Seoul

Seoul (??, {{Audio|ko-Seoul.ogg|listen}}) is the capital of South Korea and is one of the most populous cities in the world, located in the northwestern part of the country on the Han River. It is a designated special city. On the establishment of South Korea (the Republic of Korea) in 1948 it became the capital of the country, except for a short time during the Korean War. Seoul is located at {{coor dm|37|35|N|127|0|E|region:KR_type:adm2nd}}.

Names

The city of Seoul was known as Hanyang (漢陽) during the Goryeo period. It was renamed Hanseong (漢城) when it became the capital of the Joseon Dynasty in 1394. It was renamed Gyeongseong 京城—Keijō in Japanese) during the Japanese Colonial Period, and finally given the name Seoul after the 1945 liberation. The word Seoul has been used to refer to a capital since the Silla period. The word originated from the archaic words of 'seobeol' or 'seorabeol'. Both were referred to Gyeongju, then capital of Silla, and meant the capital or capital city. The Hanja gyeong (京) also means "capital" and is used to represent Seoul in the names of railway lines and freeways, for example, the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) railway line and the Gyeongin (Seoul-Incheon) freeway.

Related Topics:
Goryeo - Joseon Dynasty - 1394 - Gyeongseong - Keijō - Japanese - Japanese Colonial Period - 1945 - Silla - Gyeongbu - Gyeongin

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Chinese Adaptation of "Seoul"

Unlike most place names in Korea, "Seoul" has no corresponding Hanja, which are Chinese characters used in the Korean language. The word "seoul" in Korean means "capital city". For people who use the Chinese language, the city has been known instead as 漢城 (read as Hancheng in Chinese, Hanseong in Korean), the Joseon Dynasty name of the city which denotes a fortified city (seong) on the Han River.

Related Topics:
Hanja - Chinese character - Korean language - Chinese language - Joseon Dynasty - Han River

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After months of discussion and debate, the Seoul Metropolitan Government officially announced on January 18, 2005 that the Chinese name of the city shall be Shou'er (首爾), which is a close transliteration of Seoul, where "shou" can also mean "first, capital". The new name will be used for all official government websites and publications in Chinese, instead of Hancheng/Hanseong. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has also asked the Chinese Government to use the new name; however, some Chinese organizations from airlines to the official Xinhua News Agency have ignored Seoul's request to use the new Chinese name http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/main/news/20050124i516.htm, with a Beijing-based newspaper commenting that Chinese speakers have the right to decide what name to use for Seoul. Unlike the Chinese government, Taiwan's government http://www.mofa.gov.tw/webapp/ct.asp?xItem=85&ctnode=276 officially recognizes the change in the Chinese name as decided by the South Korean government.

Related Topics:
January 18 - 2005 - Xinhua News Agency

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