"HeArt and SeOuL:" a Seoul Travel Page by Hmmmm

Seoul has been my Home now for the last few years, Off and On. And I have a love hate relationship with it. Its packed with People! that is both the problem and its attraction.

Ok the Guff: Seoul is the 600+ year old enduring capital of Korea. After the Korean War, it became the capital of South Korea, located in the northwest of the country below the DMZ, on the Han River. With about 13 million registered citizens, the city of Seoul is one of the most populated cities in the world that human civilization has yet known. Its density has allowed it to become one of the most "digitally-wired" cities in today's globally connected ecomony. It also has more than 3 million registered vehicles which cause isolated traffic-jams beyond midnight.

The history of Seoul can be traced back as far as 18 BC. In that year the newly established kingdom of Baekje built its capital in the Seoul area. During the time when the three kingdoms fought for hegemony in Korea, Seoul was often the site where disputes were carried out. It was thought that only the kingdom who controls the area around Seoul is able to control the whole of the peninsula. This was the reason why in the 11th century the ruler of the Goryeo Dynasty built a palace in Seoul, which was referred to as the Southern Capital.

This city was renamed from Hanyang (Š¿—z) to Hanseong (Š¿?é) when it became the capital of the Joseon Dynasty in 1394 (it is still known by this name in the Chinese language). It was renamed Gyeongseong (‹ž?é -- Keijo in Japanese) during the Japanese Colonial Period, and finally given the name Seoul after the 1945 liberation. The word seoul has been used since the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D.935). Seoul was originated from the archaic words of 'seobeol' or 'seorabeol'. Both were referred to Gyeongju, then capital of Silla, and meant the capital or capital city. Then it was transliterated into several types reflecting slight changes over time and have finally firmed up to Seoul. The Hanja gyeong (‹ž) also means "capital" and is used to represent Seoul in the names of railway lines and freeways (for example, the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) railway line and Gyeongin (Seoul-Incheon) freeway.

Originally entirely surrounded by a massive circular wall (a 20 feet high circular stone fortress) to provide security its citizens from wild animals such as the Korean Tiger (Siberian Tiger, once roaming the wilds of Korea in large numbers; although it vanished from the peninsula long ago, its memory has been preserved in both myth and legend), thieves and attacks; although the wall no longer stands (except in the mountains north of the downtown area), the gates remain, including most notably Sungnyemun (more commonly known as Namdaemun) and Dongdaemun. During the Joseon dynasty, each entrance was opened and closed each day, by ringing large bells, to allow traffic.

Seoul was the host city of the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup Games. The latter I witnessed. What a Burl that was.