Seoul is the capital and one of the largest cities in the Republic of Korea, located on the banks of the Han River and is surrounded by hills. History of Seoul counts many centuries. The city’s name was changed very often: Hansangzhu, Hanyan, Yanju, Namchёn (Southern Capital). In 1394 the founder of the Ly Dynasty chose Hanyan (now Seoul) as the capital of their state. In the city a lot of beautiful palaces and 18-kilometer-long city wall were built. During the Korean War in the mid-twentieth century Seoul twice got into the hands of the North Korean and Chinese troops. As a result of this fighting the city was almost destroyed. After the war, Seoul was quickly rebuilt and it became a political and economic center of the country again.
Seoul – it is a combination of ancient and modern, skyscrapers and pagodas. Masterpieces of ancient architecture are the national Great South Gate (Namdaemun) and the Great East Gate (Dongdaemun), which served not so long ago as the entrance to the city; their opening and closing were accompanied by bells ringing.
There are a lot of historical and architectural monuments in Seoul. Let’s introduce them. Royal palaces are the main architectural monuments in Seoul. 
Gyeongbokgung Palace (Palace of brilliant happiness) was built in 1394. In 1592 during the invasion of the Japanese, it was destroyed and rebuilt only in 1868. On the territory of the palace on the general area of 16 hectares several buildings were located, each of which had its purpose: Tron Chamber banquet hall, private rooms of the royal family. Now the territory of this palace is occupied by National and Ethnographic Museums of Korea. Here collected from the whole country stone pagodas and monuments are exhibited.
Changdeokgung Palace (Palace of the celebrated virtues) served as the official residence of the king until 1910. The part of the palace complex is the park Pivon (“forbidden”), which used to have access only for royal family members. Changёn Palace (Palace of delicious bliss) borders on the eastern part of the park Pivon. Next to the palace is situated the royal tomb Chonme; the stone steles to memorialize 18 Korean kings are kept in two pavilions.
Buddhist temples of the capital Pongvonsa, Ponynsa, sanctuary Munmu in Confucian Academy are of great interest of Seoul tourists.
Modern landmark of Seoul is Golden tower 262 m high located on the island Yoido. It is one of the tallest buildings in Asia. At the top of the tower is an observation deck, which offers views of Seoul and its surroundings and beautiful sceneries of the Yellow Sea. The tower has an aquarium, which contains more than 20 thousand representatives of marine life.