any training sites. The results showed that the urban area of the object increased by 145% due to housing-site development. The image data from 2009 had a classification accuracy of 98%. For method verification, the results were compared to land-cover changes through Post-classification comparison. The maximum utilization of the available data within multiple images and the optimized classification allowed for an improvement in the classification accuracy. The proposed rule-based image-classification method is expected to be widely employed for the time-series analysis of images to produce a thematic map for urban development and to monitor urban development and environmental change.