Seoul

==Toponomy==
{{main|Names of Seoul}}
The city has been known in the past by the names [[Wiryeseong]] ({{Korean|labels=no |위례성|慰禮城}}, during the [[Baekje]] era), Bukhansangun (북한산군; 北漢山郡 during the [[Goguryeo]] era), Namcheon ({{Korean|labels=no |남천|南川}},<ref name="Jinheung Taewang Stele Seoul"/> during the [[Silla]] era), [[History of Seoul|Hanyang]] ({{Korean|labels=no |한양|漢陽}}, during the [[Northern and Southern States period]]), Namgyeong(남경; 南京, during [[Goryeo]] era), Hanseong ({{Korean|labels=no |한성|漢城}}, during the [[Joseon]] era), and [[Keijō]] ({{lang|ja|京城}}) or Gyeongseong ({{Korean|labels=no|경성|京城}}) during Japanese rule.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite encyclopedia|last1=Yu|first1=Woo-ik|last2=Lee|first2=Chan|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Seoul|title=Seoul|date=6 November 2019|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=4 July 2020|quote=The city was popularly called Seoul in Korean during both the [[Chosŏn]] (Yi) dynasty (1392–1910) and the period of Japanese rule (1910–45), although the official names in those periods were Hansŏng (Hanseong) and [[Kyŏngsŏng]] (Gyeongseong), respectively.|archive-date=9 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609191034/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/534948/Seoul|url-status=live}}</ref>

During [[Korea under Japanese rule|Japan's annexation of Korea]], ''Hanseong'' ({{lang|ko-Hant|漢城}}) was renamed {{Nihongo||京城|Keijō}} by the Imperial authorities to prevent confusion with the [[Hanja]] '{{lang|zh-hant|{{linktext|漢}}}}' (a transliteration of an ancient Korean word ''Han'' ({{lang|ko-Hang|한}}) meaning "great"), which also refers to Han people or the [[Han dynasty]] in Chinese and in Japanese is a term for "China".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pDZYDwAAQBAJ&q=Hanseong+was+renamed+to+Keij%C5%8D&pg=PT136|title=Eclipsed Cinema: The Film Culture of Colonial Korea|date=22 March 2017|isbn=9781474421829|last1=Kim|first1=Dong Hoon|access-date=21 November 2020|archive-date=14 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220714164921/https://books.google.com/books?id=pDZYDwAAQBAJ&q=Hanseong+was+renamed+to+Keij%C5%8D&pg=PT136|url-status=live}}</ref>

After [[World War II]] and the [[Surrender of Japan|liberation of Korea]], the city took its present name, which originated from the [[Korean language|Korean]] word meaning "capital city", which is believed to have descended from an ancient word, ''Seorabeol'' ({{Korean|서라벌|徐羅伐|labels=no}}), which originally referred to [[Gyeongju]], the capital of [[Silla]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uk.holidaysguide.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-221948-seoul_history-i|title=Yahoo holiday travel guide|publisher=Uk.holidaysguide.yahoo.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107185557/http://uk.holidaysguide.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-221948-seoul_history-i|archive-date=7 January 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ancient Gyeongju was also known in documents by the Chinese-style name ''Geumseong'' ({{lang|ko-Hant|金城}}, literally "Gold Castle or City" or "Metal Castle or City"), but it is unclear whether the native Korean-style name ''Seorabeol'' had the same meaning as ''Geumseong''.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}}

Unlike most place names in Korea, "Seoul" has no corresponding Hanja ([[Chinese characters]] used in the Korean language). On 18 January 2005, the Seoul government changed its official name in Chinese characters from the historic ''Hancheng'' ({{zh|t=漢城|s=汉城|p=Hànchéng}}) to ''Shou'er'' ({{zh|links=no|s=首尔|t=首爾|p=Shǒu'ěr|labels=no}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=104&oid=022&aid=0000126138 |script-title=ko:서울특별시표기 ''首爾''로...중국, 곧 정식 사용키로 :: 네이버 뉴스 |language=ko |publisher=[[Naver News]] |date=23 October 2005 |access-date=10 February 2012 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125042516/http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=104&oid=022&aid=0000126138 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://goodcharacters.com/newsletters/summer2006-seoul-korea.html|title=Chinese Naming Crisis Danger Opportunity Summer 2006 – Good Characters|last=Characters|first=Good|website=goodcharacters.com|access-date=18 November 2018|archive-date=30 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930195048/http://goodcharacters.com/newsletters/summer2006-seoul-korea.html|url-status=live}}</ref>