Today, Seoul (officially, the Seoul Special City (서울특별시) is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea, forming the heart of the Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, the world's 15th largest city and fourth largest metropolitan area. It is home to over half of all South Koreans along with 678,102 international residents as of 2013.

Also, Seoul proper is noted for its population density (17,200 people per square kilometer), which is almost twice that of New York, four times higher than Los Angeles, and eight times greater than Rome. Its metropolitan area was the most densely populated in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) in Asia in 2012, and second worldwide after that of Paris.

Now, highly urbanized at 92%, South Koreans lead a distinctive urban lifestyle. Over half of the people live in high-rises that are concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area. Also, with 25 million residents who live in the world's sixth leading global city, Seoul has the fourth largest economy and is now the seventh most sustainable city in the world.

Seoul is today considered a leading and rising global city, resulting from an economic boom called the Miracle on the Han River which transformed it to the world's 4th largest metropolitan economy with over 900 billion U.S. dollars.

More Info: worldpopulationreview.com