Seoul, officially Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. It forms the heart of the Seoul Capital Area, which also includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi Province. Considered a global city and rated as an Alpha city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC), Seoul was the world's fourth-largest metropolitan economy in 2014, following Tokyo, New York City, and Los Angeles.
Seoul was the capital of various Korean states, including Baekje, Joseon, the Korean Empire, Goryeo (as a secondary capital), and presently South Korea. It is strategically located along the Han River. Seoul's history stretches back over two thousand years, when it was founded in 18 BC by the people of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. The city was later designated the capital of Korea under the Joseon dynasty. The city was ringed by the Fortress Wall of Seoul during the Joseon period. The Empire of Japan occupied Seoul from 1910 to 1945 and renamed it "Gyeongseong." During the Korean War (1950-1953), Seoul saw fierce fighting and changed hands four times, leaving the city mostly destroyed. Seoul has since been rebuilt and rapidly urbanized.