Movement
The Movement of Goods
During the Yi dynasty, the Han river was a riverine site with both inland waterways and coastal sea routes. The Han River was particularly important during the Yi dynasty because these were the routes by which grain, goods, and other items were transported. Currently the top exports from Seoul are semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, and petrochemicals. Many major corporate headquarters are now located in Seoul. Both of these elements are contributing to Seoul becoming a more industrialized city while changing its culture too.
Movement of People and Ideas At the end of World War II (1945), many Koreans who had been living abroad came back to Korea. The majority of them settled in Seoul. Also millions of refugees from the north returned immediately after the Korean War. By 1960 some 2.5 million people were living in Seoul, which brought new cultures to Seoul.
With rapid urbanization beginning in the 1970s, the city drew migrants from throughout the country, and the population reached some 10 million in 1990. Both these migrations connected the movement of ideas brought into Seoul which affected its culture. |