Introduction to Seoul
In the following sections, you will learn all about the basics of Seoul.
South Korea is located in eastern Asia on the south of the Korean Peninsula to the east of China. Since their split following the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, North Korea and South Korea are separated by the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 2.5-mile-wide buffer to prevent further hostilities that stretches across the peninsula for 160 miles. Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is located in the northern part of the country close to the border with North Korea. Because of the limited human access to the DMZ after the war, it has developed into a unique bustling ecosystem of its own, complete with some very rare species which you can travel to from Seoul.1 Seoul’s climate ranges an average of 26 °F (−3 °C) in the chill of January and 78 °F (25 °C) in the heat of August. The city sees roughly 54 inches of precipitation a year, most of which falls during the summer monsoon season.2
Like the Korean Peninsula, Seoul is also divided in two: the “South City” of Kangnam and the “North City” of Kangpuk. However, this division comes from the naturally occurring Han River (Hangang) instead, one of South Korea’s main rivers that flows in the Yellow Sea. Historically, the Han River has been incredibly valuable to whoever held power in the area due to its navigability and use as a trade route for goods. To the immediate north of the river is a basin surrounded by hills (elevation ~1000-2000 feet) that became the center of the city around 600 years ago due to its natural defensive advantages (see Fig 1). Additional defenses were built around the hills shortly afterwards and those fortifications remain to this day as a frequently visited historical site. The wider city is surrounded by a greenbelt of parks, limiting immediate urban expansion and forcing the growth of exterior suburbs.2
History
After many years of conflict, the Empire of Japan annexed Korea in 1910 where it would stay in power until 1945. During those 35 years, Japan attempted to erase Korean culture by banning the use of the Korean language, burning hundreds of thousands of historical documents, and demanding service and fealty to the empire. Land in Korea was granted to almost 100,000 Japanese families who clear cut entire swaths of forest and replaced it with non-native species to make it look more like their homeland, rendering entire Korean ecosystems unrecognizable.3 In fact, cherry blossoms, the iconic pink trees of Japan, became such a symbol of Japanese imperialism that after World War II, the cherry blossoms at Kyongbok Palace in Seoul were chopped down en masse to celebrate fifty years of freedom from Japanese rule.1
But liberation from the Empire of Japan was not the end of Korea’s struggles with deforestation. Following the Korean War between the recently divided North Korea and South Korea, civilians further depleted forests to fulfill their needs for fuel, food, and building materials.1 More than 30% of forests were denuded and with missing a root system to hold the soil in place, following monsoon season, intense erosion devastated farmland and wiped away forageable plants which the population relied on.4
In 1961, the military junta in Seoul that seized power identified deforestation as a major obstacle in their goals of economic growth and prosperity for South Korea. The government established a three-pronged approach: “address the sources of deforestation; empower the agents of change; and establish a system of accountability.”4 The government was able to build up its infrastructure to support the distribution of domestic fuel sources such as coal with loans from both the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Bank and rapid industrialization. Similar to the Civilian Conservation Corps following the New Deal here in the United States, the South Korean government offered public sector work in reforestation, homes, and education for children to impoverished families that had relied on the business of selling timber.4 Due to South Korea’s economic growth following these developments, residents could finally afford to buy coal and leave their consumption of their forests behind for good. This influx of wealth also allowed many Korean families to relocate to growing urban areas like Seoul.1
In 1973, the Korea Forest Service was transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture to the Ministry of Home Affairs, allowing the agency to scale up their efforts, like mobilizing elementary school students across the country to plant trees. Reforestation efforts like this across the country have been highly successful. Between 1946 and 2000, roughly 247,000 acres of forest were replanted – nearly 1% of South Korea’s land mass – per year through a variety of different initiatives, resulting in nearly 13 million total acres of restored wood.1 These efforts are not without their flaws, however. Rapidly-growing coniferous trees were over planted resulting in a lack of species diversification that made new-growth forests highly susceptible to disease and infestations. Additionally, while Koreans shifted their fuel sources from wood, it is still heavily relied on and is a major importer of timber from outside its borders and it unfortunately suffers from significant illegal logging operations.4
Population
Seoul’s population is largely homogeneous. Its 2023 population was estimated at around 9,655,918 with an overwhelming majority of native Koreans and 248,378 foreigners.5 Even among foreigners there remains some similarity: out of all foreign residents of Seoul in 2011, a majority of them (66%) were Chinese citizens of Korean ancestry, followed by non-Korean descent Chinese citizens (~30,000), US citizens (~10,000), and Taiwanese citizens (~8,700).6 As of 2023, urban hubs like that of Seoul have become home for 81.5% of the national Korean population.7 In recent years, Seoul’s population has begun to level off. This is also demonstrated nationally, for if we compare data from 1950 and 2021, we see that the death rate per 1000 people has decreased from 49.5 to 6.5, birth rate per 1000 people has decreased from 40 to 5.6 (see Fig 2) and that Korea’s total population, despite growing from 20.1 million to 51.83 million, has started to slow (see Fig 3).8 From this data, we can conclude that South Korea (and more specifically Seoul) falls under the category of Stage 4 of the five stages of Demographic Transition (see Fig 4).
There is no national religion in South Korea. While the two largest religions are Christianity (Protestant 19.7%, Catholic 7.9%) and Buddhism (15.5%), most of the national population does not observe a religion.7 Historically, multiple faiths have had a significant impact on Korean culture such as shamanism (the rites of which are still commonly practiced), Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, the last of which whose principles have been integrated into daily Korean life and relationships.10 Respect of elders, ancestors, and those with seniority (ex: economic status, job title, marital status) emphasized. The spirits of departed relatives are believed to remain present for a few generations and are still a part of the family and ancestral rites are performed on the anniversary of their deaths and significant holidays. Holidays follow the lunar calendar and have an emphasis on spending time with extended family in their ancestral hometown or at the home of the head of the family. Paying respect to elders, cooking and eating specific foods (a very important part of Korean culture), and wearing traditional dress all play an important role in celebration.
Traditional folk music, instruments, and dances are a large portion of the Korean arts and highly valued. Masked play and dance is one of the oldest forms of Korean performance called sandae and has been long performed by traveling professional troupes and local community groups alike. Since the turn of the century, the performance scene has been swept up by the k-pop industry popularized by artists like Rain, PSY, and the boyband BTS, extending their influence far past the boundaries of South Korea. Seoul is home to many important Korean artistic institutions such as the National Museum of Korea, containing many important cultural artifacts with other branches across the country; the National Museum of Contemporary Art at Kwach’ŏn, the largest collection of contemporary art in South Korea; the National Theatre which hosts four vastly different performance groups; the National Classical Music Institute, preserving folk music; and large orchestral groups such as the Korean National Symphony Orchestra and the Seoul Symphony Orchestra.11
Koreans are known for their love of sports and the outdoors. Seoul hosting the 1988 Summer Olympics boosted national pride and led to the construction of more sports and cultural facilities. The capital also hosts many, many parks across the city, and especially along the riverfront, including the Bukhansan National Park in the north of the city (see Seoul Asset Map).
National & Local Government
Much of South Korea’s national government is located in Seoul. South Korea’s government is a democratic republic made up of executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The State Council is the highest executive body in the country and is filled out by the president, the prime minister, the heads of executive ministries, and ministers without portfolio. The president is elected through a popular national vote to serve a single 5-year term. They serve as the head of government and the commander of the Korean armed forces. The prime minister is appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly and serves as a right-hand to the president with responsibilities including supervising ministries, serving as vice-chairperson of the Cabinet, and is the first in the order of succession should the president be deemed unable to carry out their duties.12 The National Assembly is the sole legislative body of South Korea and has 300 elected members that are chosen via both direct and indirect elections and serve for four year terms. The judicial branch is made up of the Supreme Court and a variety of smaller courts. The Supreme Court interprets the constitution and state laws and ensures the government isn’t breaking its own laws. It’s headed by the Chief Justice who is appointed by the president with approval of the National Assembly, and they assist the President in selecting the rest of the justices. All justices serve for 6 years with a required retirement age of 70 years for the Chief Justice and 65 years for the other justices.13
Local Seoul leadership is also split into branches: the executive Seoul Metropolitan Government and legislative Seoul Metropolitan Council. There are a variety of public offices under three tiers of administration, city, district, and neighborhood. In addition to a mayor for the city itself, each district has its own mayor, all serving for four year terms. Vice mayors and directors of various bureaus and offices work under each mayor. The neighborhood tier is used to specify resources needed by specific communities. The Seoul Metropolitan Council has over a hundred members mostly elected from their respective district to serve a four-year term and are headed by a chairman and two vice chairmen, all overseeing different legislative committees.14
Nine train lines with over 200 miles of light rail and suburban regional rail serving 7 million people a day. The trains connect to a robust bus system that starting in 2020 all run on electricity. The government actively incentivizes the use of public transport over private vehicles through providing free rides when air pollution levels get too high.19
Being a large city with a high population density, Seoul struggled with waste management until the introduction of the Gangnam Resource Recovery Facility (RRF). Through the incineration of waste, the city can create energy used to power neighborhood heating while minimizing further contributions to landfills, lowering carbon emissions and reliance on fossil fuels (see Fig 5).20
Economy & Natural Resources
Manufacturing has been a major economic sector in Seoul for some time. Since the late 1980s information technology and electronics industries have taken over the market from textiles (1980s) and chemicals (1970s). Other important current industries include food processing, beverage production, and publishing and printing.14 The service sector is also a large employer in Seoul, made up of trade corporations from around the world and financial and insurance companies to name a few. Headquarters for stock exchanges and banks can be found in downtown areas.
Electronic components became Seoul’s leading export industry, earning them more than $15 billion USD in 1988, up 40% from the previous year, as companies like Samsung, Lucky-Goldstar, and Hyundai began building other firms overseas in Europe.15 Thirty years later in 2022, South Korea’s five major exports by value (making up 38.8% of total revenue from exports) were electronic integrated circuits, refined petroleum oils, cars, automobile parts/accessories, and recorded media, demonstrating a consistent exportation of electronic components. From that list, South Korea is one of the top global exporters of electronic integrated circuits, cars, and refined oils, with the addition of mobile phones. South Korea also leads the world in the sale of cruise and cargo ships. South Korea also does their fair share of importing technology with their top five imports including mineral fuels (ex: oil); electrical machinery/equipment; machinery including computers; optical, technical, medical apparatus; and ores, slag, and ash.16
While South Korea’s primary natural resources from agricultural and mining sectors are produced outside of the capital, Seoul offers a lot of green spaces. Sustainable projects such as the removal of a highway to restore the Cheonggyecheon Stream have become some of Seoul’s most beloved and recommended places to visit.19 Its restoration included integrating water level and quality sensors and reduces yearly flooding and urban heat.20 The introduction of more green spaces is part of Seoul’s Comprehensive Plan for Climate Action (2022) to lower the overall temperature of the city and to provide more green resting areas for residents.21
Social Services
South Korea makes education highly accessible. From toddlers to young adults, children have public education options available to them free of charge. While preschool is not mandatory for Korean children, 90% of children 3-5 years old attend. Likely because of this, the national average of schooling from primary to tertiary education is 17 years.7 For universities and higher education, an emphasis has been placed by the government on creating public options and keeping any required tuition low. Scholarship programs have been expanded in recent years and government loans are also available for students.
Right after Korea’s liberation from Japan in 1945, the estimated adult literacy rate was only 22% with less than 2% enrolled in higher education. As of 2015, almost complete adult literacy has been reached with national rates of 98% to 100% with 93% enrollment in higher education. While classes are primarily taught in Korean, a growing emphasis on English-medium instruction (EMI) has been placed after the Korean government began to encourage colleges to teach courses in English in the 1990s.
Similar to many other parts of the world, South Korean schools were exclusively separated by sex until the 1980s. Over the past few decades, many new coeducational schools have been opened, but the normal single-sex education is still the dominant system. In Seoul’s education system, children are randomly assigned to either single-sex or coeducational schools, the latter of which makes up a third of the system.17
Universal healthcare is available in South Korea and is regarded as one of the top social security system models in the world. Medical fees for procedures are set by law with funds wired directly to hospitals. While the National Health Insurance is available for all residents, private healthcare is available for those who need additional coverage.18
Sustainable Policy
Current Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon is an environmental lawyer turned politician who is battling Seoul’s waste. In his Seoul Vision 2030 plan, Oh includes a zero waste project to reduce domestic waste. For example, food delivery in Seoul has increased sharply since the pandemic resulting in the use of 54 millions takeout containers per month in 2021. The city government teamed up with Yogiyo, a top delivery app, to start a pilot program with reusable steel takeout containers which later got launched with great success and support from the public which has encouraged other apps to hop on the bandwagon.22
In the more recently released Comprehensive Plan for Climate Action (2022), SMG has outlined more ambitious 2050 goals for the city such as cutting 35 million tons of CO2 emissions, a target 30% lower than 2005 levels. In order to achieve this, the SMG is targeting the two largest sectors responsible, transportation and buildings, which make up 88% of Seoul’s annually released (as of 2019) 4.6 millions tons of GHG. While the waste sector contributes 6.4%, buildings and transportation contribute 68.7% and 19.2% respectively.21
Updating out-of-date infrastructure to make it more energy efficient is the first priority. Old buildings will get their boilers replaced with eco-friendly ones by 2026 and new construction projects must be Zero Energy Buildings, with new building types required to participate phased in over the next few years (ex: floorplans over 100,000m2, public buildings). Renewable energy sources such as hydrothermal, geothermal, and fuel cells will be encouraged and the SMG is hoping to introduce a Ban on Fossil Fuel Energy Use in New Buildings to further increase their use from 4.2% in 2021 to 21% in 2030. For transportation, old combustion engines will be swapped out for electric vehicles (EVs) with an increase in charging stations to 220,000 by 2026. Delivery vehicles, motorcycles, and 12,000 taxis (around 20% of the entire force) will be converted to EVs as well and the number of public city buses, having already been converted, will be increased.21
Project Objectives
This project will include subsequent sections regarding Seoul’s air pollution and climate, water resources and accessibility of clean water, urban agriculture and nutrition, energy and transportation, and more in depth discussions about waste and its management. These will include an analysis of each topic through the lens of our working definition of sustainability which is as follows:
A practice, process, or entity is sustainable if its initiatives, actions, or impacts serve to meet the social and economic needs of present and future generations within planetary boundaries while ensuring:
- The extraction and use of resources in ways that maximize renewal, protect and restore the health of natural systems, preserve biodiversity, reduce pollution, support climate change mitigation and/or adaptation; and justly protects human health;
- Ethical economic development that promotes equitable opportunity and empowers rather than exploits people and the environment; and
- An elevated standard of human well-being that ensures basic human rights, and social justice for all people.
This is best achieved using an inclusive and transparent process that includes a diversity of stakeholders, considers the intersectional nature of sustainability, employs systems thinking, is based on the growing body of scientific information while considering traditional practices, empowers individual and collective action, and is assessed using measurable indicators.
Using this definition, I will be assessing the merits of Seoul’s sustainability policies and initiatives, the barriers that still stand in the way, and ways to improve them moving forward.
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12Prime Minister of South Korea. (2021, October 11). Wikipedia.
13South Korea – Labour and taxation. (n.d.). Encyclopædia Britannica.
14Seoul – Economy. (2019). Encyclopædia Britannica.
15South Korea – Industry. (n.d.). Countrystudies.us.
16Workman, D. (2021, February 18). South Korea’s Top 10 Exports. World’s Top Exports.
17Roach, E. (2018, October 16). Education in South Korea. WENR.
18Statista Research Department. (2024, February 2). Topic: Health care in South Korea. Statista.
19Seoul: A Megacity on a Human Scale. (2020, June 17). Webuildvalue.com.