South Korea

Seoul (Korean pronunciation: [sʌ.ul] ( listen)), officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is thelargest city proper in the OECD developed world.[4] The Seoul National Capital Area is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 24.5 million inhabitants, which includes the surroundingIncheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province.[5] Almost half of South Korea's population live in the Seoul National Capital Area, and nearly a quarter in Seoul itself, making it the country's foremosteconomic, political, and cultural center.
Seoul has been a major settlement for over 2,000 years, with its foundation dating back to 18 B.C. when Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, established itscapital in what is now south-east Seoul. It continued as the capital of Korea during the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire.
The Seoul National Capital Area is home to four UNESCO World HeritageSites: Changdeokgung, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty.[6]
Today, Seoul is considered to be a leading global city, ranking among the top ten global cities inthe Global Cities Index of 2010.[7] It is one of the world's top ten financial and commercial centers,[8] home to major multinational conglomerates[9] such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai-Kia. In 2008,Seoul was named the world's sixth most economically powerful city by Forbes.[10]
Seoul has a highly technologically advanced infrastructure.[11][12] Its Digital Media City is the world's first complexfor IT and multimedia applications.[13] Seoul was the first city to feature DMB, a digital mobile TV technology and WiBro, a wireless high-speed mobile internet service. It has a fast,high-penetration 100 Mbit/s fibre-optic broadband network, which is being upgraded to 1 Gbit/s by 2012.[14] Seoul Station houses the 350 km/h KTX bullet train and the Seoul Subway is the third largest in the...