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THE SEOUL PORTAL

Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Capital Area, encompassing Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's sixth largest metropolitan economy in 2022, trailing behind Paris, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and New York, and hosts more than half of South Korea's population. Although Seoul's population peaked at slightly over 10 million, it has gradually decreased since 2014, standing at approximately 9.97 million residents as of 2020. Seoul is the seat of the South Korean government.

Seoul's history traces back to 18 BC when it was founded by the people of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. During the Joseon dynasty, Seoul was officially designated as the capital, surrounded by the Fortress Wall of Seoul. In the early 20th century, Seoul was occupied by the Japanese Empire, temporarily renamed "Keijō" ("Gyeongseong" in Korean). The Korean War brought fierce battles, with Seoul changing hands four times and leaving the city mostly in ruins. Nevertheless, the city has since undergone significant reconstruction and rapid urbanization.

Seoul was rated Asia's most livable city, with the second-highest quality of life globally according to Arcadis in 2015 and a GDP per capita (PPP) of approximately $40,000. 15 Fortune Global 500 companies, including industry giants such as Samsung, LG, and Hyundai, are headquartered in the Seoul Capital Area, which has major technology hubs, such as Gangnam and Digital Media City. Seoul is ranked seventh in the Global Power City Index and the Global Financial Centres Index, and is one of the five leading hosts of global conferences. The city has also hosted major events such as the 1986 Asian Games, the 1988 Summer Olympics, and the 2010 G20 Seoul summit, in addition to three matches at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. (Full article...)

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The park, on top of the bridge structure (2017)

Seoullo 7017 (Korean: 서울로 7017), also known as the Seoul Skygarden or Skypark, is an elevated, linear park in Seoul, built atop a former highway overpass. The path, which is about one kilometer in length and lined with 24,000 plants, is similar to New York City's High Line. Skygarden was designed by MVRDV, a Dutch firm, and opened in May 2017. In the future, the park may become an urban nursery, growing trees and plants for replanting elsewhere in the city. The path also improves walking times around the city's Central Station.

The disused overpass closed in 2015 and cuts diagonally across Seoul Station at 17m above street level. The '70' in the name comes from the year 1970 when the flyover was dedicated, while the '17' is both the number of walkways connected to it, and the year 2017. The park includes gardens, terraces, and exhibitions, and will "feature over 24,085 plants representing 228 species of trees, shrubs and flowers found in and outside Korea." (Full article...)

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Namsan Mountain Olympic Park, Seoul

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It is the intersection where Eulji-ro and Namdaemun-ro intersect.

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General images

The following are images from various Seoul-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Map of Hanseongbu's territory (from History of Seoul)
Image 2A narrow street of 19th-century Seoul (from History of Seoul)
Image 3Jibokjae, the Royal Library of Seoul in the late Joseon period (from History of Seoul)
Image 4Flag of Seoul (1946–1996) (from History of Seoul)
Image 5Gyeongjo-obu-do, an old map of Seoul (from History of Seoul)
Image 6Seoul in 1894 (from History of Seoul)
Image 7Emblem of Keijō, 1925–1945 (from History of Seoul)
Image 8Map of boundary expansion of modern Seoul (from 1914 to 1995) (from History of Seoul)
Image 9Waryong-dong, Seoul, in the late Joseon Dynasty (from History of Seoul)
Image 10Gwanghwa Gate, the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace (from History of Seoul)
Image 11The street in front of Gyeongbokgung palace in the late 19th century (from History of Seoul)
Image 12Seoul, capital city of the Korean Empire, in 1905, showing contrast between tradition and modernity (from History of Seoul)
Image 13A street of 19th-century Seoul (from History of Seoul)
Image 14Hanseong Municipal Government (from History of Seoul)
Image 15Donggwoldo, Joseon Dynasty painting of main royal palaces of Seoul (from History of Seoul)
Image 16Gyeonghungak was an attached two-storied building of Daejojeon Hall of Changdeok Palace. The first story was Gyeonghungak, and the second story was Jinggwangru. (from History of Seoul)
Image 17Seokeodang is a two-storey building of Deoksugung Palace built in the style of a private residence. (from History of Seoul)
Image 18A neighborhood of Seoul in the late Joseon Dynasty (from History of Seoul)

Did you know (auto-generated) - load new batch

... that after the Seongsu Bridge collapsed in Seoul, radiographic testing found that 110 of the 111 connections in the bridge were filled with defects?
... that Sung Min Song, who was an informatics engineer in Seoul until age 26, performed the extreme tenor role of Arnold in Rossini's Guillaume Tell as his debut at the Saarländisches Staatstheater?
... that Binggrae, a South Korean food and beverage company, was the official ice cream supplier of the 1988 Seoul Olympics?
... that The Seoul Press was an English-language newspaper created to justify Japan's colonial rule of Korea?
... that the rapid development of the region of Gangnam in Seoul was spurred by the 1968 North Korean assassination attempt on military dictator Park Chung-hee?