After the final phase of the Ayutthaya kingdom ended with its complete destruction by the Burmese in 1767, a son of King Boromakot attempted to set himself up ruler in Phimai, holding sway over Korat and other eastern provinces.

King Taksin of the Thonburi Kingdom (1768–1782) sent two of his generals, brothers Thong Duang and Boonma, to defeat the prince, who was executed in 1768.

Thong Duang later became King Rama I of the kingdom, and Korat became his strategic stronghold on the northeastern frontier to supervise the Lao and Khmer tributary states.

[2] Lady Mo, the wife of the deputy governor at the time, is credited with having freed the city from Anouvong's army, and has been honored with a statue in the center of downtown Korat.

A full account of the war and its impact on Laos and Siam, is detailed in the book, Lady Mo and Heroism at Tung Samrit, written by Frank G Anderson.

Nakhon Ratchasima continued to be an important political and economic center in the northeastern region under the Monthon administrative reforms of the late-19th century.

In November 1900, the Royal State Railways of Siam began operation of the Nakhon Ratchasima Line from Bangkok with Korat Station as its terminus.

In October 1933, after the Siamese revolution of 1932 ended the absolute monarchy, Nakhon Ratchasima became the headquarters of the Boworadet Rebellion, an abortive uprising against the new government in Bangkok.

On 13 August 1993, Thailand's worst disaster happened in the city, the collapse of the Royal Plaza Hotel, killing 137 people.

[4] On 8 and 9 February 2020, Thailand's deadliest shooting occurred in the city, when an offduty Royal Thai Army Sergeant shot 29 people dead and wounded 58 others, mostly at the local Terminal 21 mall, before being killed by responding officers.

[6] These boundaries extend the original municipal borders into adjacent sub-districts, and comprise the whole Capital district of Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima, which forms Korat's urban area.

[14][15] All three of Thailand's largest Bangkok-based department store chains have invested in expansive outlets in the city, which will provide one million square metres of retail space by late 2017.

A new motorway connecting Korat to Bangkok is under construction in 2016 and will reduce travel time on the 250 km (160 mi) journey to just over two hours.

It is home to Nakhon Ratchasima FC that competes in the national first tier football level, Thailand Premier League and it was used for the 2007 Southeast Asian Games.

The stadium is in the former SEA Games sports complex on Highway 304 (Pak Thong Chai Road) to the southwest of the city.