Seoul is Korea’s capital city with a population of roughly 10 million inhabitants. The city has experienced rapid urbanization in the second half of the last century. The city is associated with the miracle of the Han River that describes South Korea’s development from one of the world’s poorest countries after the Korean War (1950-53) to a high-income country that is part of the OECD, G20, and leading in many industries.
Seoul has developed solutions to many challenges related to rapid urbanization. For example, Seoul has one of the most advanced public transport systems with 18 metro lines, BRT (bus rapid transit) and other bus lines. Efficient public transportation is the result of a comprehensive public transport reform that has not only led to improved BRT and subway system but also a better traffic management system called TOPIS – Seoul Transport Operation and Information Service as well as Bus Management System (BMS) and Bus Information System (BIS).
Songpa-gu is a district of Seoul located in the southeast of the city. It is the most heavily populated district in the city, with a population of 647,000 residents. Songpa-gu is divided into 26 administrative neighbourhoods. The area used to be the location of an acient capital of the kingdom of Baekje and in more recent history hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics. When traveling through Seoul, Songpa-gu is easy to find as the district features the highest building of the country – the Lotte World Tower.
Within the World Cities programme, Seoul / Songa-Gu is mainly cooperating with Eindhoven (NL).