Mark Horner

Economy | Manufacturing | Finance | Commerce | Technology | Education : University
🇰🇷 Seoul is the Capital of South Korea. Seoul forms the heart of the Seoul Capital Area with the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province.

Seoul was rated Asia's most livable city with the second highest quality of life globally by Arcadis in 2015, with a GDP per capita (PPP) of around $40,000. With major technology hubs centred 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. 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, and the 2010 G20 Seoul summit.

Seoul was the capital of various Korean states, including Baekje, Joseon, the Korean Empire, Goryeo (as a secondary capital), and presently South Korea. It is strategically located along 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. 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, Trade Tower, COEX, IFC Seoul, and the Parc1. Seoul was named the 2010 World Design Capital. It is the birthplace of K-pop and the Korean wave, as it is the heart of Korean culture and massive medias, entertainment firms, and broadcasters.
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Economy Seoul is the business and financial hub of South Korea. Although it accounts for only 0.6 percent of the nation's land area, 48.3 percent of South Korea's bank deposits were held in Seoul in 2003, and the city generated 23 percent of the country's GDP overall in 2012. In 2008 the Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index ranked Seoul No.9. The Global Financial Centres Index in 2015 listed Seoul as the 6th financially most competitive city in the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Seoul 15th in the list of "Overall 2025 City Competitiveness" regarding future competitiveness of cities.
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Manufacturing The traditional, labor-intensive manufacturing industries have been continuously replaced by information technology, electronics and assembly-type of industries; however, food and beverage production, as well as printing and publishing remained among the core industries. Major manufacturers are headquartered in the city, including Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia and SK. Notable food and beverage companies include Jinro, whose soju is the most sold alcoholic drink in the world, beating out Smirnoff vodka; top selling beer producers Hite (merged with Jinro) and Oriental Brewery. It also hosts food giants like Seoul Dairy Cooperative, Nongshim Group, Ottogi, CJ, Orion, Maeil Holdings, Namyang Dairy Products and Lotte.
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Finance Seoul hosts large concentration of headquarters of International companies and banks, including 15 companies on Fortune 500 list such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai. Most bank headquarters and the Korea Exchange are located in Yeouido (Yeoui island), which is often called "South Korea's Wall Street" and has been serving as the financial centre of the city since the 1980s. The Seoul international finance centre & SIFC MALL, Hanhwa 63 building, the Hanhwa insurance company head office. Hanhwa is one of the three largest South Korean insurance companies, along with Samsung Life and Gangnam & Kyobo life insurance group.
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Commerce The largest wholesale and retail market in South Korea, the Dongdaemun Market, is located in Seoul. Myeongdong is a shopping and entertainment area in downtown Seoul with mid- to high-end stores, fashion boutiques and international brand outlets. The nearby Namdaemun Market, named after the Namdaemun Gate, is the oldest continually running market in Seoul.

Insadong is the cultural art market of Seoul, where traditional and modern Korean artworks, such as paintings, sculptures and calligraphy are sold. Hwanghak-dong Flea Market and Janganpyeong Antique Market also offer antique products. Some shops for local designers have opened in Samcheong-dong, where numerous small art galleries are located. While Itaewon had catered mainly to foreign tourists and American soldiers based in the city, Koreans now comprise the majority of visitors to the area. The Gangnam district is one of the most affluent areas in Seoul and is noted for the fashionable and upscale Apgujeong-dong and Cheongdam-dong areas and the COEX Mall. Wholesale markets include Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market and Garak Market.

The Yongsan Electronics Market is the largest electronics market in Asia. Electronics markets are Gangbyeon station metro line 2 Techno mart, ENTER6 MALL & Shindorim station Technomart mall complex.

Times Square is one of Seoul's largest shopping malls featuring the CGV Starium, the world's largest permanent 35 mm cinema screen.

Korea World Trade Center Complex, which comprises COEX mall, congress centre, 3 Inter-continental hotels, Business tower (Asem tower), Residence hotel, Casino and City airport terminal was established in 1988 in time for the Seoul Olympics. The 2nd World trade trade centre is being planned at Seoul Olympic stadium complex as MICE HUB by Seoul city. Ex-Kepco head office building was purchased by Hyundai motor group with 9billion USD to build 115-storey Hyundai GBC & hotel complex until 2021. Now ex-kepco 25-storey building is under demolition.
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Technology Seoul has been described as the world's "most wired city", ranked first in technology readiness by PwC's Cities of Opportunity report. Seoul has a very technologically advanced infrastructure.

Seoul is among the world leaders in Internet connectivity, being the capital of South Korea, which has the world's highest fiber-optic broadband penetration and highest global average internet speeds of 26.1 Mbit/s. Since 2015, Seoul has provided free Wi-Fi access in outdoor spaces through a 47.7 billion won ($44 million) project with Internet access at 10,430 parks, streets and other public places. Internet speeds in some apartment buildings reach up to 52.5Gbit/s with assistance from Nokia, and though the average standard consists of 100 Mbit/s services, providers nationwide are rapidly rolling out 1Gbit/s connections at the equivalent of US$20 per month. In addition, the city is served by the KTX high-speed rail and the Seoul Subway, which provides 4G LTE, WiFi and DMB inside subway cars. 5G will be introduced commercially in March 2019 in Seoul.
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Education: University Seoul is home to the majority of South Korea's most prestigious universities, including Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Korea University.

Seoul ranked 2nd on the QS Best Student Cities 2023.
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Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea

Image: Adobe Stock Atakorn #310856432

Seoul is rated Alpha − by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) which evaluates and ranks the relationships between world cities in the context of globalisation. Alpha level cities are linked to major economic states and regions and into the world economy.

Seoul is the #7 city in the world according to the Global Power City Index (GPCI) which evaluates and ranks the major cities of the world according to their magnetism, or their comprehensive power to attract people, capital, and enterprises from around the world. It does so through measuring six key functions: Economy, Research and Development, Cultural Interaction, Liveability, Environment, and Accessibility.

Seoul is the #13 city in the world according to the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) which evaluates and ranks the competitiveness of the major financial centres of the world according to a wide range of criteria – Human Capital, Business, Finance, Infrastructure and Reputation.

Seoul is ranked #15 and rated B+ by the Global Urban Competitiveness Report (GUCR) which evaluates and ranks world cities in the context of economic competitiveness. B+ cities are strong international hub cities. Seoul was ranked #41 by the Nomad List which evaluates and ranks remote work hubs by cost, internet, fun and safety. Seoul has a population of over 9,995,784 people. Seoul also forms part of the wider Seoul Capital Area metropolitan area which has a population of over 25,674,800 people. Seoul is ranked #23 for startups with a score of 16.68.

To set up a UBI Lab for Seoul see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Seoul is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Design see: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Seoul has links with:

🇹🇷 Ankara, Turkey 🇰🇿 Astana, Kazakhstan 🇬🇷 Athens, Greece 🇵🇭 Baguio, Philippines 🇹🇭 Bangkok, Thailand 🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain 🇨🇭 Basel, Switzerland 🇨🇳 Beijing, China 🇷🇸 Belgrade, Serbia 🇨🇴 Bogotá, Colombia 🇪🇬 Cairo, Egypt 🇨🇳 Cheongwen, China 🇮🇩 Cirebon, Indonesia 🇪🇸 Coslada, Spain 🇻🇳 Hanoi, Vietnam 🇺🇸 Honolulu, USA 🇮🇩 Jakarta, Indonesia 🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain 🇧🇷 Manaus, Brazil 🇲🇽 Mexico City, Mexico 🇷🇺 Moscow, Russia 🇰🇿 Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan 🇩🇿 Oran, Algeria 🇯🇵 Ōsaka, Japan 🇫🇷 Paris, France 🇮🇹 Rome, Italy 🇺🇸 San Francisco, USA 🇧🇷 São Paulo, Brazil 🇨🇳 Shunyi, China 🇨🇴 Soacha, Colombia 🇵🇭 Surigao City, Philippines 🇦🇺 Sydney, Australia 🇹🇼 Taipei, Taiwan 🇺🇿 Tashkent, Uzbekistan 🇮🇷 Tehran, Iran 🇯🇵 Tokyo, Japan 🇲🇳 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 🇵🇱 Warsaw, Poland 🇺🇸 Washington D.C., USA

World Trade Center Seoul

George Jack |
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Architect/Furniture/Stained Glass Designer/Woodcarver George Jack is associated with Seoul. He was a founder member of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in 1889 and joined the Art Workers Guild in 1906.

UNESCO Creative Cities for Design include: 🇯🇵 Asahikawa 🇹🇲 Ashgabat 🇦🇿 Baku 🇮🇩 Bandung 🇹🇭 Bangkok 🇩🇪 Berlin 🇪🇸 Bilbao 🇧🇷 Brasília 🇭🇺 Budapest 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires 🇿🇦 Cape Town 🇵🇭 Cebu City 🇲🇪 Cetinje 🇹🇭 Chiang Rai 🇨🇳 Chongqing 🇧🇷 Curitiba 🇺🇸 Detroit 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Dundee 🇧🇷 Fortaleza 🇦🇺 Geelong 🇳🇮 Granada 🇦🇹 Graz 🇻🇳 Hanoi 🇫🇮 Helsinki 🇹🇷 Istanbul 🇱🇹 Kaunas 🇯🇵 Kōbe 🇩🇰 Kolding 🇧🇪 Kortrijk 🇲🇽 Mexico City 🇨🇦 Montreal 🇧🇭 Muharraq 🇯🇵 Nagoya 🇲🇽 Puebla 🇲🇽 Querétaro 🇫🇷 Saint-Étienne 🇨🇷 San José 🇰🇷 Seoul 🇨🇳 Shanghai 🇨🇳 Shenzhen 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇮🇹 Turin 🇪🇸 València 🇨🇳 Wuhan