With North Korea almost constantly being in the news I thought that I'd give this post a bit of a twist. I will Contrast the two capitals and make a final judgement on which one should be the nation's capital if and when they unify. Pyongyang is the capital of the generally poorer and communist north, whereas Seoul is the capital of the richer and capitalist south.
Population wise both cities are the largest in their region. Pyongyang has a population of almost 3,500,000 in a country with a population of 23,000,000. Whereas Seoul is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of about 10,500,000 in a country with a population of 48,000,000. Pyongyang is in a larger country area wise and both are located close to the border, so it would be slightly more central and accessible to those in remote mountainous areas. However London, like Seoul, is the UK's largest city and imagine the uproar if they moved parliament to Birmingham (as well as Seoul being more central than Birmingham) and for that reason round 1 goes to Seoul.
It does seem a bit stupid to have a round on economics, but I will make points anyway. Seoul is renowned for its 'miracle on the Han river' when its financial centre saw the South Korean economy grow from 0 after the Korean war to $1 trillion+. Seoul is the tenth most important business centre in the world and the over GDP is in excess of $200bn. Its economy is driven by banking (Deutsche Bank) and hi-tech industries (Samsung), so has obviously been hit pretty hard by the recession. The infrastructure of the city is world class with an underground and more broadband connections than anywhere else in the world, which is in contrast to Pyongyang which has no worldwide internet connection. Pyongyang's economy is self-sufficient and is mainly concentrated on state run heavy industries, such as tool making. Famine and financial crisis are common, but the recent nuclear tests shows North Korea's determination to become as developed as its southerly neighbour. Unsurprisingly I have awarded round 2 to Seoul.
The final round is based on culture. There are many stereotypes about Korean culture, mainly involving dog meat, but both cities are very different. Seoul is much like Tokyo in the sense that its an east meets west culture shock. However it keeps to its Korean traditions with 5 grand palaces and original city walls. It has Korea's national museum and the Bukchon Hanok Village where original Korean housing still stands (being a cynic you could see this all over Pyongyang). Perhaps its clincher is the major sports events it has held. The 1988 Summer Olympics were held here in the Olympic stadium and the opening ceremony and a semi final of the 2002 FIFA World Cup was held in its atmospheric football stadium. Pyongyang, does however, provide sterner competition than in the previous two rounds. Despite there being unwanted sites of historic Korea there are far more traditional sites than in Seoul. However the entire centre of Pyongyang is quite chilling with huge monuments and the 330m hotel that is yet to be opened (making it the world's largest unopened structure). Another modern wonder is the world's largest stadium. Home to athletics and the national football team it is more than double the capacity of any stadium in South Korea at 150,000 and is one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. The Tomb of King Dongmyeyong is perhaps the most impressive site in the whole of Korea and it is after all the country's traditional capital and held that post until the war. I'm going to go a bit soft and call this a draw, as they both have a lot of positives.
Overall Seoul is the obvious choice, because of its far greater population and its links have been firmly rooted into the wider world, whereas Pyongyang's haven't at all.
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