98 Fun Facts About Seoul

Seoul's history traces back to 18 BC, when it was founded by which of Korea's Three Kingdoms?

Baekje's capital Wiryeseong is thought to have stood inside the earthen ramparts of Pungnap Toseong in southeastern Seoul.

The word 'seoul' is a native Korean common noun meaning what?

'Seoul' is simply the native Korean word for capital city; unlike most Korean place names it has no Chinese characters, so Chinese speakers long called it Hancheng.

Under Japanese colonial rule from 1910, the city was renamed what?

Japan renamed the city Keijō (Gyeongseong in Korean) in 1910 and demoted it to a municipality of Gyeonggi Province; much of the old wall was torn down.

Which founder of the Joseon dynasty chose Hanyang, today's Seoul, as his new capital in 1394?

Yi Seong-gye, enthroned as King Taejo in 1392, moved the court from Gaegyeong to Hanyang, laying the city out on Confucian principles with the palace facing south.

During the Korean War, Seoul changed hands between the two sides how often?

Seoul changed hands four times: it fell to the North in June 1950, was retaken by UN forces that September, fell to Chinese and North Korean troops in January 1951 and was recaptured in March 1951.

Which planned town south of Seoul has been South Korea's de facto administrative centre since 2012?

Sejong, a purpose-built city carved from South Chungcheong, opened in 2012 and houses most government ministries; a 2004 Constitutional Court ruling kept Seoul the formal capital by 'customary constitution'.

Which river bisects Seoul into northern and southern halves?

The Han River flows west through the centre of Seoul before emptying into the Yellow Sea; riverside parks such as Banpo and Ttukseom line its banks.

Which mountain forms Seoul's northern edge?

Bukhansan, rising to 836 m at Baegundae, straddles Seoul's boundary with Gyeonggi Province; its granite peaks are protected as Bukhansan National Park.

Gyeongbokgung, the first Joseon royal palace, was established in which year?

Gyeongbokgung was completed in 1395, a year after the Joseon court moved to Hanyang; Heungseon Daewongun rebuilt the long-ruined palace in the 1860s.

Which king led the creation of the Korean alphabet, Hangul, at Gyeongbokgung during his 1418–1450 reign?

Sejong the Great commissioned Hangul, promulgated in 1446 as Hunminjeongeum; his bronze statue has stood on Gwanghwamun Plaza since 2009.

Which invasion saw Gyeongbokgung and Seoul's other royal palaces burn?

The Imjin War, Japan's 1592–98 invasions under Toyotomi Hideyoshi, left the palace a ruin for some 270 years until Heungseon Daewongun's 1860s rebuilding.

Which Joseon palace in Seoul became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997?

Changdeokgung, built in 1405 as a secondary palace, was inscribed by UNESCO in 1997 for its Huwon rear garden and its harmony with the hillside terrain.

The N Seoul Tower stands on the summit of which mountain in central Seoul?

N Seoul Tower, finished in 1971 and opened to visitors in 1980, crowns Namsan, the wooded hill immediately south of Seoul's old walled centre.

The Lotte World Tower, opened in 2017, is how tall?

Lotte World Tower rises 555 m across 123 floors in Songpa District; opened in April 2017, it was the world's fifth-tallest building on completion.

Which architect designed the curving design plaza at the east gate, opened in 2014?

Zaha Hadid's design plaza is a flowing neofuturist structure clad in some 45,000 aluminium panels; excavations on the site uncovered stretches of the old city wall.

The Cheonggyecheon stream in downtown Seoul was restored in 2005 after decades buried beneath what?

An elevated expressway built in 1976 ran above the culverted stream until it was torn down in 2003; the 386-billion-won restoration opened in October 2005.

Which mayor of Seoul, later president, initiated the Cheonggyecheon restoration in July 2003?

Lee Myung-bak, Seoul's mayor from 2002 to 2006, made the stream's restoration his signature project; he was elected president in December 2007.

Seoul hosted the Summer Olympics in which year?

The 1988 Summer Olympics ran in Seoul from 17 September to 2 October with a then-record 159 nations; the city had hosted the Asian Games in 1986.

What animal was Hodori, the mascot of the Seoul Olympics?

Kim Hyun designed the friendly Amur tiger; the official song 'Hand in Hand' was written by Giorgio Moroder and performed by Koreana.

Which countries boycotted the Seoul Olympics alongside North Korea?

Cuba, Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Madagascar all stayed away, the first three in open support of North Korea's boycott; even so 159 nations attended, the most of any Games to that date.

Which Canadian sprinter won the Seoul 100 metres in 9.79 seconds before a doping disqualification?

Ben Johnson beat Carl Lewis in 9.79 seconds on 24 September but tested positive for the steroid stanozolol and was stripped of the gold three days later.

Seoul World Cup Stadium hosted what at the 2002 FIFA World Cup?

Seoul World Cup Stadium staged the opening ceremony and first game, France's 1–0 loss to Senegal on 31 May 2002; it also hosted the Korea–Germany semi-final.

Whose bronze statue, unveiled in 1968, stands at the southern end of Gwanghwamun Plaza?

Admiral Yi Sun-sin's bronze statue, sculpted by Kim Se-jung and unveiled on 27 April 1968, stands at the southern end of Gwanghwamun Plaza.

Seoul's Line 1 subway replaced which form of transport along the old Bell Street in the early 1970s?

Streetcars ran through Seoul from 1899, when the Hanseong Electric Company opened a line along the street, until the network closed in November 1968.

Seoul's main international airport, opened in 2001 on Yeongjong island, is called what?

Incheon International, the country's main gateway, opened in March 2001 on reclaimed land between Yeongjong and Yongyu islands, some 50 km west of Seoul; the AREX rail line links it to the city.

Which district on Seoul's south bank is the city's byword for wealth and private academies?

Gangnam, literally 'south of the river', was farmland until the 1970s and grew into Seoul's wealthiest district, the setting of Psy's 2012 hit 'Gangnam Style'.

Which Joseon royal tombs lie among the office towers of Samseong-dong?

Seonjeongneung holds the tombs of King Seongjong and King Jungjong; the park sits among the high-rises of Samseong-dong and was inscribed by UNESCO with the other Joseon royal tombs in 2009.

Which Seoul district, seat of the National Assembly, is the city's securities-trading hub?

Yeouido, an island in the river, houses the National Assembly, the Korea Exchange's stock market and the head offices of most big securities firms, making it Seoul's financial centre.

Which soju brand, founded in 1924, was the world's best-selling spirit by volume in 2021?

Jinro, founded in 1924 and acquired by Hite in 2005, was the world's best-selling spirit brand by volume in 2021, far ahead of Smirnoff.

Namdaemun, Seoul's south gate, lost its status as the oldest wooden gate after what happened in 2008?

An arson attack on 10 February 2008 by a 69-year-old man with a land grievance gutted the wooden upper storey; the gate reopened after a full restoration in May 2013.

Which Seoul market, famed for all-night garment wholesaling, is South Korea's largest retail and wholesale centre?

Dongdaemun Market, a cluster of some 30,000 shops and two dozen malls beside the old east gate, is famed for clothing wholesalers who trade through the night.

Bukchon Hanok Village and Namsangol Hanok Village preserve what?

Hanok are traditional Korean houses of timber and tile with ondol underfloor heating; Bukchon alone preserves some 900 of them between two royal palaces.

Which downtown Seoul street holds the Bosingak pavilion, whose bell rings in the New Year?

Jongno, 'Bell Street', takes its name from the Bosingak belfry, whose bell once signalled the opening and closing of the city gates and is struck 33 times each New Year's Eve.

The Seoullo 7017 Skypark, opened in 2017, spans diagonally over what?

Seoullo 7017 reuses the 1970 road overpass beside Seoul Station as a kilometre-long elevated garden; the name pairs the overpass's 1970 birth with its 2017 reopening.

Seoul was named World Design Capital in which year?

Seoul held the World Design Capital title for 2010, the second city after Turin to do so; the designation was announced by ICSID in October 2007.

Digital Media City, the broadcasters' hub at Sangam-dong, lies in which Seoul district?

Digital Media City, built at Sangam-dong beside the old Nanjido landfill, lies in Mapo District; it houses MBC, SBS and other broadcasters next to the 2002 World Cup Stadium.

Which Seoul fish market, founded in 1927, sells live seafood through the night in Dongjak-gu?

Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, founded in 1927 and moved to its Dongjak-gu site in 1971, sells live seafood through the night; a new building opened beside the old one in 2016.

Seoul's population peaked at roughly 10.97 million in which year?

Seoul's registered population peaked at about 10.97 million in 1992, then slipped as new towns such as Bundang and Ilsan drew residents into Gyeonggi Province; it fell back below 10 million in 2016.

In 2005 Seoul changed its official Chinese name from Hànchéng to what?

Shǒu'ěr (首爾), adopted in January 2005, approximates the Korean pronunciation of the city's name; its first character, shǒu, means 'head' or 'first'.

In 1897 Seoul was temporarily renamed Hwangseong, a name meaning what?

Hwangseong means 'the imperial city' (hwang = emperor), a name adopted when the king proclaimed himself emperor and founded the Korean Empire in October 1897.

Which inventor's company installed the electric lights at Gyeongbokgung in 1887?

The Edison Electric Light Company wired Gyeongbokgung's Geoncheonggung residence in March 1887, powering the bulbs from a steam generator beside the Hyangwonji pond.

Which two Seoul teams won the K League and KBO League titles in the same 1990 season?

Lucky-Goldstar FC and the LG Twins both won in 1990: the footballers (now FC Seoul) took the K League, and the Twins, rebranded that year from MBC Chungyong, won the Korean Series in their first season.

The 1946 US military charter made Seoul what, mirroring US cities independent of any county?

The Korean translation 'special free city' became 'special metropolitan city' in 1949, a status Seoul alone still holds.

Which airport opened in 1939 as a Japanese army airfield and later became Seoul's short-haul airport?

Gimpo, built by the Japanese army in 1939 as an airfield, became Seoul's main international gateway from 1958 and lost that role to the new hub in 2001, keeping domestic and short-haul routes.

Which Seoul district, once aimed at foreign tourists and US soldiers, later became popular with Koreans?

Itaewon grew up beside the Yongsan US Army garrison as a bar-and-shopping strip for soldiers and tourists; from the 2000s its restaurants and clubs drew Korean crowds too.

Which of these UNESCO World Heritage Sites lies within the Seoul Capital Area?

Jongmyo Shrine, in central Seoul, holds the spirit tablets of Joseon's kings and queens and was inscribed by UNESCO in 1995; the other three sites all lie in the Gyeongsang provinces.

Into how many 'gu', or districts, is Seoul divided?

Seoul has had 25 gu since Gwangjin was carved out of Seongdong in 1995; each gu elects its own mayor and council.

Which Seoul women's university began in 1886 as a mission school with a single pupil?

Ewha Womans University began as Ewha Haktang, founded in 1886 by American Methodist missionary Mary F. Scranton with a single pupil; it is among the world's largest women's universities.

Joseon's nationwide beacon-signal network, ending on a hill above the capital, was abolished in which year?

The beacon network relayed smoke by day and torchlight by night from the frontiers to the Mongmyeoksan station above the capital; it was abolished in 1894 under the Gabo Reforms once the telegraph had superseded it.

Which of Seoul's four great gates was demolished under Japanese rule and never rebuilt?

Seodaemun, formally Donuimun, the west gate, was pulled down in 1915 for a tram line and never rebuilt; only the district name and the old colonial prison recall it.

Heunginjimun, the east gate, is the only one of Seoul's gates with what defensive feature?

Heunginjimun alone has an outer wall, a curved barbican called an ongseong, because the low eastern side of the city was the most exposed; the present gate dates from an 1869 rebuild.

The name and vertical signboard of Sungnyemun were meant to shield the capital from which element?

Fire: the character 'rye' (ritual) in Sungnyemun corresponds to fire among the traditional elements, and the board was hung vertically to counter the flame-shaped Gwanaksan to the south; Prince Yangnyeong is credited with the calligraphy.

Sungnyemun, the south gate, was designated which number among South Korea's National Treasures?

Sungnyemun was listed as National Treasure No. 1 when the modern register was drawn up, echoing a 1930s colonial designation as Treasure No. 1; official numbering was dropped in 2021.

What prompted the demolition of the city walls flanking Namdaemun in the early 1900s?

A Japanese crown prince's visit, Yoshihito's in October 1907, prompted the removal of the walls beside Namdaemun so the heir would not pass beneath a Korean gate; he later reigned as Emperor Taishō.

The red-brick old Seoul Station of 1925, now an arts venue, is crowned by a dome in which style?

The Byzantine-style dome tops the 1925 station designed by Tsukamoto Yasushi of Tokyo Imperial University; the building reopened in 2011 as Culture Station Seoul 284, named for its Historic Site number.

Seokjojeon, Deoksugung's neoclassical hall of 1910, was designed by architects from where?

Britain supplied the design: British engineer John Reginald Harding, adviser to Korea's customs service, drew up Seokjojeon, completed in 1910; in 1946 it hosted the Soviet–American Joint Commission.

Under Japanese rule, Changgyeonggung palace was stripped down into a park featuring what?

A zoo and botanical garden opened in the palace grounds in 1909 and the site was renamed Changgyeongwon; the animals left for a new park outside the city in 1983 and the palace was restored.

Banpo Bridge holds a Guinness World Record for the world's longest bridge-mounted what?

The Moonlight Rainbow Fountain, fed by 38 pumps and 380 nozzles along 1,140 m of the bridge, entered Guinness World Records in 2008 as the longest bridge fountain.

When it opened in 1985, the gold-clad 63 Building on Yeouido was the tallest building outside where?

At 249 m the 63 Building was, on completion in 1985, the tallest building outside North America; only 60 floors are above ground, the name counting three basement levels.

Seoul's first subway line opened in 1974, a year after which other metro on the peninsula?

Pyongyang's metro opened in September 1973, a year before Seoul's first 7.8-km underground line, which ran from the city's main rail terminus east to Cheongnyangni.

Seoul Subway Line 2, the city's busiest, is what kind of line?

Line 2 is a circular loop of 48.8 km, crossing the river twice to link the old centre with the south bank; it opened in stages between 1980 and 1984.

Lotte World's outdoor section, built out on Seokchon Lake, goes by what name?

Magic Island, the open-air half of Lotte World, sits on an artificial island in Seokchon Lake beneath a fairytale castle; the park opened in July 1989 with the indoor Adventure section.

What floated on Seokchon Lake in October 2014 to celebrate the opening of Lotte World Mall?

A giant Rubber Duck, the 16.5-metre inflatable by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, floated on Seokchon Lake from 14 October to 14 November 2014 for the mall's opening.

Which activist died from torture in Seoul's colonial prison after the 1919 March First Movement?

Yu Gwan-sun, a 17-year-old schoolgirl who led protests in her home county of Cheonan, died in the prison in September 1920 after beatings and torture; the prison closed in 1987.

Independence Gate (Dongnimmun), built in 1896–97, was modelled on which landmark?

Modelled on Paris's Arc de Triomphe, the granite Independence Gate was funded by Philip Jaisohn's Independence Club and finished in November 1897; it was moved 70 metres in 1979 to make way for a road.

The War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan opened in 1994 on the former site of what?

The army headquarters occupied the site until the army moved to Gyeryongdae in 1989; the War Memorial of Korea opened there in June 1994 with six exhibition halls and an outdoor display of aircraft and tanks.

In 2018 the US forces headquarters left Yongsan Garrison for which new base south of Seoul?

Camp Humphreys, near Pyeongtaek about 60 km south of Seoul, became the US Forces Korea headquarters in June 2018; it is the largest US overseas base by area.

Cheong Wa Dae, the presidential Blue House, first opened to the public as a park in which year?

Cheong Wa Dae opened to the public on 10 May 2022, the day Yoon Suk Yeol was inaugurated and moved the presidential office to the Defence Ministry compound in Yongsan; the main hall's roof carries about 150,000 blue tiles.

Kim Shin-jo, the commando captured alive in the 1968 Blue House raid, was sent to kill whom?

Park Chung Hee was the target: 31 commandos from North Korea's Unit 124 got within a few hundred metres of the Blue House on 21 January 1968 before being stopped; the president was unharmed.

The wave-shaped new Seoul City Hall, opened in 2012, holds a Guinness record for the largest what?

The Green Wall inside Seoul City Hall, seven storeys of plants covering 1,516 m², was certified by Guinness as the world's largest vertical garden; architect Yoo Kerl shaped the roof like traditional eaves.

The 1995 Sampoong Department Store collapse in Seocho killed how many people?

502 people died and 937 were injured when Sampoong collapsed on 29 June 1995; the building had been designed as a four-storey apartment block before the owner added a fifth floor and thinned its columns.

What dropped into the Han River on the morning of 21 October 1994, killing 32 people?

A span of Seongsu Bridge, a 48-metre central section, fell into the river during the morning rush, killing 32; faulty welding of the truss hangers was blamed and the rebuilt bridge reopened in 1997.

The October 2022 Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon was South Korea's deadliest disaster since what?

The Sewol ferry sinking of April 2014, which killed 304, was the last deadlier disaster; 159 people died in the Halloween crush in an alley just 3.2 metres wide beside the Hamilton Hotel.

The first-ever K League match, on 8 May 1983, was played at which Seoul venue?

Dongdaemun Stadium, opened in 1925, hosted the league's opening match between Hallelujah and Yukong; it had also staged the first professional baseball game in 1982 and was demolished in 2008 to make way for the design plaza.

Who designed the Jamsil Olympic Stadium, its profile modelled on Joseon white porcelain?

It opened in September 1984 ahead of the 1986 Asian Games, seats 69,950 and has not staged a major world event since the Olympics; Seoul E-Land FC now plays there.

Seoul was due to host the 1970 Asian Games but withdrew, handing them to which city?

Bangkok, which had hosted in 1966, stepped in for 1970 after South Korea pleaded cost and security worries; Seoul finally staged the Asian Games in 1986 as a rehearsal for the Olympics.

Which older name for Seoul's northern national-park mountain has Gangbuk District petitioned to restore?

Samgaksan, 'three-horned mountain', is the old name for the massif whose main peaks are Baegundae, Insubong and Mangyeongdae; Gangbuk District petitioned in 2002 to restore it.

Gwanaksan, the mountain beside Seoul National University, takes its name from what object?

A horsehair hat: the name Gwanak (冠岳) means 'hat peak', from the resemblance of its rocky summit to a gat, the traditional Korean horsehair hat; the mountain rises about 630 m.

The Namsan Cable Car, Korea's first commercial passenger cable car, dates from which year?

The cable car opened in May 1962, running 605 m up the hill's north face with a rise of 138 m; a 2009 inclined elevator links its base station to the street below.

Before becoming Seoul Forest in 2005, the Seongdong site held the city's first what, from 1908?

The Ttukdo water treatment plant, Korea's first, began supplying piped water in 1908; the site later held a racecourse from 1954 to 1989 before Seoul Forest opened in June 2005.

Before being paved as May 16 Square in the 1970s, the Yeouido Park site was Korea's first what?

The site held Korea's first airport, opened by the Japanese in 1916 and used until 1971; its runway became the asphalt May 16 Square, where Pope John Paul II canonised 103 martyrs in 1984.

The first permanent crossing of the Han River, completed in 1900, was built to carry what?

A railway: the Hangang Railway Bridge opened in July 1900 to carry the Gyeongin Line, the country's first railway, across the river; the concession granted to American James R. Morse in 1896 had passed to a Japanese consortium.

Seoul Grand Park, new home of the palace zoo's animals from 1984, lies in which neighbouring city?

Seoul Grand Park opened in May 1984 at the foot of Cheonggyesan in Gwacheon, just south of the city; the zoo's animals moved there from the old Changgyeongwon grounds.

Tapgol Park in Jongno is remembered as the place where what was first read aloud in 1919?

The Proclamation of Independence was read in the park on 1 March 1919, launching nationwide protests; the park, laid out in 1897 on the site of Wongaksa temple, keeps that temple's ten-storey marble pagoda.

Which downtown temple near Insadong is the head temple of Korea's largest Buddhist order?

Jogyesa, head temple of the Jogye Order, was called Taegosa under Japanese rule and took its present name in 1954; a 500-year-old lacebark pine in its courtyard is a designated Natural Monument.

Seoul National University's Gwanak campus, opened in 1975, rose on the site of a former what?

A golf course: the Gwanak campus rose on the former Gwanak Country Club below the mountain, consolidating colleges scattered across the city when it opened in 1975.

Yonsei University traces its roots to Gwanghyewon, founded in 1885 as Korea's first what?

Gwanghyewon was Korea's first modern hospital, opened in April 1885 by the American missionary doctor Horace Allen and soon renamed Jejungwon; Severance Hospital descends from it and merged with Yonhi College in 1957 to form Yonsei.

Which smart card, part-owned by the city government, pays for Seoul's buses, subways and many taxis?

T-money, issued by Korea Smart Card Co. in which the city holds the largest stake, launched in 2004 to replace the Seoul Bus Card; it is accepted on transit across most of the country.

Seoul's bike-share scheme, launched in 2015, is named Ddareungi after what sound?

Ddareungi takes its name from 'ttareung', the Korean word for the ring of a bicycle bell; the scheme launched in October 2015 with about 150 docking stations and grew to tens of thousands of bikes.

Which Seoul market, opened in 1905 as Korea's first permanent market, is famed for bindaetteok?

Gwangjang Market, opened in 1905 as Korea's first permanent daily market, is famed for its food alley of bindaetteok mung-bean pancakes and bite-sized 'mayak' gimbap.

The Seoul–Busan Gyeongbu Expressway, pledged in 1967, was modelled on which foreign roads?

The German Autobahn inspired the project after the president rode the Bonn–Cologne motorway on a 1964 visit; the roughly 420-km expressway opened in full in July 1970 and carries route number 1.

Which Seoul street, renamed in 1977 in a sister-city exchange, anchored the 1990s tech boom?

Teheran-ro was named in June 1977 when Tehran's mayor visited and the two cities exchanged street names, giving Tehran a Seoul Street; in the 1990s the avenue became 'Teheran Valley', home to Korea's dot-com start-ups.

Yoido Full Gospel Church, Korea's largest Pentecostal congregation, was founded in 1958 by whom?

David Yonggi Cho, then a 22-year-old Assemblies of God preacher, began the church in May 1958 as a tent meeting in Daejo-dong with Choi Ja-shil, later his mother-in-law; it moved to its present site in 1973.

The phrase 'Miracle on the Han River' was adapted from a nickname for which country's postwar boom?

West Germany's postwar recovery, dubbed the 'Miracle on the Rhine', gave Korea the model phrase; Prime Minister Chang Myon used 'Miracle on the Han' in his 1961 New Year address, months before the May coup.

Which temple, founded in 794, stands across the road from the COEX complex in Samseong-dong?

Bongeunsa, founded in 794 under the Silla kingdom and later the head temple of Joseon's Seon sect, faces the COEX complex across Bongeunsa-ro; its 23-metre Maitreya statue was completed in 1996.

Gwanghwamun's 1968 reconstruction was controversial because it was built mainly from what?

Concrete and steel: the 1968 gate was a reinforced-concrete replica, misaligned with the palace axis; a later four-year restoration rebuilt it in pine, shifted it 14.5 metres and restored the original alignment.

Unhyeongung in Jongno was the childhood home of which future monarch, who lived there until age 12?

Gojong was born in 1852 and lived at Unhyeongung, home of his father Heungseon Daewongun, until he was chosen as king in 1863; his 1866 wedding to the future Empress Myeongseong was held in its Norakdang hall.

Leeum Museum of Art was designed by Mario Botta, Jean Nouvel and which third architect?

Rem Koolhaas designed Leeum's education and culture wing, Mario Botta the terracotta cylinder housing traditional Korean art and Jean Nouvel the gallery of modern and contemporary art; the museum opened in October 2004.