Situated on the strategically important Han River, Seoul was founded more than 2,000 years ago, changing hands many times. From 1905, the Korean peninsula was annexed by Japan, a period which ended after Japan’s defeat in World War II. Following this, the Korean peninsula was divided into north and south by the Soviet Union and the United States. South Korea declared independence in 1950, after which North Korea, backed by China and the Soviets, mounted an invasion. The Korean War, which cost some two million lives, went on until 1953.
Seoul gained attention on the world stage when it successfully hosted the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. In a move towards greater democracy, the first civilian president was elected in 1993. Modern South Korea is a thriving, affluent economy. Seoul itself is home to some 25 million people. There’s no official religion and around half of the population has no declared faith, but the philosophies of Confucianism and shamanism nonetheless influence South Koreans.
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