Seoul ( ), officially the
Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest city of South
Korea
. With a population of over 10 million, it is
one of the world's
largest cities.
The
Seoul National Capital
Area, which includes the major port city of Incheon
and most of
Gyeonggi-do
, has 24.5 million inhabitants, and is the world's
second largest
metropolitan area. Almost half of South Korea's
population live in the Seoul National Capital Area, and nearly a
quarter in Seoul itself, making it the country's foremost
economic,
political, and
cultural center. It is an important
destination for
immigrants to
South Korea, with a rapidly growing
international population of over 255,000.
Seoul is
located on the Han
River
in the center of the Korean Peninsula, and historically was
settled in 18 B.C. when
Baekje, one of the
Three Kingdoms of Korea, established
its capital in what is now south-east Seoul.
The city then became
the capital of Korea
during the
Joseon
Dynasty
and the Korean Empire
. As the center of Korean history over the past millennia, the
Seoul National Capital Area is home to four UNESCO World Heritage Sites:
Changdeokgung
, Hwaseong Fortress
, Jongmyo
Shrine
and the Royal Tombs of
the Joseon Dynasty
.
Seoul's influence in
business,
international trade,
politics,
technology,
education and
entertainment all contribute to its role as a
prominent
global city. It is considered
to be an
Alpha World City, ranking 9th
in the
2008 Global Cities Index. Seoul
is the iconic city of the
Miracle on the Han River and hosted
landmark international events such as the
1988 Summer Olympics and the
2002 FIFA World Cup and will be the host
city of the
2010 G-20 Summit.
It is one of the world's top ten
financial
and
commercial centers, home to some of the
world's largest
conglomerates
such as
Samsung,
LG and
Hyundai-Kia. Seoul was
Asia's most expensive city to live in 2007, and the third most
expensive city worldwide.
With a GDP per
capita of $31,095 in 2007, Seoul has a living standard
comparable to France
and Italy
.
In 2008,
Seoul was named the world's sixth most economically powerful city
by Forbes.com, ahead of Paris
and Los Angeles
.
Seoul is the
2010 World Design
Capital and has one of the world's most technologically
advanced
infrastructures.
It is
ranked first on the Digital
Opportunity Index, and its Digital Media City
is the world's first complex for high-tech technologies, a test-bed for futuristic
IT and multimedia applications, as well as home to the
133-floors, 640m supertall DMC Landmark
Building
, slated to be the world's second tallest
building by 2015. Seoul is the only city in the world
featuring
DMB, a
digital
mobile TV technology and
WiBro, a wireless high-speed
mobile internet service, as well as the
world's fastest, most penetrated 100Mbps
fibre-optic broadband network, which is being
upgraded to 1Gbps by 2012.
Seoul Station
houses the 350 km/h KTX high-speed rail and the Seoul Subway is the third largest in the world,
with over 2 billion passengers every year. Seoul is connected to
Incheon
International Airport
via AREX, which is rated as the
world's best airport by ACI since 2005.
Name
The city
has been known in the past by the names Wirye-seong (위례성; 慰禮城, Baekje era), Hanju (한주; 漢州, Silla era), Namgyeong (남경; 南京, Goryeo
era),
Hanseong (한성; 漢城, Baekje and Joseon era), Hanyang (한양; 漢陽, Joseon era),
Gyeongseong (경성; 京城, Japanese occupation era). Its current name
originated from the Korean word
meaning "capital city," which is believed to be derived from
Seorabeol (서라벌; 徐羅伐), which originally
referred to Gyeongju
, the capital of Silla.
Unlike most place names in Korea, "Seoul" has no corresponding
hanja (
Chinese
characters used in the
Korean
language). The recently chosen
Chinese name for Seoul is 首尔
(simplified), 首爾 (traditional) (Shǒuěr), which sounds somewhat
similar to "Seoul" when pronounced in
Mandarin Chinese.
History
The history of Seoul can be traced back as far as 18 BC, when it
was established as a settlement in
Baekje,
Wirye-seong.
It's believed that
the Wirye-seong site is in the boundaries
of modern day Seoul and Present Pungnap Toseong
or Mongchon Toseong
remains believed as the site. It has thereafter
been the capital of the Joseon Dynasty. Seoul as a capital of South Korea, has a history of more 610 years since 1394 the
year it was designate as a capital of Joseon Dynasty. In the Japanese colonization period in the
early 20th century, many historical and traditional parts of Seoul
were changed. The city was almost entirely destroyed in the
Korean War, but an
aggressive economic policy in the 1960s and 1970s
helped to rebuild the city very rapidly.
In the 1990s, some
important historical buildings were restored, including Gyeongbokgung
, one of the most royal and powerful palaces and the
ruler's dwelling of the Joseon dynasty.
Geography
Seoul is in northwest South Korea.
Seoul proper comprises 605.39 km² of
area, roughly bisected into northern and southern halves by the
Han
River. The Han River and its surrounding area
played an important role in Korean history.
The Three Kingdoms of Korea strove to
take control of this land, where the river was used as a trade
route to China (via the Yellow Sea
). However, the river is no longer actively
used for navigation, because its estuary is located at the borders
of the two Koreas, barred for entrance by any civilian. The city is
bordered by eight mountains, as well as the more level lands of the
Han River plain and western areas.
Climate
In common with the rest of South Korea, Seoul has a
humid continental climate
(
Köppen climate
classification Dwa), despite the fact that the country
is surrounded on three sides by water. Summers are generally hot
and humid, with
East Asian
monsoon taking place from June until July. August, the hottest
month, has an average temperature of 72 °F to 86 °F (22°C to 30°C)
with higher temperatures possible. Winters are often very cold with
an average January temperature of 19 °F to 33 °F (-7°C to 1°C) and
are generally much drier than summers, although there are 28 days
of
snow in Seoul in each year on average.
Administrative divisions
Seoul is divided into 25
gu
(구; ) (district). The gu vary greatly in area (from 10 to
47 km²) and population (from less than 140,000 to 630,000).
Songpa has the most people, while Seocho, the largest area. The
government of each gu handles many of the functions that are
handled by city governments in other jurisdictions. Each gu is
divided into "
dong"
(동; ) or neighbourhoods. Some gu have only a few dong while others
like Jongno-gu have a very large number of distinct neighborhoods.
Gu of Seoul consist of 522 administrative dongs (행정동) in total.
Dong are also sub-divided into 13,787
tong (통; ),
which are further divided into 102,796
ban in total.
Seoul Districts
Demographics
Nearly all of Seoul's residents are
Korean, with some small
Chinese and
Japanese minorities. A rapidly growing
population of international residents now represent about 2% of the
total population. The city’s population surpassed 10,421,000 as of
the end of 2007 and the number of foreigners was 229,000,
constituting 2.2 percent of the population.
The two major religions in Seoul are
Buddhism and
Christianity. Other religions include
Shamanism and
Confucianism, the latter seen more as a
pervasive social philosophy rather than a religion.
Economy
As the headquarters for
Samsung,
LG,
Hyundai,
Kia and
SK, Seoul has become a
major business hub in Asia.
Although Seoul accounts for only 0.6 percent
of South Korea's land area, it generates 21 percent of the
country's entire GDP with a GDP per
capita of $31,095 in 2007, Seoul has a living standard
comparable to France and Italy
Financial hub
As a major business and financial center, Seoul ranks sixth in the
world in terms of the number of transnational companies
headquartered there. Many international banks have branches in
Seoul, including
Citigroup,
Deutsche Bank,
HSBC. One
of the largest exchange banks, the
Korea Exchange Bank, is also
headquartered in Seoul.
Shopping
Since Seoul is the center of commerce in South Korea, there are
many notable shopping areas attracting consumers.The largest market
in South Korea, the
Dongdaemun
Market, is located in Seoul.
Myeongdong is a shopping and entertainment area
in downtown Seoul which contains some of the city's top stores and
fashion boutiques. It has mid to high priced retail stores and
international brand outlets.
Nearby is the Namdaemun Market
named after the Namdaemun Gate
, which is the oldest continually running and the
largest retail market in Seoul. Sinchon is a shopping area that caters mainly to a
young crowd and university students.
On the other hand,
Insadong is the cultural
art market of Seoul, where traditional and modern Korean artworks,
such as paintings, sculptures and calligraphy are sold.
Hwanghak-dong Flea Market and
Janganpyeong Antique
Market also offer antique products.
Itaewon is another notable shopping district in the
city lined with boutiques and stores, mainly catering to foreign
tourists and American soldiers based in the city. The
Gangnam district is one of the most
affluent areas in Seoul and has popular modern shopping spots such
as the fashionable and upscale
Apgujeong-dong area and the
COEX Mall.
As for wholesale markets, there are Noryangjin
Fisheries Wholesale Market
, Garak Market and many
others. Yongsan
Electronics Market is the largest electronics market in Asia.
Gasan Digital Complex also serves an extensive variety electronic
products.
Architecture
The
traditional heart of Seoul is the old Joseon Dynasty city, which is now the downtown area, where most
palaces, government offices, corporate headquarters, hotels, and
traditional markets are located. Cheonggyecheon, a stream that runs from west
to east through the valley before emptying into the Han River. For
many years, the stream had been covered by concrete, but was
recently restored through an urban revival project.
The most historically
significant street in Seoul is Jongno,
meaning "Bell Street," on which one can find Bosingak
, a pavilion containing a large bell. The
bell signaled the different times of the day and therefore
controlled the four major gates to the city. The only time it is
normally rung nowadays is at midnight on New Year's Eve, when it is
rung thirty-three times. It was, however, rung on the day that
President
Kim Dae-jung took office.
To the
north of downtown is Bukhan
Mountain, and to the south is the smaller Namsan
.
Further
south are the old suburbs of Yongsan-gu
and Mapo-gu, and the Han
River. Across the Han River are the newer and
wealthier areas of
Gangnam-gu,
Seocho-gu and surrounding neighborhoods.
Historical architecture
Seoul has a lot of historical and cultural landmarks.
In Amsa-dong Preshistoric Settlement
Site
, Songpa-gu, Neolithic
remains were excavated and accidentally discovered by a flood in
1925 in Amsa-dong.Urban and civil planning was a key concept
when Seoul was first designed to serve as a capital in the late
14th century.
The Joseon Dynasty built "Five Grand Palaces" in Seoul such as
Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung
, Deoksugung
, Gyeongbokgung and Gyeonghuigung
, all of which are located in the district of
Jongno-gu and Jung-gu. Among them, Changdeokgung was added
to the UNESCO
World Heritage List in
1997 for "outstanding example of Far Eastern palace architecture
and garden design".
The main palace, Gyeongbokgung currently being restored to its original
form. The palaces are referred to as exemplary architecture
of the Joseon period. Beside the palaces,
Unhyeongung is known for the royal residence of
Regent
Daewongun, the father of
Emperor Gojong at the end of the Joseon
Dynasty.
Seoul has been surrounded by walls that had built to regulate
visitors from other regions and protect the city in case
foreigners' invasions.
Pungnap Toseong is a flat earthen wall built at the edge of the Han
River which is widely believed to be the site of Wiryeseong. Mongchon Toseong
(몽촌토성; 蒙村土城) is also an earthen wall built during the Baekje period which is now located inside the
Olympic
Park
. Castle
Walls of Seoul (서울성곽; 서울城郭) are remaining walls of Seoul during
Joseon
Dynasty.
Although
many walls and fortresses were demolished, some of gates of the
palaces and fortresses have played a role of the city's heart such
as Sungnyemun
and Heunginjimun
. The gates are more commonly known as
Namdaemun (South Great Gate) and Dongdaemun (East Great Gate) in
regards to the directions. Namdaemun was the oldest wooden gate
until the 2008 fire incident and has been currently under
reconstruction.
Nearby the gates, traditional markets and
largest shopping center, Namdaemun Market and Dongdaemun
Market are situated with the names from the gates.
There are also many buildings founded in the end of the 19th
century and early 20th century with western styles.
The Independence
Gate
was built in 1897 to inspire an independent spirit
from Sinosphere. Seoul Station was opened in 1900 as "Gyeongseong
Station.
Modern architecture
Major
modern landmarks include the Korea
Finance Building
, N Seoul
Tower
, the World Trade Center
, the 63
Building
and the
six-skyscraper residence Tower Palace
. These and various high-rise
office buildings, like the
Seoul Star Tower and
Jongno Tower, dominate the city's skyline. Due
to its high density, Seoul has been equipped with a grand
appearance of
skyscrapers and the city
council is now planning on building a series of high-rises,
including 580-meter business center in Sangam Digital Media City
district and an 800-meter Lotte World 2 Tower in the
Jamsil (pronounced "Jam-shil") district of
Songpa-gu and
Gangdong-gu.
The World Trade Center of Korea is located in
Gangnam-gu which hosts various expositions and
conferences. Also in Gangnam-gu is the
COEX
Mall, a large indoor shopping and entertainment complex.
Downstream from Gangnam-gu is
Yeouido, a
large island that is home to the National Assembly, major
broadcasting studios, and a number of large office buildings, as
well as the Korea Finance Building and the world's largest
Pentecostal church. The Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park, and
Lotte World are located in Songpa-gu, on the
south side of the Han River, upstream from Gangnam-gu.
Culture
Museums
Seoul is home to over 100 museums including three national and nine
official municipal museums.
National Museum of Korea is the
most representative of museums in not only Seoul and South Korea.
Since its establishment in 1945, the museum exhibits 150,000
artifacts. In October 2005, the museum opened in a new building in
Yongsan Family Park. The
National Folk Museum is
situated on the grounds of the Gyeongbokgung Palace) in the
district of Jongno-gu and uses replicas of historical objects to
illustrate the folk history of the Korean people.
Bukchon Hanok Village and Namsangol
Hanok Village
are old residential districts consisting of
hanok- Korean traditional houses, parks, and
museums that allows visitors to experience traditional Korean
culture. The War Memorial
, one of nine municipal museums in Seoul, offers
visitors an educational and emotional experience of various wars in
which Korea was involved including Korean
War themes. The
Seodaemun
Prison is a former prison built during Japanese occupation and
is currently used as a history museum.
The
Seoul Museum
of Art
and Ilmin Museum of
Art have preserved the appearance of the old building that
distinguishes it visually from the neighboring tall, modern
buildings in the urban area. The former is operated by Seoul
City Council and was opened adjacent to Gyeonghuigung Palace, a
Joseon dynasty royal palace. The
Tteok & Kitchen Utensil
Museum and
Kimchi Field
Museum provide information regarding Korean culinary
history.
Religion
There are also religious buildings that take important roles in
Korean society and politics.
The Wongudan
altar had been a sacrificial place where Korean
rulers held heavenly rituals since the Three Kingdoms
period. Since the Joseon Dynasty adopted Confucianism as the
national ideology in 14th century, the state built many Confucian
shrines.
The descendants of the Joseon royal family
still continue to hold ceremonies to commemorate ancestors at
Jongmyo. It is the oldest royal Confucian shrine
preserved and the ritual ceremonies continue a tradition
established since the 14th century.
Munmyo
and
Dongmyo were built during the same
period. Although Buddhism was suppressed by the Joseon state, it
has continued its existence.
Jogyesa
is the headquarters of the Jogyeo Order of Korean Buddhism. Hwagyesa and Bongeunsa
are also major Buddhist temples in
Seoul.
The
Myeongdong Cathedral is a
landmark of the
Myeongdong district and
is the first Catholic church established in Korea. It is a symbol
of Christianity in Korea as well as political dissidents in the
late 20th century.
Parks
Seoul Olympic Park
Namsan
Park offers some hiking, recreation and views of the
downtown Seoul skyline. The N Seoul Tower is located here. Seoul
Olympic Park is located in Songpa-gu
and was built to host the 1988 Summer Olympics. In Tapgol Park
, a small public park with an area of 19,599 m², the
Wongaksa Pagoda 10 tier pagoda is
situated. Areas around streams serves as public places for
relaxation and recreation.
Tancheon stream
and the nearby area serves as a large park with paths for both
walkers and cyclists.
Cheonggyecheon
is a stream that runs nearly 6 km through downtown Seoul and a
popular place to visit among Seoul residents and
tourists.
The Seoul metropolitan area accommodates six major
parks, including the Seoul
Forest
, which opened in mid-2005. The Seoul National Capital Area also
contains a green belt aimed at preventing
the city from sprawling out over the
neighboring Gyeonggi Province.
These areas are frequently sought after by people looking to escape
from urban life on weekends and during vacations.
In addition, Seoul is also home to the world's largest indoor
amusement park,
Lotte World.
Other
recreation centers include the former Olympic and World Cup
stadiums and the City Hall public lawn.
Sports
International Competition
Seoul hosted the
1986 Asian Games,
1988 Olympic Games and
Paralympic Games. It also served as
one of the host cities of the
2002
FIFA World Cup.
Seoul World Cup Stadium hosted the opening ceremony and first game of the
tournament.
Taekwondo is Korea's national sport and
Seoul is the location of the
Kukkiwon, also
known as the
World Taekwondo
Federation (WTF), the world headquarters of taekwondo.
Domestic Sports Clubs
Football
Other Sports
The Seoul is home to three
baseball teams
in the
KBO:
LG Twins,
Doosan Bears
and
Heroes. Seoul is also home to two
basketball clubs in the
KBL:
Seoul Samsung Thunders and
Seoul SK Knights.
Seoul also has a professional volleyball club
Seoul Woori Capital Dream Six, which will
debut in 2009-2010 season.
Transportation
Seoul's
transportation dates back to the era of the Korean Empire, when the first streetcar lines were laid and a
railroad linking Seoul and Incheon was completed. Seoul's
most important streetcar line ran along Jongno until it was
replaced by Line 1 of the subway system in the early 1970s. Other
notable streets in downtown Seoul include
Euljiro,
Teheranno,
Sejongno,
Chungmuro,
Yulgongno, and
Toegyero. There are eight major subway
lines stretching for more than 250 kilometers, with a ninth and
tenth line being planned, and also some other miscellaneous
lines.
Seoul hosts more than three million registered vehicles and
widespread traffic congestion is common.
Bus
Seoul's bus system is operated by the Seoul Metropolitan
Government, with four primary bus configurations available
servicing most of the city. Seoul has many big intercity/express
bus terminals. These buses connect Seoul and cities all around
Korea. The Seoul Express Bus Terminal, Central City Terminal, and
Seoul Nambu Terminal are located in the district of
Seocho-gu. In addition, East Seoul Bus Terminal in
Gwangjin-gu and Sangbong Terminal in
Jungnang-gu operate in the east of the
city. To reduce air pollution in the city, the municipal government
is planning to change over seven thousand of Seoul's diesel engine
buses with natural gas by 2010.
Subway
Seoul has a comprehensive subway network that interlinks every
district of the city with one another and the surrounding area.
With more than 8 million passengers a day, Seoul has one of the
busiest subway
systems in the world. The Seoul Metropolitan Subway has 12
lines which serves Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi province and northern
Chungnam province. In addition, in order to cope with all of these
transportation modes, Seoul's metropolitan government employs
several mathematicians to coordinate the subway, bus, and traffic
schedules into one timetable. The various lines are run by
Korail,
Seoul Metro and
Seoul
Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation.
Train
Seoul is connected to every major city in Korea by railroad. Seoul
is also linked to most major Korean cities by the
KTX high-speed train, which has a normal
operation speed of more than 300 km/h. Major railroad stations
include:
Airports
There are two international
airports that
serve Seoul.
Gimpo International Airport
, formerly in Gimpo
but
annexed to Seoul in 1963, was the only international airport for
Seoul since its original construction during the Korean War. Other domestic airports were
built around the time of the war, including at
Yeouido.
Upon
opening in March 2001, Incheon International Airport on Yeongjong
island in Incheon changed the
role of Gimpo Airport significantly. Incheon is now
responsible for almost all international flights and some domestic
flights, while Gimpo serves only domestic flights with the
exception of flights to Tokyo International Airport
(Haneda) in Tokyo
, Osaka Kansai
International Airport
and Hongqiao
Airport
in Shanghai. This
has led to a significant drop in flights from Gimpo Airport.
Meanwhile, Incheon International Airport has
become, along with Hong Kong
and Singapore
, a major transportation center for East Asia. The 2005 AETRA passenger survey,
jointly administered by the
IATA and
Airports Council
International, voted it the best airport in the world. It was
named by
Skytrax as the world's 5th best
airport for 2006.
Incheon and Gimpo are linked to Seoul by highways, and between
Incheon and Gimpo airports, it is connected by the
Incheon International
Airport Railroad, which also linked to Incheon line #1, and
Gimpo is linked by subway (line #5 and #9). The Incheon
International Airport Railroad is planned to connect till Seoul
Station in central Seoul but will take years more to open. Shuttle
buses transfer passengers between Incheon and Gimpo airports.
Education
- See also: Education in
South Korea, List of
universities in Seoul
There are a large number of
universities
in Seoul, including most of the country's most prestigious
universities.
Sister cities
Seoul has many
sister cities. The year
each relationship was formed is shown in parentheses below.
- Taipei
 , Republic of
China (Taiwan )
(1968)
- Ankara
 , Turkey
(1971)
- Guam
 , U.S. territory (1973)
- Honolulu
 , United
States (1973)
- San Francisco
 , United
States (1976)
- São Paulo
 , Brazil
(1977)
- Tehran
 , Iran
(1977)
- Bogota
 , Colombia (1982)
- Jakarta
 , Indonesia (1984)
- Tokyo, Japan
(1988)
- Moscow
 , Russia
(1991)
- New South Wales
 , Australian state
(1991)
- Paris, France
(1991)
- Beijing, People's
Republic of China
 (1992)
- Caracas
 , Venezuela (1992)
|
- Mexico City
 , Mexico
(1993)
- Ulaanbaatar
 , Mongolia (1995)
- Hanoi
 , Vietnam (1996)
- Warsaw
 , Poland
(1996)
- Cairo
 , Egypt
(1997)
- Ottawa
 , Canada (1997)
- Rome
 , Italy
(2000)
- Astana
 , Kazakhstan (2004)
- Athens
 , Greece (2006)
- Bangkok
 , Thailand (2006)
- Washington, D.C.
 , United
States (2006)
- Vancouver
 , Canada (2007)
- Buenos Aires
 , Argentina
- Islamabad
 , Pakistan
- Tirana
 , Albania
|
|
Large cities within South Korea
See also
References
- Thomas Brinkhoff, www.citypopulation.de; South Korea, The
registered population of the South Korean provinces and urban
municipalities Registered population 2007-12-31. Retrieved on
2008-12-31.
- 나라지표:수도권 인구 집중 현황
- R.L. Forstall, R.P. Greene, and J.B. Pick, "Which are the largest? Why published populations
for major world urban areas vary so greatly", City Futures
Conference, (University of Illinois at Chicago, July 2004) Table 5
(p.34)
-
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/08/117_50907.html
-
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4509&page=1
- http://www.citymayors.com/economics/financial-cities.html
- See List of companies by
revenue.
- See List of
most expensive cities for expatriate employees.
-
http://www.mt.co.kr/view/mtview.php?type=1&no=2009072818220114676&outlink=1
- World Economic Outlook Database-April 2009,
International Monetary Fund.
Implied PPP conversion rate(2007). Accessed on April 22, 2009.
- World Economic Outlook Database-April 2009,
International Monetary Fund.
GDP(PPP) per capita(2007). Accessed on April 22, 2009.
-
http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/15/economic-growth-gdp-biz-cx_jz_0715powercities_slide_7.html?thisSpeed=15000
-
http://www.theage.com.au/news/technology/tech-capitals-of-the-world/2007/06/16/1181414598292.html
- http://english.seoul.go.kr/gtk/about/fact.php
- http://dmc.seoul.go.kr/english/jsp/about/overview.jsp
-
http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/02/south-koreans-could-see-1gbps-web-connections-by-2012/
- See Metro systems by
annual passenger rides.
- yahoo
- goodcharacters.com
- BBC Weather - Country Guide
- [1]
- Welcome to KTC
-
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2008/cities/
- "Seoul More Enjoyable For a Day" accessed
2008-07-30
- The Many Lives of Tehran Road
- International Relations of Tirana
External links
Official sites
Tourism and living information
Maps