This study, by focusing on the concept of accessibility to the central city, analyses its importance for understanding baward regions and aims to investigate a new spatial strategy for developing backward regions in Korea. The study investigates the EU accessibility case study and formulates the methodological framework for the analysis, which is applied to the case of Jeonnam-do and Gyeongbuk-do in order to evaluate the backwardness of the regions in terms of the accessibility to the central city. Finally, this paper discusses a new spatial strategy for developing backward regions based on the concept of the accessibility to the central city, which includes the creative expansion of rural public services and promoting efficient delivery system, improving public and private service provision through the accessibility to the central city and securing long-term development potential through investing in regional human capital.