1.
Yangcheon District
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Yangcheon District is a gu, or district, of Seoul, South Korea, located on the southwest side of the Han River. It was known as Jechapaui-hyun during the Goguryeo age, And has gone through several name-changes since and it was renamed Yangcheon in 1310, during the Goryeo dynasty. It was separated from neighboring Gangseo District in 1988, Yangcheon District includes Mok-dong, Sinjeong-dong and Sinwol-dong. This area was developed during the 1980s, as a result of government policy to build a new area in Seoul. Now, Yangcheon District is home to middle and upper-class families and is considered one of the better wards in Seoul to live. Yangcheon is located to the east of Gimpo International Airport and just south of the river from the popular Hongdae area of Seoul, mokdong Stadium at this distinct opened for the Olympic Games in 1988. Among all stadiums, the stadium was used to hold many games for juniors. In Mok-dong the Hyperion Towers, a group of three completed in 2003, dominate the skyline. Tower A is 69 storeys and 256 metres high, making it the second-tallest building in Seoul, at the bottom of these towers sits a large Hyundai department store
2.
Seoul
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The Seoul Capital Area houses up to half of the countrys population of 50.22 million people with 678,102 international residents. Situated on the Han River, Seouls history stretches back more than two years when it was founded in 18 BCE by Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. It continued as the capital of Korea under the Joseon Dynasty, the Seoul Capital Area contains five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Changdeok Palace, Hwaseong Fortress, Jongmyo Shrine, Namhansanseong and the Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty. Seoul is surrounded by mountains, the tallest being Mt. Bukhan, in 2015, it was rated Asias most livable city with the second highest quality of life globally by Arcadis. In 2014, the citys GDP per capita of $39,786 was comparable to that of France and Finland. Ranked sixth in the Global Power City Index and Global Financial Centres Index, Seoul is the worlds most wired city and ranked first in technology readiness by PwCs Cities of Opportunity report. It is served by the KTX high-speed rail and the Seoul Subway, providing 4G LTE, WiFi, Seoul is connected via AREX to Incheon International Airport, rated the worlds best airport nine years in a row by Airports Council International. Lotte World Tower, a 556-metre supertall skyscraper with 123 floors, has built in Seoul and become the OECDs tallest in 2016. Its Lotte Cinema houses the worlds largest cinema screen, Seouls COEX Mall is the worlds largest underground shopping mall. Seoul hosted the 1986 Asian Games,1988 Summer Olympics,2002 FIFA World Cup, the Miss Universe 1980 pageant, a UNESCO City of Design, Seoul was named the 2010 World Design Capital. The city has known in the past by the names Wirye-seong, Hanju. During Japans annexation in Korea, Hanseong was renamed to Keijō by the Imperial authorities to prevent confusion with the hanja 漢, in reality, the ancient name of Seoul, Hanseong, originally had the meaning of big or vast. Its current name originated from the Korean word meaning city, which is believed to be derived from the word Seorabeol, which originally referred to Gyeongju. Unlike most place names in Korea, Seoul has no corresponding hanja, on January 18,2005, Seoul government officially changed its official Chinese language name to Shouer from the historic Hancheng, of which use is becoming less common. Settlement of the Han River area, where present-day Seoul is located, Seoul is first recorded as Wiryeseong, the capital of Baekje in the northeastern Seoul area. There are several city walls remaining in the area date from this time. Pungnaptoseong, a wall just outside Seoul, is widely believed to have been at the main Wiryeseong site. As the Three Kingdoms competed for this region, control passed from Baekje to Goguryeo in the 5th century
3.
Expressways in South Korea
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Expressways in South Korea, officially called as National expressways, were originally numbered in order of construction. S. Highway shields and colored like Interstate shields with red, white and blue, arterial routes are designated by two-digit numbers, with north-south routes having odd numbers, and east-west routes having even numbers. Primary routes have 5 or 0 as their last digit, while secondary routes end in other digits, branch routes have three-digit route numbers, where the first two digits match the route number of an arterial route. Belt lines have three-digit route numbers where the first digit matches the respective citys postal code, Route numbers in the range 70–99 are not used in South Korea, they are reserved for designations in the event of Korean reunification. The Gyeongbu Expressway kept its Route 1 designation, as it is South Koreas first and most important expressway, a numbering scheme of expressways in South Korea changed in 2001. Before 2001, roads are numbered as order of its approval and this list below is the lines by the old scheme. Note that name, origin and terminus of lines are changed with numbering scheme. Since June 1,1972, all motorcycles except police motorcycles are prohibited from driving on expressways in South Korea, before 1972, motorcycles with an engine displacement greater than 250 cc were permitted on expressways. Since March 15,1992, all motorcycles except police motorcycles have been banned from other roads designated for motor vehicles only. These roads are marked by a blue sign with a white silhouette of a car. Highway system in South Korea National highways of South Korea Local highways of South Korea Motorways of North Korea MOLIT – South Korean Government Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
4.
Hangul
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The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul in South Korea and as Chosŏngŭl/Chosŏn Muntcha in North Korea is the alphabet that has been used to write the Korean language since the 15th century. It was created during the Joseon Dynasty in 1443 by King Sejong the Great, in South Korea, Hangul is used primarily to write the Korean language as using Hanja in typical Korean writing had fallen out of common usage during the late 1990s. In its classical and modern forms, the alphabet has 19 consonant and 21 vowel letters, however, instead of being written sequentially like the letters of the Latin alphabet, Hangul letters are grouped into blocks, such as 한 han, each of which transcribes a syllable. That is, although the syllable 한 han may look like a single character, each syllabic block consists of two to six letters, including at least one consonant and one vowel. These blocks are arranged horizontally from left to right or vertically from top to bottom. Each Korean word consists of one or more syllables, hence one or more blocks, of the 11,172 possible Hangul syllables, the most frequent 256 have a cumulative frequency of 88. 2%, with the top 512, it reaches 99. 9%. The modern name Hangul was coined by Ju Sigyeong in 1912, han meant great in archaic Korean, and geul is the native Korean word for script. Taken together, then, the meaning is great script, as the word han had also become one way of indicating Korea as a whole the name could also potentially be interpreted as Korean script. Korean 한글 is pronounced, and in English as /ˈhɑːn. ɡʊl/ or /ˈhɑːŋɡʊl/, when used as an English word, it is often rendered without the diacritics, hangul, and it is often capitalized as Hangul, as it appears in many English dictionaries. Hankul in the Yale romanization, a system recommended for technical linguistic studies, North Koreans call it Chosŏngŭl, after Chosŏn, the North Korean name for Korea. Because of objections to the names Hangeul, Chosŏngŭl, and urigeul by Koreans in China, until the early 20th century, Hangul was denigrated as vulgar by the literate elite, who preferred the traditional hanja writing system. They gave it such names as these, Achimgeul, in the original Hanja, it is rendered as 故智者不終朝而會，愚者可浹旬而學。 Gugmun Eonmun Amgeul. Am is a prefix that signifies a noun is feminine Ahaetgeul or Ahaegeul Hangul was promulgated by Sejong the Great, the Hall of Worthies, a group of scholars who worked with Sejong to develop and refine the new alphabet, is often credited for the work. The project was completed in late December 1443 or January 1444, the publication date of the Hunmin Jeong-eum, October 9, became Hangul Day in South Korea. Its North Korean equivalent, Chosongul Day, is on January 15, various speculations about the creation process were put to rest by the discovery in 1940 of the 1446 Hunmin Jeong-eum Haerye. This document explains the design of the consonant letters according to articulatory phonetics, to assuage this problem, King Sejong created the unique alphabet known as Hangul to promote literacy among the common people. However, it entered popular culture as Sejong had intended, being used especially by women, the late 16th century, however, saw a revival of Hangul, with gasa literature and later sijo flourishing. In the 17th century, Hangul novels became a major genre, by this point spelling had become quite irregular
5.
Hanja
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Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. Borrowed from Chinese and incorporated into the Korean language with Korean pronunciation, hanja-mal or hanja-eo refers to words that can be written with hanja, and hanmun refers to Classical Chinese writing, although hanja is sometimes used loosely to encompass these other concepts. Because hanja never underwent major reform, they are almost entirely identical to traditional Chinese, only a small number of hanja characters are modified or unique to Korean. By contrast, many of the Chinese characters currently in use in Japan and Mainland China have been simplified, and contain fewer strokes than the corresponding hanja characters. Today, a working knowledge of Chinese characters is still important for anyone who wishes to study older texts. Learning a certain number of hanja is very helpful for understanding the etymology of Sino-Korean words, hanja are not used to write native Korean words, which are always rendered in hangul, and even words of Chinese origin—hanja-eo —are written with the hangul alphabet most of the time. A major motivation for the introduction of Chinese characters into Korea was the spread of Buddhism, the major Chinese text that introduced hanja to Koreans, however, was not a religious text but the Chinese text, Cheonjamun. One way of adapting hanja to write Korean in such systems was to represent native Korean grammatical particles, for example, Gugyeol uses the characters 爲尼 to transcribe the Korean word hăni, in modern Korean, that means does, and so. However, in Chinese, the characters are read as the expression wéi ní. This is an example of Gugyeol words where the radical is read in Korean for its meaning. Hanja was the means of writing Korean until King Sejong the Great promoted the invention of hangul in the 15th century. However, even after the invention of hangul, most Korean scholars continued to write in hanmun and it was not until the 20th century that hangul truly replaced hanja. Officially, hanja has not been used in North Korea since June 1949, additionally, many words borrowed from Chinese have been replaced in the North with native Korean words. However, there are a number of Chinese-borrowed words in widespread usage in the North. The replacement has been less total in South Korea where, although usage has declined over time, some remains in common usage in some contexts. Each hanja is composed of one of 214 radicals plus in most cases one or more additional elements, the vast majority of hanja use the additional elements to indicate the sound of the character, but a few hanja are purely pictographic, and some were formed in other ways. This dual meaning-sound reading of a character is called eumhun, the word or words used to denote the meaning are often—though hardly always—words of native Korean origin, and are sometimes archaic words no longer commonly used. South Korean primary schools abandoned the teaching of hanja in 1971 and it is taught in separate courses in South Korean high schools, separately from the normal Korean-language curriculum
6.
Incheon
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Incheon, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City, is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi to the east. Inhabited since the New Stone Age, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became a port in 1883. Today, about 3 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan. The citys growth has been assured in modern times with the development of its due to its natural advantages as a coastal city. It is part of the Seoul Capital Area, along with Seoul itself and Gyeonggi Province, Incheon has since led the economic development of Korea by opening its port to the outside world, ushering in the modernization of Korea as a center of industrialization. In 2003, the city was designated as Korea’s first free economic zone, as an international city, Incheon has held numerous large scale international conferences, such as the Incheon Global Fair & Festival in 2009. The 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014 was also held in Incheon on 19 September 2014, Incheon has established itself as a major transportation hub in northeast Asia with the world-renowned Incheon International Airport and Incheon Port. The city is home to the Green Climate Fund, an international organization addressing environmental issues. The first historical record of the Incheon area dates back to 475 AD, during the reign of King Jangsu of Goguryeo, by the name of Michuhol, the area underwent several name changes with successive kingdoms and dynasties. In Goryeo era, Incheon was called Gyeongwon or Inju, the current name was turned to Incheon in 1413. Later, Incheon County became Incheon Metropolitan Prefecture, old Incheon consisted of todays southern Incheon and northern part of Siheung City. The city centre was Gwangyo-dong, where the office and the local academy were located. Another historical name of the city, Jemulpo, was not widely used until the opening of the port in 1883, after the opening of the Incheon port, the city centre moved from Gwangyo to Jemulpo. Today, either Jemulpo or Gwangyo-dong is considered Deep Incheon and it was renamed as Jinsen during Japanese rule in Korean peninsula. In 1914, the Japanese colonial government merged outer parts of old Incheon with Bupyeong County, through 1936 and 1940, some part of Bucheon County was recombined into Incheon City, by which some part of old Bupyeong was annexed into Incheon. Incheon was originally part of Gyeonggi Province, but was granted Directly Governed City status on July 1,1981, Incheon was known as Inchon prior to South Koreas adoption of a new Romanization system in 2000. The city was the site of the Battle of Chemulpo Bay, during the Korean War, Incheon was occupied by North Korean troops on 4 September 1950. Eleven days later, Incheon was the site of the Battle of Inchon, the result was a decisive UN victory and it was recaptured on 19 September 1950
7.
South Korea
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South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
8.
Seo District, Incheon
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Seo District is the largest district in Incheon, South Korea. It has an area 111.2 square kilometres, and it has the largest area of farmland in Incheon, in the past, Seo-gu was part of Buk-gu. In 1988, a part of the ward was separated to form Seo-gu, january 1,2002, Division of Geomdan-dong into Geomdan-1-dong and Geomdan-2-dong. September 1,2005, Sub-division of Geomdan-1-dong and Geomdan-2-dong into Geomdan-3-dong, september 1,2006, Geomdan-1-dong sub-divided into Geomdan-1-dong and Geomdan-4-dong. September 17,2008, Name change of Bulno-dong to Bullo-dong, june 10,2010, Absorption of Cheongna-dong, of parts of Gyeonseo-dong-Yeonhui-dong-Wonchang-dong. July 9,2012, Sub-division of Cheongna-dong into Cheongna-1-dong and Cheongna-2-dong, september 2,2013, Sub-division of parts of Geomdan-1-dong into Geomdan-5-dong, and transfer of metropolitan area landfill from Geomamgyeongseo-dong to Geomdan-5-dong. International schools, Cheongna Dalton School Geomam-Gyeongseo Dong Sinhyeon-Wonchang Dong Yeonhui-dong Gajeong 1 to 3 Dong Seongnam 1 to 3 Dong Gajwa 1 to 4 Dong Geomdan 1 to 4 Dong Seo-gu homepage
9.
Yeongdeungpo District
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Yeongdeungpo District is an administrative district in southwest Seoul, South Korea. Although the origin of the name is uncertain, the first two syllables are thought to be from yeongdeung or divine ascent, a shamanic rite, the third syllable is po, representing the bank of a river, referring to the districts position on the Han River. The current magistrate is Kim Hyung-Su, there are 22 administrative dong and 34 legal dong. Yeouido-dong is the largest in area and takes up about 34% of the land, the total area is 24.56 km², making up 4% of Seouls land. The annual budget is approximately 2 billion won, Yeongdeungpo District has been heavily developed as an office, commercial, and residential district. Yeouido Dong is home to DLI63 Building, the highest office building in South Korea, the National Assembly Building is located in Yeouido-dong. Other organisations, such as the Financial Union of Korea are also based in Yeongdeungpo, there are also mass-media corporations in the area, including, Kookmin Newspaper Corporation, Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation and Korean Broadcasting System. Except for Yeouido and Yanghwa-dong, Yeongdeungpo belonged to old Siheung County, in 1936, Yeongdeungpo was annexed to Gyeongseong. In 1949, some parts of Siheung County were ceded to Yeongdeungpo District of Seoul and these sections are todays Guro-dong, Sindorim-dong, Daerim-dong and Sindaebang-dong. January 1,1963, Some areas of Bucheon County were combined to Yeongdeungpo District as below, also, many parts of Siheung County were merged into this district at the same time. Yeongdeungpo District is divided into the following dongs, notably,42 out of 68 asset management companies and 8 out of 11 futures companies have their head offices in Yeouido. These include Mirae Asset Group, Korea Life Insurance, KDB, Korea Investment Holdings, Korea Exchange was originally located in Yeouido, but it moved to Busan in 2009. Korea Financial Investment Association is still based in Yeouido, other notable companies based in Yeongdeungpo include Lotte Confectionery, Hanjin Shipping, LG Corp. and Keoyang Shipping are headquartered in Yeouido-dong in Yeongdeungpo District. It is the broadcast and recording centre of many KBS programmes with a studio audience, the Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel, managed by the Sheraton Hotels and Resorts is located here. When it opened in September 2011, it was the first five-star hotel in that district
10.
Bupyeong District
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Bupyeong District is one of the 10 administrative divisions that comprise Incheon, South Korea. Bupyeong-gu comprises an area of 12.35 square miles, and has a population of 553,961 and it is located north of Namdong-gu, east of Seo-gu, and south of Gyeyang-gu. The city of Bucheon, in neighboring Gyeonggi Province, comprises its eastern limit, Bupyeong-gu was created as its own ward in 1995 when Buk-gu was split into Gyeyang-gu and Bupyeong-gu due to rapid growth in the region. Before the 1970s, much of the area was rich farmland, however, with rapid industrial development and the construction of large apartment complexes, the farmland quickly disappeared leaving what is today a large urban district. Old Bupyeong was a district, distinctive from Incheon, before 1914. Bupyeong Metropolitan Prefecture consisted of todays Bupyeong-gu, Gyeyang-gu, Seo-gu in Incheon, Bucheon City in Gyeonggi, in 1895, Bupyeong Metropolitan Prefecture was degraded to Bupyeong County. The city centre was in Gyesan-dong, Gyeyang-gu, the two remaining buildings of the Bupyeong prefecture office are located in Bupyeong Elementary School. It should be noted that only Sipjeong-dong was part of Juan township of old Incheon, January 1,1968 Establishment of Buk-gu, Incheon, Gyeonggi-do. July 1,1981 Buk-gu, Incheon Direct Administration City January 1,1988 Transfer of Geomam-dong and Yeonhui-dong to Seo-gu, may 1,1988 Elevated to autonomous district. January 1,1989 Gyeyang-myeon, Gimpo-gun, Gyeonggi-do included in Buk-gu, January 1,1995 Buk-gu, Incheon Metropolitan City March 1,1995 Name change from Buk-gu to Bupyeong-gu, and creation of Gyeyang-gu by dividing part of Bupyeong-gu. April 20,2006 Sub-division of Samsan-dong to Samsan-1-dong and Samsan-2-dong, at the core of the district lies Bupyeong Station. The station lies at the intersection of the Incheon Subway Line 1 and Seoul Subway Line 1, the area also contains many restaurants and bars, making it a popular weekend destination for residents of Incheon. Nearby is Bupyeong Market, a traditional market where vendors sell fresh meat, produce. GM Korea, formerly Daewoo Motors, has its company headquarters, the GM Korea Design Center, which is said to play an important role in GMs Global Design organization, is located there. Incheons professional basketball team, the ET Land Elephants, plays at Samsan Gymnasium in Bupyeong, Bupyeong District is also home to Camp Market, a small United States Army depot. The administrative divisions of Bupyeong District consist of 22 dongs, Bupyeong District is approximately 3. 09% of the area of Incheon with an area of 31.98 km2. Bupyeong, Korea Incheon Bupyeong Pungmul Festival
11.
Seoul Ring Expressway
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The Seoul Ring Expressway is an expressway, circular beltway or ring road around Seoul, South Korea. It connects satellite cities around Seoul, Ilsan, Namyangju, Hanam, Pyeongchon, Jungdong, Bundang, Pangyo, Sanbon, Seoul Ring Expressway is currently under construction to widen the expressway between Anhyeon Junction to Seongnam which is expected to be finished in 2016. Since 2010, Gyeonggi Loop Bus connect the many Satellite town to each other through this Expressway, february 1988, Construction Begin of Pangyo to Toegyewon. 29 November 1991, Pangyo to Toegyewon Line opens to traffic, December 1991, Construction Begin of Sanbon to Pangyo. May 1992, Construction Begin of Seoun to Jangsu, December 1992, Construction Begin of Ilsan to Gimpo. June 1995, Construction Begin of Gimpo to Seoun, Jangsu to Sanbon,28 December 1995, Pangyo to Sanbon Line opens to traffic. 3 November 1997, Gimpo to Jayuro Line opens to traffic,24 July 1998, Seoun to Jangsu Line opens to traffic. 26 November 1999, Jangsu to Sanbon, Seoun to Gimpo Line opens to traffic,11 September 2001, Ilsan to Jayuro Line opens to traffic. 30 June 2006, Ilsan to Songchu, Uijeongbu to Toegyewon Line open to traffic,28 December 2007, Songchu to Uijeongbu Line open to traffic. 3 May 2010, Dori JC open to traffic,28 May 2015, Howon IC open to traffic
12.
Bucheon
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Bucheon is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Bucheon is a city of Seoul,25 kilometres away. This city is located between Incheon and Seoul, in 1914, outer areas of Incheon City and Bupyeong County were joined together under the name Bucheon. In 1931, Gyenam township was renamed Sosa township, in 1941, Sosa township promoted to eup status. January 1,1963, when the expansion of Seoul was implemented. In 1988, two districts were established, Bucheon was divided into Nam-gu and Jung-gu along the Seoul-Incheon trainline. Present day Sosa-gu was formerly called Nam-gu, in 1993, Bucheons Jung-gu was separated into two further districts, forming Wonmi and Ojeong Districts. The three districts were abolished in July 2016 as Bucheon decided to become a city without any administrative districts. Bucheon promotes itself as the centre of the Seoul Metropolitan Area. Bucheons institutions of education include, Bucheon College, Yuhan College, Catholic University of Korea Bucheon campus. Bucheon Station has a shopping center, a small Starbucks. In the Jung Dong area there is a Lotte Department store with a HomePlus located just across the street, on the Jung Dong and Sang Dong cusp there are a number of shopping places including the Hyundai Department Store, E-mart, and UPLEX. UPLEX has a CGV movie cinema, the main Bucheon intercity bus terminal is attached to a shopping center called Newcore and it has a grocery store called Kims Club located on the ground floor. There is also a cinema called Primus located in Newcore. There is also a large HomePlus located beside Newcore with a Save Zone shopping center opposite it, songnae Station has a Toona Shopping Mall, which mostly sells clothing. There is also a Homeplus in Northern Bucheon, nearer to Bucheon Stadium, the busiest areas for bars and restaurants are located by Bucheon Station, Lotte Department Store, and Hyundai Department Store. There are a few foreign food restaurants and bars in Bucheon such as Nicolia and 2 bars near Hyundai department store called The Park and Rhythm, both bars are popular with the local expat community and both have events to celebrate various foreign holidays. They both have pool tables and dart boards, live music, DJs, and sports events on TV, there are also three Indian and Nepalese restaurants, Masala and Tandoor are located in Jung Dong near Hyundai Department Store and Annapurna located near Bucheon Station
13.
Transport in South Korea
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Transportation in South Korea is provided by extensive networks of railways, highways, bus routes, ferry services and air routes that criss-cross the country. South Korea is the country in the world to operate a commercial maglev train. Development of modern infrastructure began with the first Five-Year Development Plan, construction of the Gyeongbu Expressway, which connects the two major cities of Seoul and Busan, was completed on 7 July 1970. The 1970s saw increased commitment to infrastructure investments, the third Five-Year Development Plan added the development of airports, seaports. The Subway system was built in Seoul, the network was expanded by 487 km and major port projects were started in Pohang, Ulsan, Masan, Incheon. The railroad network experienced improvements in the 1980s with electrification and additional track projects, operation speed was also increased on the main lines. Though the railroad was still useful for transportation of freight. There was 51,000 kilometers of roadways by 1988, Expressway network was expanded to connect more major cities and reached a combined length of 1,539 kilometers before the end of the decade. The largest railway operator is Korail, railway network is managed by Korea Rail Network Authority. Korea Train Express began service in April 2004, as Koreas first high-speed service, intercity services are provided by Saemaeul-ho and Mugunghwa-ho. Saemaeul-ho generally stops less than Mugunghwa-ho and provides more comfortable seats and they stop in all stations and seat reservation is not available. New Nuriro-ho service was added between Seoul and Sinchang Station. Nuriro-ho serves commuters around Seoul Metropolitan Area, providing travel time than Seoul Subway. The rapid trains have same cost and seat reservation as Mugunghwa-ho, Korail plans to expand the service area. Theres also a plan to introduce ITX-Saemaul, which is supposed to replace Saemaul-ho and it began its operating in June 2014, and the train will replace Saemaul one by one until 2025. South Koreas six largest cities — Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, seouls subway system is the oldest system in the country, with the Seoul Station – Cheongnyangni section of Line 1 opening in 1974. The first tram line in Seoul started operation between Seodaemun and Cheongnyangni in December 1898, the networks reached its peak in 1941, but was abandoned in favor of cars and the development of a subway system in 1968. Seoul Subway Line 1 and Line 2 follow the old streetcar routes along Jongno and Euljiro, virtually all towns in South Korea of all sizes are served by regional bus service
14.
Government of South Korea
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The executive and legislative branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own, the judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels. The South Korean governments structure is determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and this document has been revised several times since its first promulgation in 1948. As with most stable three-branch systems, a system of checks. For instance, the judges of the Constitutional Court are partially appointed by the executive, likewise, when a resolution of impeachment is passed by the legislature, it is sent to the judiciary for a final decision. At the national level, the legislative branch consists of the National Assembly of South Korea and this is a unicameral legislature, it consists of a single large assembly. Most of its 300 members are elected from single-member constituencies, however,56 are elected through proportional representation, the members of the National Assembly serve for four years, in the event that a member is unable to complete his or her term, a by-election is held. The National Assembly is charged with deliberating and passing legislation, auditing the budget and administrative procedures, ratifying treaties, in addition, it has the power to impeach or recommend the removal of high officials. The Assembly forms 17 standing committees to deliberate matters of detailed policy, for the most part, these coincide with the ministries of the executive branch. Bills pass through these committees before they reach the floor, however, before they reach committee, they must already have gained the support of at least 20 members, unless they have been introduced by the president. To secure final passage, a bill must be approved by a majority of those present, after passage, bills are sent to the president for approval, they must be approved within 15 days. Each year, the bill is submitted to the National Assembly by the executive. By law, it must be submitted at least 90 days before the start of the year. The Assembly is also responsible for auditing accounts of past expenditures, sessions of the Assembly may be either regular or extraordinary. These sessions are open-door by default, but can be closed to the public by majority vote or by decree of the Speaker, in order for laws to be passed in any session, a quorum of half the members must be present. Currently, four parties are represented in the National Assembly. The executive branch is headed by the president, the president is elected directly by the people, and is the only elected member of the national executive. The president serves for one term, additional terms are not permitted
15.
Transportation in Seoul
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Seouls transportation boom dates back to the area of the Korean Empire, when the first streetcar lines were laid and a railroad linking Seoul and Incheon was completed. Today, as a result of the diversification of Seouls transportation network, main Articles, Incheon International Airport and Gimpo Airport There are two airports that serve Seoul. Gimpo International Airport, formerly in Gimpo but annexed to Seoul in 1963, was the airport for Seoul from its original construction during the Korean War. Multiple airports were built in and around Seoul immediately before, during, the most famous was on Yeouido, which once served as the country’s gateway to the world. Upon opening in March 2001, Incheon International Airport on Yeongjong island in Incheon changed the role of Gimpo Airport significantly. Incheon is now responsible for almost all flights and some domestic flights. This has led to a significant drop in flights from Gimpo Airport, meanwhile, Incheon International Airport has become, along with Hong Kong and Singapore, a major transportation centre for East Asia. The 2005 AETRA passenger survey, jointly administered by the IATA and Airports Council International and it was named by Skytrax as the worlds 5th best airport for 2006. Incheon and Gimpo are linked to Seoul by highways, and Gimpo is also linked by subway, There are four types of buses, Seoul has many big intercity/express bus terminals. These buses connect Seoul to cities all around Korea, the majority of the population now uses the public transportation system due to its convenience and low cost. With more than 8 million passengers a day, Seoul has one of the busiest subway systems in the world, There are two tiers of taxis - Regular, and Deluxe. Regular taxis start at 3000 won for the first two kilometers and are metered at 100 won every 159 meters, which equates to about 695 won per kilometer. If the taxi is going less than 15 km per hour, a 20% surcharge is added between midnight and 4 am. These are typically white or silver in color but also can be seen in yellow Deluxe taxis start at 4500 won for the first three kilometers and are metered at 200 won every 164 meters. Their name could also be translated as Model Taxi as their service should be an example of what a proper taxi is, Deluxe taxis do not have nightly surcharges. Seoul city council announced Seoul Taxi will be repainted and they selected colour called Seoul Orange, look like similar orange or mud yellow. They are going to complete the painting until 2016, Seoul is connected to every major city in South Korea by railroad
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Seoul Capital Area
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The Seoul Capital Area is the metropolitan area centered on Seoul located in the north-west of South Korea. It is referred to as Sudogwon or Gyeonggi region in Korean, the Seoul Capital Area has a population of 24 million and is ranked as the fourth largest metropolitan area in the world. Its area is about 11,704 km2 and it forms the cultural, commercial, financial, industrial, and residential center of South Korea. The largest city is Seoul, with a population of approximately 10 million people, followed by Incheon, the Capital Area occupies a plain in the Han River valley. It contains some of the most fertile land on the Korean peninsula, the Gimpo Plain, one of the countrys larger expanses of level arable land, covers much of the area of the cities of Gimpo and Bucheon. The Capital Area has been home to a Korean capital for around 2,000 years and its central location and relatively gentle landscape have given it a central role in the countrys affairs. The first capital to be constructed in the region was that of Baekje, the countrys first capital was built in 19 BC and was named Wiryeseong. This is believed to have been constructed near the boundary of Seoul. However, Baekje was unable to hold territory, and surrendered the Han River valley to Goguryeo in the 5th century. The land was taken over by Silla in the 6th century. After the fall of Silla, Taejo of Goryeo established the capital of his kingdom in Kaesŏng, after the fall of Goryeo Dynasty in 1392, the newly founded Joeson Dynasty had its capital, less than 100 km south of the old dynastys capital, Kaesŏng. During the new rule, extensive road systems, administrative buildings, royal palaces. During the Korean Empire period, Hanseongs public transportation was improved with the installation of streetcars, horse carriage systems similar to the ones in Europe were also established. Following the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Hanseong was renamed Keijo, upon Koreas liberation from Japan in 1945, the former colonial capital was renamed Seoul and became capital of South Korea. In the Korean War, the Capital Area became the focus of battles so destructive that most of Seoul, Seoul was especially hit hard, since it exchanged hands four times during the course of the war. During the latter half of the 20th century, the Capital Area began to develop as South Koreas economic wealth expanded. Population expanded fourfold since the Korean War, in 2001, the new Incheon International Airport took over all international flights to Seoul. Covering only about 12% of the area, the Seoul Capital Area is home to more than 48. 2% of the national population
17.
High-speed rail
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High-speed rail is a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. The first such system began operations in Japan in 1964 and was known as the bullet train. High-speed trains normally operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates a large turning radius in its design, only in Europe does HSR cross international borders. China has 22,000 kilometres of HSR as of end December 2016, while high-speed rail is most often designed for passenger travel, some high-speed systems also offer freight service. Multiple definitions for high-speed rail are in use worldwide, the European Union Directive 96/48/EC, Annex 1 defines high-speed rail in terms of, Infrastructure, track built specially for high-speed travel or specially upgraded for high-speed travel. Minimum Speed Limit, Minimum speed of 250 km/h on lines built for high speed. This must apply to at least one section of the line, Rolling stock must be able to reach a speed of at least 200 km/h to be considered high speed. Operating conditions, Rolling stock must be designed alongside its infrastructure for complete compatibility, safety and quality of service, category II – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h. Category III – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h, the UIC prefers to use definitions because they consider that there is no single standard definition of high-speed rail, nor even standard usage of the terms. They make use of the European EC Directive 96/48, stating that high speed is a combination of all the elements which constitute the system, infrastructure, rolling stock and operating conditions. The International Union of Railways states that high-speed rail is a set of unique features, many conventionally hauled trains are able to reach 200 km/h in commercial service but are not considered to be high-speed trains. These include the French SNCF Intercités and German DB IC, National domestic standards may vary from the international ones. Railways were the first form of land transportation and had an effective monopoly on passenger traffic until the development of the motor car. Speed had always been an important factor for railroads and they tried to achieve higher speeds. The line used three-phase current at 10 kilovolts and 45 Hz, on 23 October 1903, the S&H-equipped railcar achieved a speed of 206.7 km/h and on 27 October the AEG-equipped railcar achieved 210.2 km/h. These trains demonstrated the feasibility of electric high-speed rail, however, after the breakthrough of electric railroads, it was clearly the infrastructure – especially the cost of it – which hampered the introduction of high-speed rail. Several disasters happened – derailments, head-on collisions on single-track lines, collisions with traffic at grade crossings. The physical laws were well-known, i. e. if the speed was doubled, the radius should be quadrupled
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Korea Train Express
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Korea Train eXpress is South Koreas high-speed rail system, operated by Korail. Construction began on the line from Seoul to Busan in 1992. KTX services were launched on April 1,2004, a new line from Wonju to Gangneung is under construction to serve the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. Top speed for trains in service is currently 305 km/h. The initial rolling stock was based on Alstoms TGV Réseau, and was built in Korea. The domestically developed HSR-350x, which achieved 352.4 km/h in tests, resulted in a type of high-speed trains now operated by Korail. The Seoul-Busan axis is Koreas main traffic corridor, in 1982, it represented 65. 8% of South Koreas population, a number that grew to 73. 3% by 1995, along with 70% of freight traffic and 66% of passenger traffic. With both the Gyeongbu Expressway and Korails Gyeongbu Line congested as of the late 1970s, the government saw the pressing need for form of transportation. During the following years, several feasibility studies were prepared for a line with a Seoul–Busan travel time of 1 hour 30 minutes. As planning progressed, the Korea High Speed Rail Construction Authority was established in March 1992 as a body with its own budget responsible for the project. In the 1993 reappraisal of the project, the date was pushed back to May 2002. 82% of the cost increase was due to a 90% increase in costs in the construction sector, mostly labour costs but also material costs. To finance the project, the option of a franchise was rejected as too risky. Funding included direct government grants, government and foreign loans, domestic bond sales, KHSRCA started construction of the Seoul–Busan Gyeongbu High Speed Railway on June 30,1992, on the 57 km long section from Cheonan to Daejeon, which was intended for use as test track. Construction started before the choice of the main supplier, thus alignment design was set out to be compatible with all choices. Of the planned 411 km line,152.73 km would be laid on bridges, however, plans were changed repeatedly, in particular those for city sections, following disputes with local governments, while construction work suffered from early quality problems. Planned operating speed was reduced from 350 km/h to the 300 km/h maximum of high-speed trains on the market. In 1994, the alliance of GEC-Alsthom and its Korean subsidiary Eukorail were chosen as winner, the technology was almost identical to that found on the high-speed lines of Frances TGV system
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Suseo high-speed railway
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The Suseo–Pyeongtaek High Speed Railway is a high-speed railway from Suseo in southeast Seoul to a junction with the existing Gyeongbu High Speed Railway in South Korea. The line is part of SRs Korea Train Express system, and provides an alternative Seoul terminus for Gyeongbu KTX and Honam KTX services to Mokpo, 86% of the new route runs 50 meters under the ground. Dongtan Station, the first station after departing from Suseo, is the first high speed railway station in Korea built underground, the SRT runs the Seoul−Busan route a few minutes faster than KTX, while its fares are 10% lower. The first feasibility study in 2003 came to the conclusion that the construction of a line is not justified by demand. The first stage, to be realised by 2015, would involve two branches from the Gyeongbu HSR, one of which would lead to a second Seoul terminus at Suseo in the southeast part of the city. However, in plans made official in August 2006, the Suseo branch was no longer included. The line was to run in a tunnel at a depth of 50 m between Suseo and Dongtan, and construction with a budget of 4.18 trillion South Korean won was foreseen to be complete in 2015. The travel time from Suseo to Dongtan was foreseen to be 12 minutes, the target date for finishing the line was later moved ahead to 2014. The basic design was completed on April 28,2010, the planned length of the line changed to 61.1 km, and planned stations reduced to two, at Suseo and Dongtan. The government set out a timeplan, according to detailed design was to commence immediately. The first detailed design contracts were awarded in September 2010, once the line is completed, the expected travel time will be 1 hour 59 minutes from Suseo to Busan along the Gyeongbu HSR, and 1 hour 49 minutes from Suseo to Mokpo along the Honam HSR. On September 1,2010, the South Korean government announced a plan to reduce travel times from Seoul to 95% of the country to under 2 hours by 2020. As part of the plan, tracks for up to 230 km/h are to connect Suseo and Yongsan in central Seoul, list of Korea-related topics KTX Official website
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Gyeongbu high-speed railway
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The Gyeongbu High Speed Railway between Seoul and Busan is South Koreas first high-speed rail line. The missing gaps across the areas of Daejeon and Daegu were opened in August 2015. A number of other high-speed lines branching from the Gyeongbu HSR are in construction or planned, the Seoul-Busan axis is Koreas main traffic corridor. In 1995, it housed 73. 3% of Koreas population, with both the Gyeongbu Expressway and Korails Gyeongbu Line congested, the government saw the need of another mode of transport. During the next years, several feasibility studies were prepared for a line with a Seoul-Busan travel time of 1 hour 30 minutes. In 1991, bids were called for the supply and technology transfer of the system technology. Once planning progressed, in March 1992, the Korea High Speed Rail Construction Authority was established as a body with own budget responsible for the project. In the 1993 reappraisal of the project, the date was pushed out to May 2002. 82% of the cost increase was due to a 90% increase of costs in the construction sector. To finance the project, the option of a Build-Operate-Transfer franchise was rejected as too risky, funding included direct government grants, government and foreign loans, domestic bond sales and private capital. KHSRCA started construction of the Gyeongbu High Speed Railway on June 30,1992 on the 57 km long section from Cheonan to Daejeon, Construction started before the choice of the main technology supplier, thus alignment design was set out to be compatible with all choices. Of the planned 411 km line,152.73 km would be laid on bridges, however, plans were changed repeatedly, in particular those for city sections, following disputes with local governments. Construction suffered from quality problems. After an independent safety inspection in 1996, repairs were necessary on 190 locations, meanwhile, the bidding of the core system technology contract progressed through five rounds of evaluation, and the French and German consortia submitted final bids on June 15,1993. KHSRCA announced that the GEC-Alsthom-led consortium is the preferred bidder on August 20,1993, the consortium consisted of GEC-Alsthom and its Korean subsidiary Eukorail. The technology was almost identical to that found on the lines of Frances TGV system. Track-related design specifications included a speed of 350 km/h, standard gauge. Following the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the government decided to realise the Gyeongbu HSR in two phases
21.
Honam high-speed railway
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The Honam High Speed Railway is a high-speed railway between Osong and Mokpo in South Korea. The line is a part of Korails Korea Train Express system, accelerating Seoul-Mokpo, the line diverges from Osong Station on the Gyeongbu High Speed Railway, and stops at Gongju, Iksan, Jeongeup Stations. Journey times between Seoul and Gwangju has been cut from 2 h 40 min to just 90 min, the Honam HSR is intended to bring business, and economic opportunities to the province of Jeollanam-do, which has seen slower development than other parts of South Korea. The line has been open to the public since April 2,2015 for revenue service, the first feasibility study in 2003 came to the conclusion that the construction of a full line is not justified by demand, and proposed a two-stage construction. The cost of the project was estimated at 10,378.6 billion won. On January 14,2005, Prime Minister Lee Hae Chan met local representatives in Gwangju, however, in December the same year, in the light of low approval in the affected provinces, the government reversed its stance and agreed to complete the project to Gwangju by 2015. In plans made official in August 2006 in spite of a benefit-cost ratio below 1, the second stage, the 48.74 km remaining to Mokpo, was to be finished by 2017 with a budget of 2,002.2 billion won. The altogether 230.99 km,10,571.7 billion won project would enable Seoul-Mokpo travel times of 1 hour 46 minutes, ahead of the 2007 Presidential elections, eventual winner Lee Myung-bak promised to accelerate the project by 3 years. While this date was deemed unrealistic by the ministry, a one-year acceleration was announced in January 2009. The Osong-Iksan section of the first phase is intended for use as high-speed test track for rolling stock development, to be fitted with special catenary. The project is financed to 50% by direct government funds and 50% loans, by December 2009, construction began on three sub-sections of the 182 km line from Osong to Gwangju, which shall enable Seoul-Gwangju travel times of 1 hour 30 minutes. The ground-breaking ceremony was held at Gwangju·Songjeong Station in the attendance of President Lee Myung-bak on December 4,2009, when total project costs were estimated at 11.3 trillion won. As of September 2010, progress was 9. 6% of the budget then estimated at 10,490.1 billion won for the first phase. The entire line from Osong to Mokpo includes a total of 111.7 km of viaducts and 49.12 km of tunnels, trains will stop at six stations along the line, List of Korea-related topics KTX
22.
Seoul Metropolitan Subway
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The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a metropolitan railway system consisting of 20 rapid transit, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. The system serves most of the Seoul Metropolitan Area including the Incheon metropolis, some regional lines in the network cross large rural areas to reach major cities in northern Chungnam province and western Gangwon province that lie over 100 km away from the capital. The network consists of numbered lines 1–9, which serve Seoul City proper and its surroundings, most of the system is operated by four companies – Seoul Metro, Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit, Korail and Metro 9. Its first metro line, Line 1, started construction in 1971 and opened in 1974, the first line of the Seoul Subway network started construction in 1971 with economic and technical assistance from Japan. The first section of subway was built using the cheaper cut, Line 1 opened in 1974 with through services joining surrounding Korail suburban railway lines similar to the Tokyo subway. Today, many of the Seoul Metropolitan Subways lines are operated by Korail, South Koreas national passenger and it has been described as the worlds longest multi-operator metro system by route length. Nearly all stations have platform screen doors installed, only Gaewha, by 2017, Korail will completely install screen doors in every station and platform. The worlds first virtual mart for smartphone users opened at Seolleung Station in 2011, all directional signs in the system are written in Korean, English and Hanja. In trains there are in addition many LCD screens giving service announcements, upcoming stop names, YTN news, stock prices, there are also prerecorded voice announcements that give the upcoming station, any possible line transfer, and the exiting side in Korean, followed by English. At major stations, this is followed by Japanese, then Mandarin Chinese, Seoul Subway uses full-color LCD screens at all stations to display real-time subway arrival times, which are also available on apps for smartphones. Most trains have digital TV screens, and all of them have air conditioning, in 2014, it became the worlds first metro operator to use transparent displays for ads when it installed 48 transparent displays on major stations of Line 2 in Gangnam District. Trains on numbered lines generally run on the track, while trains on the named lines run on the left-hand track. The exceptions are the trains on Line 1, as well as those on Line 4 south of Namtaeryeong Station and these lines run on the left-hand track because these rail lines are operated by Korail, South Koreas national railway operator. While operating hours may vary depending on the line in question, the Seoul Metropolitan Subway generally operates from 5.30 am until 1 am on weekdays, Line 1, from Seongbuk Station to Incheon Station and Suwon Station, opened on 15 August 1974. On 9 December 1978, the Yongsan-Cheongnyangni line was added to Line 1, Line 2 opened on 10 October 1980. In 1985, the system changed from charging by distance to zone. Line 4 opened on 20 April 1985, and Line 3 on 12 July, on 1 April 1994, the Indeogwon-Namtaeryeong extension of Line 4 opened. The Bundang Line, from Suseo Station to Ori Station, opened on 1 September, on 15 November 1995, Line 5 opened
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Seoul Subway Line 1
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The central underground portion of this rail line is the oldest subway section in the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system, the entire rail line covers a large part of the Seoul Capital Area. The underground section between Seoul Station and Cheongnyangni Station, which is referred to as Seoul Metro Line 1, is operated by Seoul Metro. The line first opened in 1974 as the Korean National Railroad of Seoul with through services to overground national railroad tracks from Seongbuk Station to Incheon and Suwon Stations. At the time, the 7.8 km underground portion was run by Seoul Metro was called Line 1, on the other hand, the remaining sections of the rail line run by Korail were labeled either blue or gray on maps, and the express lines were red. In 2000, the adjacent through-running Korail lines were officially bundled together as part of a greater Line 1, commuter railway service was extended to Sinchang in December 2008. Frequent service is provided between Soyosan, Dongducheon, Uijeongbu, Cheongnyangni, Seoul, Yongsan, and Guro, where trains split between Incheon in the west and Byeongjeom and Cheonan in the south, express trains operate from Yongsan and Seoul Stations to Dongincheon and Cheonan stations. Trains travel along Gyeongbu, Gyeongin, Janghang and Gyeongwon, in June 2006, Jinwi and Jije Stations opened on the Gyeongbu Line. In January 2010 Dangjeong Station opened, between Gunpo and Uiwang Stations, part of the Gyeongwon Line from Dongducheon to Uijeongbu was merged into Line 1 in December 2006. The line runs on the side of the track, as opposed to the right-hand side of the track like all of the other Seoul Metropolitan Subway lines do. Korail operates a variety of rapid trains for long distance commuter services on Line 1. These services include, Gyeongin line express services from Yongsan to Dongincheon and this service was introduced on January 29,1999. Jemulpo Station and Gaebong Station have begun serving express trains on February 1,2016, Gyeongwon line express services from Dongducheon to Incheon, operating express between Dongducheon and Kwangwoon University and run local train between Incheon and Kwangwoon University. Gyeongbu line express services, including, Yongsan-Cheonan, with B express services making fewer stops than the A services and this service was introduced on October 20,1982. Yeongdeungpo-Byeongjeom, skipping all stations between Yeongdeungpo and Anyang and then following the A express service pattern until Byeongjeom and this service was introduced on August 25,2014. Korail is named Korean National Railroad, with Line 1 just referring to the Seoul–Cheongnyangni section,1978 December 9, The Gyeongwon Line from Yongsan to Seongbuk opens as a new branch, with Ichon and Seongsu. 1979 February 1, Yuljeon Station is opened,1980 January 5, Sinimun Station is opened. April 1, Seobinggo, Hannam and Hoegi are opened, July 10, Seongsu is renamed Eungbong Station 1982 August 2, Seoksu Station is opened. 1984 January 1, Yuljeon Station is renamed Seongdae-ap Station, may 22, Sindorim Station is opened
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Seoul Subway Line 2
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Seoul Subway Line 2 is a circular line of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway. The line running clockwise is called the circle line and the counter-clockwise line is called the outer circle line. This is Seouls most heavily used line, and consists of the loop, the Seongsu Branch. The Line 2 loop is the second longest subway loop in the world after Beijing Subway Line 10, headways on the line vary from 2 minutes 18 seconds on peak periods and 5–6 minutes off-peak periods. The line connects the city centre to Gangnam, Teheran Valley, Line 2 was built in 1978–84 together with the Seongsu Branch. Dangsan bridge was closed for reconstruction in 1996 and reopened November 22,1999, the old steel girder bridge was replaced by a 1. 3-kilometre long concrete bridge between Dangsan on the southern side of the river and Hapjeong on the northern bank. Yongdu Station on the Seongsu Branch is the first station in the Seoul Subway system with operating platform screen doors, as of 2008 platform screen doors are operating at all stations along Line 2. New rolling stock has also came on line, replacing older vehicles. It averaged 2.56 times more than the other 14 subway lines fitted with WiFi service zones. for delivery within the same day. There is an extension currently in the conception stage to extend the Sinjeong Branch to 3.7 km to Gayang Station on Line 9. The path would include a new station named Gangseo-gu Office in between Kkachisan and Gayang, subways in South Korea List of Korea-related topics Seoul Metropolitan Subway Seoul Metro Map, station and route finder
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Seoul Subway Line 3
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Seoul Subway Line 3 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a commuter rail service. Which connects Goyang, northwestern Seoul to the city center, Gangnam, in December 2010 the line is recorded as having the second highest WiFi data consumption in the Seoul Metropolitan area. It averaged 1.8 times more than the other 14 subway lines fitted with WiFi service zones, construction began in 1980, and most of the current line opened after completion of work in two stages during 1985, along with brother subway Line 4. In October 1993, an extension to the south was opened. In March 1996, the Ilsan Line, which is considered the third extension to the north was opened, seouls portion of Line 3 and the Ilsan part of Line 3 operate as one combined line, with trains running from one end to the other. The respective stations are operated by two different companies, though, so they are listed separately. There are 2 depots near Jichuk Station and Suseo Station, which are for both Korail and Seoul Metro, a 3 km extension opened on February 18,2010, stretching from Suseo to Garak Market and Ogeum. On December 27,2014, Wonheung Station opened between Wondang and Samsong Stations, the tours are designed with different themes for travel along the subway lines, e. g. Korean traditional culture. Which goes from Jongno 3-ga Station to Anguk Station and Gyeongbokgung Station on this line that showcases antique shops, subways in South Korea Seoul Metropolitan Subway Seoul Metropolitan Governments Line 3 extension page includes a route map and status information for the extension from Suseo to Garak Market. UrbanRail. Nets Seoul Subway Page Map, station and route finder
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Seoul Subway Line 4
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Seoul Subway Line 4 of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a long line crossing from the southwest to the northeast across the Seoul National Capital Area. This is operated by both Korail and Seoul Metro, the southern terminus is in Jeongwang 4-dong, Siheung City, and the northern terminus is in Sanggye 4-dong, Nowon-gu, northern Seoul. The Transportation and Construction Committee of the National Assembly has approved that the end of Line 4 will be extended from Danggogae to Jinjeop. Construction will begin in 2015 with completion date in 2019, several stations will be added from Danggogae Station. Construction is set to begin in 2015 with a target of 2019. Turnback siding after Danggogae Station Changdong Depot Connecting track to Line 3 before Chungmuro Station Dongjak Bridge Chongshin Univ
27.
Seoul Subway Line 5
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Seoul Subway Line 5 of the Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation, dubbed the purple line, is a long line crossing from the west to the east across the Seoul National Capital Area, South Korea. Line 5 holds the distinction of being one of the two lines in Seoul to cross under the Han River, which is done at two points. The line also branches into two different lines at Gangdong Station to terminate at Sangil-dong Station and Macheon Station, the total length of this line is 52.3 km. Once the longest underground tunnel constructed, today it is the 3rd longest fully underground line in the world just behind Guangzhou Metro Line 3. The line was built 1990~1996 and is an important east-west link connecting Gimpo Airport, the Yeouido business area, downtown Seoul, in 1996 Line 5 was implemented with Automatic train operation. However, it was deemed that a driver would be necessary in case of a breakdown of the automation system and it was the worlds longest underground railway line for 9 years until Guangzhou Metro Line 3 came into operation in 2005. In December 2010 the line is recorded as having the third highest WiFi data consumption in the Seoul Metropolitan area and it averaged 1.67 times more than the other 14 subway lines fitted with WiFi service zones. These were distributed from information centers on this line, the tours are designed with different themes for travel along the subway lines, e. g. Korean traditional culture. Which goes from Jongno 3-ga Station to Anguk Station and Gyeongbokgung Station on line No 3 that showcases antique shops, SMRT is currently planning two expansions from Sangil-dong Station to the city of Hanam with a total of 5 stations spanning 7.7 km. Planned Stations Misa Pungsan Deokpung Hanam city hall Geumdansan Subways in South Korea Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation Seoul Metropolitan Subway
28.
Seoul Subway Line 6
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Seoul Subway Line 6 is a line of the Seoul Subway. The route connects Eunpyeong-gu and Jungnang-gu in a U-shaped manner, running through Yongsan-gu and Seongbuk-gu and it does not cross over the Han River. It is mainly used to connect to the outskirts of Seoul, the line primarily operates in the section between Eungam and Bonghwasan. When a train arrives at Eungam, it runs through what is known as the Eungam Loop. After going through the stations of the Eungam Loop in an anti-clockwise direction, currently, commuter trains of the Seoul Metro 6000 EMU series run on the line. The line started construction in 1994, a short section of the line from Bonghwasan to Sangwolgok opened in August 2000 while the remaining section opened in December of the same year. However, it was not until March 2001 that the line was fully operational when the four stations from Itaewon to Yaksu were opened. In March 2016, a proposal to launch a service on Line 6 was announced. These were distributed from information centers on this line, subways in South Korea Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation Seoul Metropolitan Subway
29.
Seoul Subway Line 7
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This north-south line does not run through the city centre but links Gangnam directly to the northern parts of town. All the trains on Line 7 are monitored by 1,008 closed-circuit television cameras that were installed in June 2012, the extension to Incheon Subway Line 1 was designed to relieve the traffic congestion in western Seoul and northern Incheon. Nine stations were added October 27,2012, for the 10.2 km extension, starting from Onsu Station of Line 7, there are two future planned stations, Baekmajang and Seoknam, the latter of which would be a transfer station with Incheon Subway Line 2. Construction on the 3.94 km extension began in 2013 and is due to be completed in 2020. The further extension, in the stage as of 2012, would see the line extended another 12.2 km ending the line on Yeongjongdo. No dates have yet been announced as of 2012, urbanRail. Nets Seoul Subway Page Map, station and route finder
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Seoul Subway Line 8
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Seoul Subway Line 8 of the Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation was built 1990–99 and mainly serves the southeastern parts of Seoul and Seongnam. Moran to Amsa was opened July 1999, in 2014 construction was planned to begin to extend the line north of the Han River through Guri Station to Byeollae Station on the Gyeongchun Line. The extension will add 11.37 km of line to the already existing 17.7 km, construction is set to finish in 2023. Potentially the southern end will be extended 3.9 km to Pangyo Station around 2023, subways in South Korea Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit Corporation Seoul Metropolitan Subway
31.
Seoul Subway Line 9
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Seoul Subway Line 9, operated by Seoul Metro Line9 Corporation, is a subway line in Seoul. Originally scheduled to open on June 12,2009, the line opened on July 24,2009. Line 9 was constructed like a double track subway. Express trains run five times per hour in each direction, all stations except Gaehwa are equipped with elevators, escalators, and platform screen doors. Phase 1 was the first privately run subway line in Korea, operated by a joint venture of Hyundai Rotem and Veolia Transport, Phase 2 is operated by Seoul Metro. Line 9 runs east from Gaehwa Station, and Gimpo Airport Station along the bank of the Han River towards Sinnonhyeon in Gangnam. Construction of Phase 1 between Gaehwa and Sinnonhyeon began in April 2002, and completed on July 24,2009, major transfer stations on the first phase are Dangsan, Yeouido, Noryangjin, Dongjak, and Express Bus Terminal Stations. Operation started with 24 trains of four each, numbered 9-01~9-24. The express train came every 20 minutes and the train every 6.7 minutes. Due to the number of riders exceeding 250,000 per day,12 additional four-car trains numbered 9-25~9-36 were ordered and entered service on October 15,2011 and this allowed for the express train headway to be shortened to 10 minutes and the all-stop train headway to 5 minutes. From 30 September 2013, additional trains were added during commuting times of 7 to 9 AM. Phase 2 extended the line from Sinnonhyeon in Gangnam to Sports Complex Station on Line 2 on March 28,2015, Phase 3 will further extend the line to Veterans Hospital Station in eastern Seoul and will be completed in 2018. This proposal so far has not been implemented thus making it necessary to transfer trains at Gimpo International Airport, the construction of Phase 1 cost 900 billion won,480 billion of which was pooled between 12 firms with the remaining borne by Seoul city and the national government. The line is operating at a loss with 90% of losses being covered by the city. The accumulated deficit has passed 180 billion won, on November 20,2008, however, the Seoul Metropolitan government announced plans to indeed build Phase 3 between October 2010 and December 2015. Prior to opening of the line, the operator requested a base rate of 1,300 won, the city government decided against this citing the domestic financial crisis and potential complaints from riders if the price was set at a higher rate than the rest of the subway system. The city therefore set the ticket fare at 900 won. The rate was locked for a period of 12 months and was locked for three years despite multiple requests from the operator for a higher starting fare
32.
Gyeongchun Line
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The Gyeongchun Line is a regional rail line between Seoul and Chuncheon operated by Korail. The name of the line is derived from Gyeong and Chuncheon, the line was reconstructed in a new alignment in its entirety in the 2000s. Rail service operates between Sangbong Station on the Jungang Line in eastern Seoul and Chuncheon Station as part of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system since December 21,2010. A class of rail service named ITX-Cheongchun began operations on February 28,2012, linking Chuncheon to Cheongnyangni. The original Gyeongchun Line was opened along its length of 87.3 km between Seongbuk Station, on the Gyeongwon Line, to Chuncheon on July 20,1939. In South Korea, Chuncheon was the most popular destination for students on orientation trips, the line was upgraded into an electrified and double-tracked line for 180 km/h. Between Geumgok and Chuncheon, from 1997 until 2010, the line was re-laid in a straighter,64.2 km long alignment with a budget of 2.151,931 billion won. The remaining 17.9 km of the line was built with a separate budget of 574.124 billion won. Towards Seoul, after Toegyewon Station, this section of the new line diverges from the old alignment that ended in Seongbuk, the new alignment was originally planned to be opened in 2004, but completion of the works was delayed for various reasons, including lack of funds. The complete new alignment opened and the old one closed on December 21,2010, on September 1,2010, the South Korean government announced a strategic plan to reduce travel times from Seoul to 95% of the country to under 2 hours by 2020. As part of the plan, the Gyeongchun Line is to be upgraded for 230 km/h. For the longer term, the government also considers to build a parallel high-speed line that would continue beyond Chuncheon to Sokcho on South Koreas east coast, on November 4,2016, two trains were added to the line. These trains run to and from Kwangwoon University Station, allowing for transfers to Line 1, on September 26,2016, the line was extended to Cheongnyangni Station to improve access to regional trains at the station. When the new Gyeongchun Line opened on December 21,2010, passenger service was integrated into the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system, compared to the previous Mugunghwa-ho train service on the Gyeongchun Line, fares dropped by half. For the service, Hyundai Rotem supplied Korail with fifteen eight-car Class 361000 EMUs, on February 28,2012, Korail introduced ITX service, which uses Class 368000 trains with double-deck cars. From Chuncheon Station, the fastest ITX trains take 52 minutes to Cheongnyangni Station, the base fare is 9800 won between Chuncheon and Yongsan, currently it has a 30% discount. The express service was phased out along with the advent of the ITX service, the following stations are along the Gyeongui-Jungang Line. Korail Transportation in South Korea List of Korea-related topics
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Bundang Line
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The Bundang Line is a subway line in the Seoul Capital Area operated by Korail. The name Bundang Line refers to the fact that the line was constructed for the new planned town of Bundang. The line starts in central eastern Seoul at Wangsimni, crossing Gangnam District and connecting the cities of Seongnam and Yongin, trains run every 4~5 minutes during rush hours & every 7~8 minutes during off peak hours between Wangsimni and Jukjeon. Trains run at half the frequency between Jukjeon and Suwon, except during rush hours, all northbound trains terminate at Wangsimni, except during night time where they terminate at Jukjeon. Half of the southbound services head to Suwon, and another half head Jukjeon, express train service stop at all stops between Wangsimni and Jukjeon, and thereafter at Giheung, Mangpo, Suwon City Hall and Suwon. The express service operates during rush hours on weekdays. 1994, September 1, The Bundang Line is officially opened from Suseo to Ori,2003, September 3, The line is extended northward from Suseo to Seolleung. 2004, January 16, Imae Station opens as an in-fill station, September 24, Guryong Station opens as an in-fill station. November 26, A temporary Bojeong Station opens near the Bundang Line Train Depot,2007, December 24, Jukjeon Station opens as an in-fill station. 2011, December 28, The line is extended southward from Jukjeon to Giheung, the temporary Bojeong Station is replaced with a new underground station, also called Bojeong. 2012, October 6, The line is extended northward from Seolleung to Wangsimni, December 1, The line is extended southward from Giheung to Mangpo. 2013, November 30, The line is extended westward from Mangpo to Suwon was opened, phase 3 of the Suin Line, which will extend the line east from Oido to Suwon, will allow for a through service through the Bundang Line. This will create a line from Wangsimni Station to Incheon Station The Bundang Line uses Korail Class 351000 trains. The rolling stock is the class used on Line 4 because they were all originally classified as Class 2000 trains. Trainsets 351-44~351-60 are expected to be delivered when the rest of the Suin Line opens, bundang-gu Rapid transit in South Korea Korail Seoul Metropolitan Subway
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Suin Line
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The Suin Line is a metro line of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway serving the Seoul Capital Area. The original route, abandoned in 1995, was one of the few railways in South Korea. It connected Suwon to Namincheon via Ansan and Siheung,2012, June 30, The rebuilt Suin Line is officially opened from Oido to Songdo. 2014, December 27, Darwol Station opens as an in-fill station,2016, February 27, The line is extended westward from Songdo to Incheon. Hagik station is planned to open between Songdo and Inha University in 2019, phase 3 of the Suin Line, which will extend the line east from Oido to Suwon, will allow for a through service through the Bundang Line. This will create a line from Wangsimni Station to Incheon Station. For the current Suin Line, Korail introduced third generation Class 351000 EMU trains and they are the same as the third generation Class 351000 trains from the Bundang Line, except that they are painted red like the Jungang, Gyeongui and Line 1 trains. In the future, these trains will remain with a red stripe or be repainted with a yellow stripe when the Bundang Line. For the former Suin Line, the Korean National Railroad built a narrow gauge locomotive, the KNR160 Diesel Car. One KNR160 and two KNR18000 are preserved at the museum in nearby Uiwang. These images are in order from Suwon towards Namincheon, Korail Suryeo Line Transportation in South Korea List of Korea-related topics
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Gyeonggang Line
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The Gyeonggang Line is a commuter rail line of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system in Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It runs from the city of Seongnam to Yeoju City, partially coinciding with the route of the former narrow-gauge Suryeo Line and it opened to the public on September 24,2016. In addition to the Gyeonggang Line, a line from Bubal to Mungyeong. The line is expected to open in 2019 to Chungju, September 24th,2016, The line opened from Pangyo Station to Yeoju Station. The Gyeonggang Line is planned to run all the way from Incheon to Wonju, initially, Class 371000 EMU metro trains are used. This section is currently in its phase and is not expected to open before at least 2023. This section is expected to open in winter 2017, just before the 2018 Winter Olympics, the line will see regional rail service, including KTX service. There are currently no planned stations for this section, narrow gauge in Korea, the Inchon – Suwon – Yeoju line. Seongnam-Yeoju Line to have double track electric railways
National Route 77
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National Route 46
National Route 6(Ganam-ro)
Seoul Ring Expressway
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Nambu Sunhwan-ro
