Seoul (서울; Korean: [sʰʌ. ul] ( listen)) – officially the Seoul Special City

Seoul (서울; Korean: [sʰʌ.ul] (  listen)) – officially the Seoul Special City – is the capital and largest metropolis ofSouth Korea, forming the heart of the Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis andGyeonggi province, the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25.6 million people.^[5] It is home to over half of all South Koreans along with 678,102 international residents.^[6] With a population of over 10 million, themegacity is the second largest city proper in the OECD.
Situated on the Han River, Seoul's history stretches back more than two thousand years when it was founded in 18 BCE by Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. It continued as the capital of Korea under the Joseon Dynasty. The Seoul Capital Area contains five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Changdeok Palace, Hwaseong Fortress,Jongmyo Shrine, Namhansanseong and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.^[7] Seoul is surrounded by mountains, the tallest being Mt. Bukhan, the world's most visited national park per square foot.^[8] Modern landmarks include the iconic N Seoul Tower, the gold-clad 63 Building, the neofuturistic Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Lotte World, the world's second largest indoor theme park,^[9] Moonlight Rainbow Fountain, the world's longest bridge fountain^[10] and the Sevit Floating Islands. The birthplace of K-pop and the Korean Wave, Seoul received over 10 million international visitors in 2014,^[11] making it the world's 9th most visited city and 4th largest earner in tourism.^[12]
Today, Seoul is considered a leading and rising global city, resulting from an economic boom called the Miracle on the Han River which transformed it to the world's 4th largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$846 billion^[13]in 2014 after Tokyo, New York City and Los Angeles. In 2015, it was rated Asia's most livable city with the second highest quality of life globally by Arcadis.^[14][15] A world leading technology hub centered on Gangnam and Digital Media City,^[16] the Seoul Capital Area boasts 15^[17] Fortune Global 500 companies such as Samsung, the world'slargest technology company, as well as LG and Hyundai-Kia. In 2013, the city's GDP per capita (PPP) of $39,448 was comparable to that of France and Finland. Ranked sixth in the Global Power City Index and Global Financial Centres Index, the metropolis exerts a major influence in global affairs as one of the five leading hosts of global conferences.^[18]
Seoul is the world's most wired city^[19] and ranked first in technology readiness by PwC's Cities of Opportunityreport.^[20] Its public transportation infrastructure is the world's densest^[21] and ranked as the best in the Northern Hemisphere by Arcadis.^[22] It is served by the KTX high-speed rail and the Seoul Subway, the world's largest subwaynetwork,^[23] providing 4G LTE, WiFi and DMB inside subway cars. Seoul is connected via AREX to Incheon International Airport, rated the world's best airport nine years in a row (2005–2013) by Airports Council International.^[24] Lotte World Tower, a 556m (1,824 ft) supertall skyscraper with 123 floors, is being built in Seoul to become the OECD's tallest in 2015 with the world's tallest observation deck and art gallery.^[25][26] Its Lotte Cinemahouses the world's largest cinema screen.^[27] Seoul's COEX Mall is the world's largest underground shopping mall.^[28] Emporis ranked Seoul's skyline having the world's fourth highest visual impact among major cities.^[29]
Seoul hosted the 1986 Asian Games, 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit. A UNESCO City of Design, Seoul was named the 2010 World Design Capital.
Etymology[edit]
Main article: Names of Seoul
The city has been known in the past by the names Wirye-seong (Hangul: 위례성; hanja: 慰禮城, during the Baekjeera), Hanju (Hangul: 한주; hanja: 漢州, during the Silla era), Namgyeong (Hangul: 남경; hanja: 南京, during theGoryeo era), Hanseong (Hangul: 한성; hanja: 漢城, during both the Baekje and Joseon eras), Hanyang (Hangul: 한양; hanja: 漢陽, during the Joseon era), Gyeongseong (Hangul: 경성; hanja: 京城, during the colonial era).^[30] Its current name originated from the Korean word meaning "capital city," which is believed to be derived from the wordSeorabeol (Hangul: 서라벌; hanja: 徐羅伐), which originally referred to Gyeongju, the capital of Silla.^[31] The reason behind Seoul having so many names has its reasons. During Japan's annexation in Korea, "Hanseong" (Hangul: 한성; hanja: 漢城) was renamed to "Gyeongseong" (Hangul: 경성; hanja: 京城, or Keijo) to prevent confusion with thehanja '漢', as it also refers to the Han Chinese. In reality, the ancient name of Seoul, Hanseong (Hangul: 한성;hanja: 漢城), originally had the meaning of "big" or "vast".
Unlike most place names in Korea, "Seoul" has no corresponding hanja (Chinese characters used in the Korean language). On January 18, 2005, Seoul government officially changed its official Chinese language name to Shou'er(simplified Chinese: 首尔; traditional Chinese: 首爾; pinyin: shǒu'ěr) from the historic Hancheng (simplified Chinese:汉城; traditional Chinese: 漢城; pinyin: hànchéng), of which use is becoming less common.^[32][33][34]
History[edit]