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Seoul, South
Korea
South
Korea is located in East Asia between the countries of China and
Japan on the Korean peninsula. The Yellow Sea separates China
from South Korea on the west coast and the Sea of Japan separates
South Korea from Japan on the east coast. It has a temperate climate,
with rainfall heavier in summer than winter. It is mostly hills
and mountains (about 70% mountainous), with wide coastal plains
in west and south.
Geography
of Seoul
The traditional heart of Seoul is the old Joseon Dynasty city,
which is now the downtown area, where most palaces, government
offices, corporate headquarters, hotels, and traditional markets
are located. This area occupies the valley of Cheonggyecheon (청계천),
a now-covered stream that runs from west to east through the valley
before emptying into the Han River.
To
the north of downtown is Bukhan Mountain, and to the south is
the smaller Namsan ("South Mountain"). Further south are the old
suburbs of Yongsan-gu and Mapo-gu, and the Han River. Across the
Han River are the newer and wealthier areas of Gangnam-gu and
surrounding neighbourhoods. Yeouido is a large island in the middle
of the Han River, downstream from Gangnam-gu, and is home to the
National Assembly, the major broadcasting studios, and a number
of large office buildings. The Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park,
and Lotte World are located in Songpa-gu, on the south side of
the Han River, upstream from Gangnam-gu. South of the sprawling
Gangnam area are Namhan Mountain and Gwanak Mountain. Urban and
civil planning was a key concept when Seoul was first designed
to serve as a capital in the 14th century. The Royal Palaces of
the Joseon Dynasty still remain in Seoul, with the main palace
(Gyeongbukgung) currently being restored to its original form.
Today,
there exist 9 major efficient subway lines stretching for more
than 100 kilometers which connects the greater Seoul Metropolian
area, with a 10th line being planned. There are many significant
streets to Seoul, but the most historically significant is Jongno
- meaning the "Bell Street" - where 'jong' means a bell, and 'no'
means a street. This bell that signalled different time of the
day and therefore controlled the four gates to the city. It is
still intact in its original form, and hit ceremonially at 0:00
every new years day. Seoul's most important streetcar line ran
along Jongno until it was replaced by Line 1 of the Seoul subway
system in the early 1970s. Other notable streets in downtown Seoul
include Euljiro (을지로), Sejongno (세종로), Chungmuro (충무로),
Yulgongno (율곡로), and Toegyero (퇴계로).
People
There
are 48,289,037 South Koreans as of July, 2003. There are slightly
more men than women in South Korea, in all age groups. There are
12 Koreans born for every 6 that die. However, as more and more
Korean women decide to marry later or not at all, the Korean government
is becoming concerned about less and less children being born.
They are taking steps to provide more services such as child care
and paternity leave to help with the rising costs of raising children.The
life expectancy for the total population is 75.36 years, for males
71.73 years, for females 79.32 years. Korea is homogeneous (except
for about 20,000 Chinese). The religions are: Christian 49%, Buddhist
47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly
Way), and other 1%. 98% of the people are literate.
How
North and South Korea came to be
After World War II, the US. set up a republic in the southern
half of the Korean Peninsula and the former USSR set up a Communist-style
government in the north. During the Korean War (1950-1953), US
and other UN forces intervened to defend South Korea from North
Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed
in 1953, splitting the Peninsula along a demilitarized zone at
about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid
economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 20 times
the level of North Korea. South Korea has maintained its commitment
to democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a historic
first North-South summit took place between the South's President
Kim Dae Jung and the North's leader Kim Jong Il.
Korean
Provinces
Korea has 9 provinces and 7 metropolitan cities.
The seven metropolitan cities are unattached to the provinces,
like Washington DC is independant of the surrounding provinces
in the U.S. The names in parenthesis are the old romanized spelling
of the Korean provinces using the old system.
9 provinces (called do in Korean, singular and plural)
Jeju-do (Cheju-do), Jeollabuk-do (Cholla-bukto), Jeollanam-do
(Cholla-namdo), Chungcheongbuk-do (Ch'ungch'ong-bukto), Chungcheongnam-do
(Ch'ungch'ong-namdo) Gangwon-do (Kangwon-do), Gyeonggi-do (Kyonggi-do),
Gyeongsangbuk-do (Kyongsang-bukto), and Gyeongsangnam-do (Kyongsang-namdo).
7
metropolitan cities (called gwangyoksi in Korean, singular
and plural)
Incheon (Inch'on), Gwangju (Kwangju), Busan (Pusan), Seoul (Soul),
Daegu (Taegu), Daejeon (Taejon), Ulsan
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