Seoul from ancient Sillan "Seorabeol",
officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest
metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of more
than 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD
developed world. Situated on the Han River, Seoul's history
stretches back more than 2,000 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 and the Korean
Empire. The Seoul National Capital Area contains four UNESCO
World Heritage Sites: Changdeok Palace, Hwaseong Fortress,
Jongmyo Shrine and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Seoul
is surrounded by mountains, the tallest being Mt. Bukhan, the
world's most visited national park.
Today, Seoul is considered a leading and rapidly
rising global city, resulting from a period of rapid economic
growth known as the Miracle on the Han River which transformed it
from the ashes of the Korean War to the world's fourth largest
urban agglomeration economy with a GDP of US$703 billion at
purchasing power parity in 2010 after Tokyo, New York City and
Los Angeles. Seoul hosts the world's sixth largest number of
Fortune Global 500 multinationals such as Samsung, LG and
Hyundai-Kia. Forbes lists Seoul as the world's sixth most
economically powerful city and it is ranked sixth in the 2012
Global Financial Centres Index. The metropolis is involved in
many global affairs, exerting a major influence as the host of
the fifth most global conferences worldwide.
Seoul Station is the main terminal of the KTX
high-speed rail and the Seoul Subway is the world's second most
highly used with the longest circular line in the world. It is
considered the world's best subway system noted for its
cleanliness and ease of use. It is the world's only subway system
with all stations having automatic platform gates for safety
along with 4G LTE, WiFi, DMB and WiBro. Seoul shares a unified
public transportation system with neighboring Incheon and
Gyeonggi allowing passengers to transfer freely from subway or
bus, and is connected via AREX to Incheon International Airport,
rated the best airport worldwide since 2005 by Airports Council
International.
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