Chapter 1 Introduction of Seoul

1.1 Overview

• Capital of South Korea
• Area: 605.21 km2 (233.67 sq mi)
• Population: 9,971,111 (678,102 international residents, 2015 NSO)
• Language: Korean
• Currency: Won

1.2 City Hierarchy

The city has four hierarchies, Si, Gu, Dong, and Jipgegu, from city to block level. Within the Si(city) scale, Seoul has 25 administrative districts, gu, of which the spatial size is similar to the boroughs in London. The river Han penetrates horizontally through the city centre, from east to west, which divides 14 gus to the north, and 11 to the south.