Seoul, South Korea facts, Seoul, South Korea travel videos, flags, photos

	Kyongbok Palace's throne hall, Kunjong-jon, is Korea's largest wooden building. The palace once boasted some 100 buildings, but they were destroyed by the Japanese during a 16th century invasion. Photograph by Keith Mcgregor/Digital Vision/Getty Images

Seoul, South Korea Information and History

MOUNTAIN CAPITAL

Just as the Korean peninsula is uncomfortably positioned between China to the north and former colonial master, Japan, to the south, so is Seoul in a precarious spot. Located only 40 km from the edge of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas along the 38th Parallel, Seoul was overrun in three days and severely damaged during the 1950 invasion by North Korea. With the armistice, South Korea began to rebuild, and its capital shared in the prosperity of rapid industrialization and trade in such industries as automobiles and electronics. Seoul houses about a fifth of South Korea's populace.

ECONOMY
Food products, transportation equipment, electronics, petrochemicals, textiles, printing and publishing, entertainment, tourism, finance, automobiles.

Text source: National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2004

Seoul, South Korea Fast Facts
Population City proper 9,551,800 Metro area 9,592,000 Elevation 34 meters (111 feet) Temperature January 1°/-7°C (33°/19°F); July 29°/22°C (83°/71°F) Average daily High/Low °C (°F)	Rainfall January 23 (0.9); July 369 (15) Average monthly mm (inches) Time Zone +9 hours UTC (Coordinated Universal Time)