Seoul

Brief Information

Seoul can be read by its river and mountains: the Hangang divides the city into Gangbuk in the north and Gangnam in the south, while the historic center is enclosed within four mountains: Bugaksan, Naksan, Namsan, and Inwangsan. So it is not simply an overgrown capital on a plain, but a city whose old core can still be mentally outlined by natural boundaries.

Since 1394, the city, under the name Hanyang, was the capital of Korea, and since 1948, under its current name, it has been the capital of the Republic of Korea. The Korean War severely damaged Seoul, but the text names important traces of the old layout: remains of the fortress wall with gates and the restored 14th-century Gyeongbokgung palace complex. They help one see the modern city not only as a business center, but as a former fortified capital.

What to Notice First

It makes sense to compare the three lines along which Seoul is organized. The first is the Hangang: the river does not merely pass through the city, but establishes a clear division into Gangbuk and Gangnam; Yeouido Island adjoins the southern side, where the National Assembly, television and radio studios, and office buildings are now located.

The second line is the mountains around the historic center. Bugaksan, Naksan, Namsan, and Inwangsan show the city’s old frame better than many dates; on Namsan stands the Seoul TV Tower, reached by a cable car. The third line is defensive: the city was once surrounded by a fortress wall up to seven meters high, and now a small section north of the center and the Namdaemun and Dongdaemun gates are named after it. Alongside this past, Joseon palaces survive, including the restored Gyeongbokgung. Together, the river, mountains, gates, and palaces explain why central Seoul looks like a capital that grew out of a fortified city.