In the 20th century, South Korea's economic takeoff was known as the "Miracle on the Han River," but in fact, this title mainly refers to the economic development of Seoul.
Looking back at the economic miracles created by the Four Asian Tigers, only South Korea uses a river as its symbol, which reflects South Korea's unique development model.
The Han River flows through Seoul, nurturing this bustling capital of South Korea. It can almost be said that South Korea mobilized the strength of the entire country to support the development of this megacity.
South Korea has a land area of about 103,290 square kilometers, while Seoul covers about 605 square kilometers, accounting for only 0.5% of the country.
However, Seoul's population accounts for one-fifth of the national population.
South Korea has a total population of over 50 million, and Seoul has about 10 million people.
Including the floating population, this number is even more staggering.
As the capital and largest city of South Korea, Seoul is not only the political, economic, and cultural center but also the core of education, with countless renowned universities gathered here.
Seoul's financial industry is very prosperous. Together with Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Hong Kong, it is known as one of the five major financial centers in Asia, with many international banks, large investment institutions, and private equity funds headquartered here.
Seoul's manufacturing industry is also extremely developed, and the "Miracle on the Han River" began with the development of manufacturing in Seoul and its surrounding areas.
For example, Hyundai Motor's headquarters is located in Seoul.
In addition to finance and manufacturing, tourism is also an important pillar industry in Seoul.
Here, you can find the Seoul Tower with a panoramic view of the city, numerous bustling shopping districts, and the globally popular K-pop culture that attracts countless international tourists.
Korean boy bands and girl groups are not only famous domestically but also have a large number of fans in China, Japan, and even Europe and America.
These fans come to Seoul to buy merchandise and visit places where their idols have been.
Almost all major entertainment companies, such as SM and JYP, have their headquarters in Seoul.
It can be said that the headquarters of almost all well-known Korean companies, such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and SK, are in Seoul. Seoul is indeed the heart of South Korea.
As South Korea's largest city, Seoul's siphoning effect is also very evident.
As mentioned earlier, Seoul, with 0.5% of the national land area, concentrates one-fifth of the population.
If we include Seoul's satellite cities, this comparison becomes even more pronounced.
Due to the excessive population in Seoul, the government has built dozens of satellite cities around Seoul, including areas like Gyeonggi Province. The Seoul metropolitan area encompasses 10% of the land area and 50% of the population.
Even so, the problem of overpopulation has not been solved.
Overpopulation brings a series of issues, known as "big city disease."
For example, last year's Itaewon stampede was considered a result of Seoul's population overload.
People living in a crowded environment for a long time lose their sense of crisis, eventually leading to tragedy.
The most direct problem brought by overpopulation is environmental pollution.
More people mean more garbage. When the speed of garbage treatment and environmental digestion cannot keep up with the speed of garbage generation, it leads to severe pollution.
Moreover, more vehicles and exhaust emissions make air pollution an urgent problem to be solved.
In addition, overpopulation leads to insufficient resource allocation.
Almost all of South Korea's high-quality education and medical resources are concentrated in Seoul, causing extremely uneven city development and exacerbating social competition due to resource congestion.
Due to the skyrocketing land prices brought by overpopulation, the living quality of ordinary people in Seoul is continuously declining.
The intense competition pressure on young people leads to late marriage and childbirth, resulting in a sharp decline in the birth rate.
Nowadays, it is rare to see children being held by their parents on the streets of Seoul.
Seoul, like a giant vortex, attracts resources and benefits from across the country. Cities outside the capital area are drained of their development potential, with resources flowing out and talents lost, severely hindering the development of other regions.
While Seoul creates the "Miracle on the Han River," other regions in South Korea struggle to make ends meet, with the wealth gap and regional imbalance increasingly widening.
To alleviate Seoul's "bloating disease" and achieve balanced regional development, the South Korean government once considered relocating the capital.
In 2003, South Korea passed the Special Act on the New Administrative Capital, planning to move the capital from Seoul to Sejong to promote the development of the central region.
However, relocating the capital is a complex issue involving the interests of too many people.
Who will move? Who will stay?
These problems are difficult to solve. For the already mature Seoul, transferring functions to another city is not easy.
In the end, the relocation plan was quickly abandoned.
A year later, the Constitutional Court of South Korea ruled the act unconstitutional, and the capital relocation plan was shelved.
The South Korean government only transferred some government functions to alleviate Seoul's administrative pressure, with a large number of administrative personnel moving from Seoul to Sejong.
In addition, the South Korean government continuously builds satellite cities around Seoul, transferring some factories and labor to satellite cities to relieve Seoul's pressure.
However, the South Korean government recently proposed a new plan, the "Seoul Expansion Plan."
This goes against the original intention of solving Seoul's problems and balancing regional development.
At the end of last year, the South Korean government proposed to create a "Super Seoul," strengthening Seoul's centralization and enhancing its status.
This plan has sparked widespread controversy.
One viewpoint believes that this can improve resource utilization efficiency, allowing Seoul to fully play a leading role and drive South Korea's economic development, competing for Asia's hub status.
After all, only a city of sufficient size can host large events like the Olympics.
Another viewpoint argues that South Korea's current regional development imbalance and wealth gap are already too large, and the "Super Seoul" plan will only exacerbate Seoul's problems, making the situation worse.
Therefore, in a sense, Seoul is both the hero of South Korea's economic development and the root of many problems South Korea faces today.
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