Like all great Cities, Seoul is a product of its contradictions. It's an ancient city, with a legacy of having served as it's nation's capital for over 600 years, yet it combines a reverence fort he past with a full embrace of the future.
Seoul has led South Korea's rapid rise as an economic power and with that transformation has also come a flourishing in art, music film and all aspects of design. The city is home to some of the world's most chic department stores and boutiques, but is also a place where you can buy ginseng and traditional clothing at a historical market in the city center.
Seoul is the most wired metropolis on the planet, and launched the Korean Wave - The explosion of Koran Pop Culture worldwide in the 2000s - but remains a city where you can watch traditional drummers and dancers, or dine in the style of a Korean king from centuries ago. Seoul is an international city where you can just as easily immerse yourself in ancient Korean culture as enjoy an Italian-Asian fusion meal, or get your groove on at a hip-hop nightclub.
Seoul's mix of traditional and contemporary, local and international, eum and yang gives it a special flavor. It's a place of infinite possibilities and many stories. Its spectacular mountains have witnessed invasions, wars and occupations, yet also tremendous achievements in the arts, sciences, architecture, culture, education and technology. Seoul is constantly evolving and reinventing itself. It's a city where there is always something going on: A newly launched street festival, the latest project from a superstar architect, or the renewal of an urban forest, river or plaza. Seoulites don't seem to rest. They work hard, play hard and approach everything from a meal out with friends to flying a kite with enthusiasm and passion.
Understanding, indeed grasping, a great city like Seoul can take a lifetime.
Execerps from the book: Seoul Book of Everything, Macintyre Purcell Publishing INC
More infomation: www.bookofeverything.com
For more information's, pictures, articles and news about Seoul you can also visit the official site: http://www.visitseoul.net/en/index.do
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