Seoul

"Welcome to Seoul, the capital of my country. At first glance, we get governance from here. We even too elect a president every five years with a single term."

--Su Ji-Hoon, Sniper XB3

Seoul (/soʊl/; 서울; Korean: [sʌ.ul]), officially the Seoul Special Metropolitan City – is the capital and largest metropolis of the Republic of Korea (commonly known as South Korea). As the 4th most economically powerful city in the world, measured by GDP, Seoul is one of Asia's major centers of culture, entertainment, and research, with additional strengths in the arts, commerce, education, finance, media, services, and tourism. Seoul forms the heart of the Seoul Capital Area, the 5th most populous in the world, which is also one of the most populous urban agglomerations and includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, altogether home to roughly half of the country's population.

Strategically situated on the Han River, Seoul's history stretches back over two thousand years, when it was founded in 18 BC by the people of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The city was later designated the capital of Korea under the Joseon Dynasty. Seoul is surrounded by a mountainous and hilly landscape, with Bukhan Mountain located on the northern edge of the city. As with its long history, the Seoul Capital Area contains five UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Changdeok Palace, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine, Namhansanseong and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. More recently, Seoul has been a major site of modern architectural construction–major modern landmarks include the N Seoul Tower, the 63 Building, the Lotte World Tower, the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Lotte World, Moonlight Rainbow Fountain, COEX, and the Parc1 Tower. Seoul was named the 2010 World Design Capital. Also the birthplace of K-pop and the Korean Wave, Seoul received over 10 million international visitors in 2014, making it the world's 9th most visited city and 4th largest earner in tourism.

Today, Seoul is considered a leading and rising global city, resulting from an economic boom called the Miracle on the Han River, which transformed it to the world's 4th largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$845.9 billion in 2014 after Tokyo, New York City and Los Angeles. International visitors generally reach Seoul via AREX from the Incheon International Airport, notable for having been rated the best airport for nine consecutive years (2005–2013) by the Airports Council International. In 2015, it was rated Asia's most livable city with the second highest quality of life globally by Arcadis, with the GDP per capita (PPP) in Seoul being $39,786. Inhabitants of Seoul are faced with a high cost of living, for which the city was ranked 6th globally in 2017. With major technology hubs centered in Gangnam and Digital Media City, the Seoul Capital Area is home to the headquarters of 15 Fortune Global 500 companies, including Samsung, LG, and Hyundai-Kia. Ranked sixth in the Global Power City Index and Global Financial Centres Index, the metropolis exerts a major influence in global affairs as one of the five leading hosts of global conferences. Seoul has hosted the 1986 Asian Games, 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, and more recently the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit.