SEOUL THE CAPITAL ” korean story”

Seoul is the main city of Korea. It is the place where the king lives and where most important work of the country happens. Many officers keep a house there because they often need to visit the capital.

The city is surrounded by tall mountains, and a big stone wall runs over those mountains to protect the city. Around 3 lakh people live there.

Inside Seoul, there are some wide roads, but most streets are small and narrow. This happened because shopkeepers slowly built tiny huts on the roads, making the streets crooked. Even though the streets look dirty or messy, the city stays healthy because rainwater drains very well.

From outside, houses may look simple or broken, but inside many of them are very beautiful, with small lakes, gardens, and old trees. Travellers often judge the city by its smell and dirty streets, but there is much more to see if one looks carefully.

uring the day, you mostly see men on the streets. Women cover their faces with a green gown when they go out. Men wear tall black hats made of horsehair. Long ago, kings forced men to wear huge clay hats to stop secret meetings, and over time these hats became lighter and smaller.

Most Koreans wear white clothes because white was the color of mourning. When many kings died one after another, people had to keep changing clothes, so they finally decided to wear white all the time.

Inside the palace, however, the king and his ministers work at night under bright electric lights. On faraway mountains, watchmen light signal fires to tell whether the country is safe.

The palace is huge, with lakes, bridges, and thousands of workers. The king rarely goes outside. But when he does, the whole city prepares. Streets are cleaned, people dress nicely, and a long, colorful procession moves through the city with soldiers, officials, and the king carried in a grand chair.

At night, the city becomes very quiet. A big bell rings and the gates of the city close. Only women walk outside at night with paper lanterns. A common night sound is the rhythmic tapping of women beating clothes to make them smooth and shiny.

The king is kind, intelligent, and tries to stay updated by having newspapers translated for him. But because he lives so protected inside the palace, he depends a lot on his close advisors.

This is Seoul—a city full of traditions, old customs, beautiful hidden places, and a mixture of ancient life and modern changes.