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KOREA


Korea, called Hanguk (Korean: 한국; Hanja: 韓國) or Daehan (Korean: 대한;Hanja: 大韓) in South Korea and Chosŏn
(Korean: 조선; Hanja: 朝鮮) in North Korea, is an East Asian territory that is divided into two distinct sovereign states: North Korea, formally
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and South Korea, formally the Republic of Korea (ROK).


SEOUL
 Seoul (서울; Korean) officially the Seoul Special City – 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 14th largest city and fourth largest metropolitan area with over 25.6 million people.[5] It is home to over half of all South Koreans along with 678,102 international residents.

NAMSAN SEOUL TOWER
THE NAME
The N Seoul Tower (Hangul: N서울타워), officially the YTN Seoul Tower and commonly known as the Namsan Tower or Seoul Tower, is a communication and observation tower located on Namsan Mountain in central Seoul, South Korea. At 236m, it marks the highest point in Seoul. Built in 1971, the N Seoul Tower is Korea's first general radio wave tower, providing TV and radio broadcasting in Seoul. Currently, the tower broadcasts signals for Korean media outlets, such as KBS, MBC and SBS

NAMSAN'S HISTORY
Built in 1969, and at a cost of approximately 2.5 million USD, the tower was opened to the public in 1980. Seoul Tower was completed on December 3, 1971, designed by architects at Jangjongryul though at the time the facility interior was not furnished. It took until August 1975, for the third floor of the observatory deck, museum, open hall, souvenir shop, in addition to bring the other facilities to completion. Since then, the tower has been a landmark of Seoul. Tower elevation ranges from 236.7 m (777 ft) at the base to 479.7 m (1,574 ft) above sea level. Seoul Tower had its name changed to N Seoul Tower in 2005 whereas the "N" stands for 'new', 'Namsan', and 'nature.' Approximately 15 billion KRW was spent in renovating and remodeling the tower. When N Seoul Tower's original owner merged with CJ Corporation, it was renamed the N Seoul Tower (official name CJ Seoul Tower). It has also been known as the Namsan Tower or Seoul Tower. It is also Korea's first general radio wave tower that holds transmissions antennas of KBS, MBC, SBS TV, FM, PBC, TBS, CBS, and BBS FM. Seoul Tower chosen to worldwide travel expert evaluation and reader preferences is registered the world's 500 attractions in research.

FLOORS AND AMENITIES
Plaza P0/B1 (Lobby):  Entrance to Observatory, Information Desk, Alive Museum, Cafe, Children's Theater, Nursing room
Plaza P1 :Ticket booth, Food Court, Light Garden, Grass Terrace, Souvenir Shop, Characters & Photos
Plaza P2 :Restaurant, Roof Terrace, Cafe
Tower T1 :Korean Restaurant "Hancook"
Tower T2 :Analogue Observatory, The Wishing Pond, Sky Restroom, Sky Coffee, Photo Studio
Tower T3 :Digital Observatory, Shocking Edge and Digital High-powered Telescope , Gift shop
Tower T5 :A revolving restaurant		THE ATTRACTIONS

Many visitors ride the Namsan cable car up the Mt. Namsan to walk to the tower. The tower is renowned as a national landmark, and for its cityscape. The 236.7 m (777 ft) tower sits on the Namsan mountain (243m or 797 ft). It attracts thousands of tourists and locals every year, especially during nighttime when the tower lights up. Photographers enjoy the panoramic view the tower offers. Each year, approximately 8.4 million visit the N Seoul Tower, which is surrounded by many other attractions South Korea offers, including Namsan Park and Namsangol Hanok Village.

 The N Lobby holds the N Gift, N Sweetbar, BH Style, the Alive Museum, Memshot, Nursing Room, Information booth, a cafe, and entrance to observatory. N Plaza has two floors. The first floor includes the ticket booth, N Terrace, N Gift and a burger shop. The second floor houses the Place Dining, an Italian restaurant, and the Roof Terrace where the "Locks of Love" can be found.

 In 2008, the Teddy Bear Museum was open at the Tower, with a 7-metre Christmas tree made with 300 teddy bears to celebrate the opening. It showcases teddy bears in the past, present, and future of Seoul, as well as teddy bears models in Seoul attractions, such as the Cheonggyecheon Stream, Myeongdong, Insadong, and Dongdaemun.

 In a poll of nearly 2,000 foreign visitors, conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in November 2011, 16 percent stated that hanging named padlocks on the Tower fence as a symbol of love was their favorite activity in Seoul. This attraction is situated on the 2nd floor of the N Plaza, at the Roof Terrace. The "Locks of Love" is a popular location for people to hang locks that symbolize eternal love, and has been depicted in many Korean television shows, dramas, and movies for this reason.

LOVE LOCK
A love lock or love padlock is a padlock which sweethearts lock to a bridge, fence, gate, or similar public fixture to symbolize their love.Typically the sweethearts' names or initials are inscribed on the padlock, and its key is thrown away to symbolize unbreakable love. Since the 2000s, love locks have proliferated at an increasing number of locations worldwide. They are now mostly treated by municipal authorities as litter or vandalism, and there is some cost to their removal. However, there are authorities who embrace them, and who use them as fundraising projects or tourism attractions.