The city, translated.
SEOULIAN desk · CITY
Neighborhoods, mobility, public space, nature, and the everyday systems that make the capital work.
110 published stories in this section.
110 stories · Page 3 of 5
The fall festival does not repeat the same program eight times. Choose the Sunday that matches your energy, check whether its headline activity needs registration, and approach the river as a walk rather than a parking problem.
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The useful choice is not how to cover 141 venues. Decide whether you want a ticketed fair or a free city route, carry one question about art, and let a single Seoul district answer it.
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Seoul’s six-month garden show is still open, but the useful visit is not a race through 167 installations. Choose one design lens, use the nine-language smart guide, and treat the current English docent schedule—not the launch leaflet—as the live plan.
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A hanok becomes easier to understand when you stop treating the roofline as the whole story. Seoul’s current public-hanok listings offer a better route: begin with a guided house, then read heat, air, thresholds, and the courtyard before walking Bukchon’s residential lanes.
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Seoul’s startup festival is open to the public, but its investor meetings are a separate track. This field guide explains registration, the useful parts of the floor, and how to build a focused visit before September 9–10.
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The free September 19–20 festival leaves its familiar downtown plazas for Ttukseom Hangang Park and Seoul Forest. Here is how to read the new geography, reservations, and moving performances before you go.
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The 2027 S/S edition runs through September 6 at DDP and Lotte World Tower. The venue split tells visitors where the professional core ends and the public-facing city experience begins.
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From September 4, Seoul Plaza, Gwanghwamun Square, and Cheonggyecheon become three distinct open-air reading rooms. The useful question is not only when they open, but which kind of pause fits your day.
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Seoul’s new nighttime strategy connects later museum hours, 269 sports facilities, late-night buses, safety monitoring, and neighborhood commerce. A separate expansion of Gangnam’s driverless night taxis shows why mobility—not spectacle—will be the plan’s real test.
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South Korea is located in East Asia, on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula located out from the far east of the Asian landmass. The only country that shares a land border with South Korea is North Korea, lying to the north with 238 kilometres (148 mi) of the border running along the Korean Demilitarized Zone.
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The national parks of South Korea are preserved parcels of public land on which most forms of development are prohibited. They cover a total of 6.6% of the country's area, and are typically located in mountainous or coastal regions.
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Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea, and the largest city in the whole of Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's sixth largest metropolitan economy in 2022, behind New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Paris, and London, and…
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The Han River (Korean: 한강) is a major river in South Korea. It flows through the central region of the Korean peninsula, with some of its tributaries and drainage basin in North Korea. The Han River currently has eight river islands: Nanjido, Yeouido, Ttukseom, Nodeulseom, Seoraeseom, Sebitseom, Bamseom, and Seonyudo.
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Seoraksan (Korean: 설악산), or Mount Sorak, is the highest mountain in the Taebaek mountain range in the Gangwon Province in eastern South Korea. It is located in the Seoraksan National Park, near Sokcho. After the Hallasan volcano on Jeju Island and Jirisan in the south, Seoraksan is the third highest mountain in South Korea.
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Hallasan (Korean: 한라산) is a shield volcano comprising much of Jeju Island in South Korea. Its summit, at 1,947 m (6,388 ft), is the highest point in the country. The area around the mountain is a designated national park, named Hallasan National Park.
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Jirisan (Korean: 지리산) is a mountain located in the southern region of South Korea. It is the second-tallest mountain in South Korea after Jeju Island's Hallasan, and is the tallest mountain in mainland South Korea. The 1915m-high mountain is located in Jirisan National Park.
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Bukhansan (Korean: 북한산, lit. 'North Han Mountain'), alternatively Pukhan-san or Bukhan Mountain, is a mountain on the northern periphery of Seoul, South Korea. There are three major peaks, Baegundae 836.5 meters (2,744 ft), Insubong 810.5 meters (2,659 ft), Mangyeongdae 787.0 meters (2,582.0 ft).
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Seoul, the capital of South Korea, has been called by a number of formal and informal names over time. The word seoul was originally a common noun that simply meant "capital city", and was used colloquially to refer to the capital throughout Korean history.
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Namsan (Korean: 남산; lit. 'South Mountain') is a 270-metre-high (890 ft) peak in Jung District, Seoul, South Korea. It was also known as Mongmyeoksan (목멱산; 木覓山) in the past. It offers some hiking, picnic areas and views of downtown Seoul's skyline. Namsan Seoul Tower is located at the summit of Namsan.
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Cheonggyecheon (Korean: 청계천, Korean pronunciation: [t͡ɕʰʌŋ.ɡje.t͡ɕʰʌn]) is a 10.9-kilometre-long (6.8 mi) stream and public space in downtown Seoul, South Korea. A natural stream sourced from the Suseongdong Valley in Inwangsan, it was historically maintained as part of Seoul's early sewerage until the mid-20th century, when post-Korean War rapid economic…
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The Bukhansan National Park (Korean: 북한산국립공원; Hanja: 北漢山國立公園) in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province covers an area of 79.92 km2 (30.86 sq mi) and was established on 2 April 1983. Bukhansan means "mountains north of the Han River". The park contains forested areas, temples and granite peaks.
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Songnisan is a mountain and National Park in South Korea. It lies in the Sobaek mountains along the border between the North Gyeongsang and North Chungcheong Provinces. Its main attractions are the temple Beopjusa and an especially picturesque peak, Munjangdae (1,029 m). The mountain's highest peak is Cheonhwangbong, at 1,058.4 m (3,472 ft).
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Gayasan National Park, also known as Gaya Mountain National Park (Korean: 가야산국립공원), is a large national park in the eastern part of South Korea. The park is named in honor of Gayasan and became a National Park in 1972. The park includes Haeinsa, which is one of the main temples of the Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism.
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Gyeongbokgung (Korean: 경복궁; Hanja: 景福宮; pronounced [kjʌŋbok̚k͈uŋ]) is a former royal palace in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1395, it was the first royal palace of the Joseon dynasty, and is now one of the most significant tourist attractions in the country. The palace was among the first landmarks to be established in Seoul.
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