Seoul - geography. I INTRODUCTION Seoul, capital of South Korea (Republic of Korea), located in the northwestern part of the country on the Han River. Seoul is 31 km (19 mi) from the Yellow Sea port city of Incheon, and about 40 km (25 mi) from the border with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea). It is the largest city and chief commercial, manufacturing, administrative, and cultural center of South Korea. The word Seoul is a Korean term meaning capital city. Originally known as Hans? ng, Seoul was renamed Ky? ngs?ng in 1911. The city has officially been called Seoul since 1945, when Korea, then a single country, was liberated from 35 years of Japanese colonial rule. Seoul has a continental climate with four distinct seasons, including hot, humid summers and cold, relatively dry winters. Average high temperatures are 1° C (33° F) in January and 29° C (83° F) in July. Seoul receives an average annual precipitation of 1,370 mm (54 in), of which 70 percent usually falls between July and September. II SEOUL AND ITS METROPOLITAN AREA Seoul covers an area of 605 sq km (234 sq mi), extending 37 km (23 mi) east to west and 30 km (19 mi) north to south. The city is surrounded by mountains, the highest of which is Bukhansan Mountain, 836 m (2743 ft) above sea level. At the beginning of the Chos?n (Joseon) dynasty in 1392, Seoul was built surrounded by a fortified wall with four main gates and four secondary gates: a main gate at each of the cardinal points of the compass and a secondary gate between. Little of the original stone wall still exists, and only two of the main gates and one of the secondary gates remain standing. There is also a bell tower in Namsan Park that contains a large bronze bell cast in 1468. Seoul is divided by the Han River, which flows from east to west toward the Yellow Sea. The city consists administratively of 22 gu (wards), which are subdivided into 526 dong (precincts). Business and commercial centers are located in the downtown area and, increasingly, in the area south of the Han River. Factories are concentrated in the western part of the city, especially the district of Yeongdeungpo. Poorer residential areas are mostly in the eastern part of the city. The north side of the city is mountainous and has many parks, as well as the presidential palace known as Chongwadae (Blue House). The two largest outdoor markets are located near the South Gate (Namdaemun) and East Gate (Dongdaemun). Myongdong, sometimes called the "Ginza" of Seoul after the high-fashion district of Tokyo, is the center of women's fashion and shopping in downtown Seoul and also the site of South Korea's largest Roman Catholic cathedral. From the 1960s through the mid-1990s the area south of the Han River (known as Gangnam or "South of the River" in Korean) saw a boom in the construction of shopping malls and apartments for the upper-middle class. Architectural monuments include the Independence Arch, built near the site of the old West Gate of the city in 1896. A statue of Admiral Yi Sunsin, who defended Korea against the Japanese invasions of 1592 to 1597, stands on an island at the center of Sejongno, the main downtown thoroughfare. A statue of King Sejong, who invented the Korean alphabet Hangeul in 1446, is located in Deoksu Palace. Seoul contains a number of buildings from the Chos?n dynasty (1392-1910), including four major palaces: Changdeok Palace, Changgyeong Palace, Geongbok Palace, and Deoksu Palace. Jongmyo Shrine houses the Chos?n dynasty royal ancestral tablets, and Confucian memorial services for the royal family are held at Jongmyo each May. Important civic buildings include Seoul's city hall and supreme court, both in the central part of the city, and the National Assembly building on Youido Island in the Han River to the southwest. An imposing stone structure was built in front of Geongbok Palace in 1926 by the Japanese to house the colonial government general. It was occupied by the South Korean government after 1945 and in 1985 it became the National Museum. On August 15, 1995, the 50th anniversary of liberation from Japan, the South Korean government began the dismantling of the building in order to eliminate one of the most visible remnants of Japanese colonial rule. III ECONOMY Seoul is the center of government, commerce, finance, and manufacturing in South Korea. The federal and municipal governments are major employers in the city. Important manufactures include textiles, clothing, metal products, chemicals, processed food, electrical and electronic equipment, machinery, and printed materials. The Korea Stock Exchange is located on Youido Island. Seoul Railway Station is the terminus of the main north-south and east-west railway lines in South Korea. Seoul is also served by the major South Korean long-distance bus routes and major highways. Incheon International Airport is located 52 km (32 mi) west of downtown Seoul. IV POPULATION In 2003, 9,714,000 people, or nearly one-fourth South Korea's population, lived in Seoul. Migration from rural to urban areas has increased throughout South Korea since 1945, and Seoul has been the largest recipient of these migrants. From a population of less than 1 million in 1945, Seoul grew rapidly after the Korean War (19501953). The population exceeded 2 million by 1960, 5 million by 1970, 8 million by 1980, and 10 million by 1988. In 1995 the city's population density was about 16,900 persons per sq km (about 43,700 per sq mi). Like South Korea as a whole, Seoul has a homogeneous population with only a very small percentage of people of nonKorean descent, mostly foreign visitors and resident Chinese. Seoul's rapid population growth has created severe strains on its infrastructure and environment, including traffic congestion, housing shortages, and water and air pollution. Seoul has 1.65 million registered vehicles, of which about 70 percent are passenger cars. The subway system, first built in 1974 and greatly expanded in the 1980s, carries 5.32 million passengers every day. Plans to expand the subway system still further show little sign of easing the problem of traffic congestion, which causes air and noise pollution, serious accidents, and many inconveniences in the city. To relieve overcrowding in Seoul, apartments were built for urban dwellers in the early 1970s. Multistory apartment buildings now sprawl in all directions from Seoul, creeping onto the surrounding hillsides. More than half of Seoul's 1.7 million households live in apartment buildings. In the late 1980s the South Korean government began to address the issue of environmental pollution through various projects, including cleaning up the heavily polluted Han River and enacting pollution restrictions on industry and private vehicles. While these projects have achieved some degree of success, pollution, especially from automobiles and factories, is still a serious detriment to the quality of life in Seoul. V EDUCATION AND CULTURE Seoul is the cultural and educational center of the country. More than 50 colleges and universities are located here, which is more than one-quarter of the institutions of higher learning in South Korea. All of South Korea's top-ranked universities are in Seoul, including Chung-ang University (1918), Ewha Women's University (1886), Korea University (1905), Seoul National University (1946), Sogang University (1960), Sung Kyun Kwan University (1938), and Yonsei University (1885). The National Museum features collections of Korean art and artifacts, and the National Science Museum showcases modern Korean technology. The National Library of Korea, the country's largest library, is located in Seoul. There are many cinemas and theaters throughout the city, with a high concentration of motion-picture theaters in the Jongno area. Major arts centers include Sejong Cultural Center, the largest performing arts center in South Korea located in Sejongno in central Seoul. The Korea Traditional Performing Arts Center, which showcases traditional Korean music and dance, is in the Seocho district. VI RECREATION Biwon, or the Secret Garden, formerly a retreat for the Yi rulers of the Chos?n dynasty, is now a public park occupying 32 hectares (80 acres) just north of Changdeok Palace. Namsan Park, located on Namsan Mountain south of downtown, is topped by the Namsan Tower, which houses a restaurant and observation deck. Sajik Park is the site of altars formerly used by the Yi kings as well as a shrine to Tangun, legendary ancestor of the Korean people. Pagoda Park was the gathering place for a reading of the Korean Declaration of Independence on March 1, 1919, which sparked a nationwide wave of protests against Japanese colonial rule. Seoul Children's Park is an amusement park, and Seoul Grand Park contains the city zoo, which houses more than 4000 animals of 187 different species. Dongdaemun Stadium in eastern Seoul hosts soccer and baseball games, as well as other sports. However, the largest center for sports is in the Jamsil district in the southeast part of the city, site of the main sports complexes built for the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. These include the Olympic Stadium, a gymnasium, an indoor swimming pool, a baseball stadium, and other sports facilities. East of the Olympic sports complexes is Olympic Park, covering about 3 sq km (about 1 sq mi) with Mongch'on Fortress at its center. The park contains facilities for sports, public gatherings, and the performing arts. VII HISTORY The earliest known human settlement in the area of what is now Seoul began in the Han River basin between 3000 and 4000 BC. Approximately 2000 years ago a town called Wiryes?ng was founded on the south bank of the Han River, eventually becoming the capital of the Paekche (Baekche) kingdom (3rd to 7th century AD). After Paekche (Baekche) was conquered by Silla in the mid-7th century, Wiryes?ng was renamed Hans?ng. Under the Kory? (Goryeo) dynasty (918-1392) the city was called Yangju, and in 1067 it became one of Kory?'s three secondary capitals with the designation Namgy? ng, or "southern capital." The city was known as Hanyang at the beginning of the Chos? n (Joseon) dynasty (1392-1910). In 1394 King Taejo moved his court to the city and renamed it Hans? ng; it remained the capital until the end of the Chos?n dynasty. In 1910 Japan annexed Korea as a colony of the Japanese Empire, and in 1911 the city was renamed Ky? ngs?ng. The Japanese built an extensive railway network in Korea with the main railroad station in Seoul. The city was also developed for commerce, trade, and military activity. Shortly before the end of World War II (19391945), the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) agreed to divide Korea at the 38th parallel for the purpose of accepting the surrender of Japanese troops. The city was renamed Seoul in 1945 and made capital of South Korea in 1948. Seoul was severely damaged during the Korean War (1950-1953) between North Korea and South Korea. The city was captured and retaken four times, and by the war's end few buildings were left standing. After the war the city was rapidly rebuilt, and many new streets, bridges, and skyscrapers were built in the economic boom years of the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. Contributed By: Charles K. Armstrong Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
