Seoul, Korea
Population 9,733,509 (UA)
Statistics
History
Information
Seoul was the capital of various Korean kingdoms, including Baekje, Joseon, and the Korean Empire. Located along the Han River, its history could stretch back over two thousand years, when it was founded in 18 BCE by the people of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The city was later designated as the capital of Korea under the Joseon Dynasty. During the 1950-1953 Korean War, the city was heavily damaged and the capital was temporarily relocated to Busan. Following the war, Seoul began to focus on reconstruction and modernization. As Korea's economy started to grow rapidly from the 1960s, urbanization also accelerated and workers began to move to Seoul and other larger cities. Seoul was the host city of the 1986 Asian Games, 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, and more recently the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit.
Seoul, officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. With the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, Seoul forms the heart of the Seoul Capital Area. Seoul was the world's 4th largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$635 billion in 2014 after Tokyo, New York City and Los Angeles. In recent years, it was rated Asia's most livable city with the second-highest quality of life but ranked the 6th highest cost of living in the world. With major technology hubs centered in Gangnam and Digital Media City, the Seoul Capital Area is home to the headquarters of 15 Fortune Global 599 companies, including Samsung, LG and Hyundai. Ranked seventh 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. According to 2012 census data, 20% of South Korea's population live in Seoul, which has become the economic, political and cultural hub of the country. As the birthplace of the globally popular 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.
Prayer Points
Pray for Christian ministries to be raised up to meet the needs in this city.