Theme Week South Korea

25 March 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  13 minutes

Changdeokgung Injeongjeon in Seoul © flickr.com - eimoberg/cc-by-2.0

Changdeokgung Injeongjeon in Seoul © flickr.com – eimoberg/cc-by-2.0

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and lying to the east of the Asian mainland. The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo which was one of the great powers in East Asia during its time, ruling most of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, parts of the Russian Far East and Inner Mongolia, under Gwanggaeto the Great. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone and has a predominantly mountainous terrain. It comprises an estimated 51.4 million residents distributed over 100,363 km² (38,750 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 10 million.   read more…

The Lotte World Tower in South Korea

1 October 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, House of the Month Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Neroson/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Neroson/cc-by-sa-4.0

Lotte World Tower is a 123-floor, 555-metre (1,821 ft) supertall skyscraper located in Seoul in South Korea. It opened to the public on April 3, 2017 and is currently the tallest building in the OECD, and is the 5th tallest building in the world. After 13 years of planning and site preparation, the tower gained final approval to start construction by the government in November 2010 and the first groundbreaking activities of piling and frame assembly were observed at the construction site in March 2011. At New Year 2016 the LED-pixels of the facade showed “2016”. On April 2, 2017, Lotte shot off fireworks to celebrate its official opening. The Building is part of Lotte World recreation complex. The opening of the tower took place on April, 3rd 2017, the 50th birthday of Lotte Confectionery Co., Ltd. The company got it’s name after the character Lotte (“Charlotte”) from the novel The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.   read more…

Gangnam District in Seoul

4 August 2017 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

© flickr.com - joopdorresteijn/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – joopdorresteijn/cc-by-2.0

The Gangnam District is one of the 25 local government districts which make up the city of Seoul, South Korea. Gangnam literally means “South of the (Han) River” (Gangnam). Gangnam District had a population of 528,000, making it the 4th most populated district in Seoul. Gangnam District is the third largest district in Seoul, with an area of 39.5 km² (15.3 sq mi). Until the early 1980s Gangnam and its neighboring areas had remained the least developed in Seoul, but a prodigious development over the last 30 years has earned it a reputation of being one of the most affluent, dynamic, and influential areas in both Seoul and South Korea as a whole. In addition, the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center in Gangnam recently hosted several international conferences such as the 2010 G-20 summit and the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit.   read more…

Seoul, the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea

20 June 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Gangnam district © Sakoku

Gangnam district © Sakoku

Seoul, officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world. The Seoul National Capital Area is the world’s second largest metropolitan area with over 25 million inhabitants, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province. Almost a quarter of South Koreans live in Seoul along with over 275,000 international residents.   read more…

The Creative Cities Network

2 June 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  5 minutes

© UNESCO / Graz

© UNESCO / Graz

The Creative Cities Network is a project under the patronage of UNESCO. With the aim of celebrating and maintaining cultural diversity, the alliance formed by member cities share their experiences in promoting the local heritage, as well as discuss plans on how to cope with the influx of globalization. The Creative Cities Network aims to find and enrich a member city’s cultural identity in the midst of a growing trend towards internationalism.   read more…

Return to TopReturn to Top