9月21日，朴元淳市长与乌兰巴托市长Erdene Bat-Uul进行了亲切会谈，这也是朴市长此次访问蒙古国的首个行程。当前为解决基础设施不足和城市盲目开发的问题，乌兰巴托市正在制定总体规划，朴市长承诺会积极分享首尔市先进的城市化经验和优秀的政策。 乌兰巴托市长指出迅猛发展的城市化引发不少城市问题，首尔市有着解决这些问题并在此基础上发展的优秀经验，他希望首尔市能够帮助乌兰巴托制定有益的发展构想。 此次朴市长积极促成12个民间企业与他共同出访乌兰巴托，正是由于今年5月乌兰巴托市长访问首尔时曾表示，希望可以在朴市长访问乌兰巴托时学习首尔的良好政策。 首尔市1995年与乌兰巴托市正式缔结友好城市关系，期间两市的密切合作主要体现在文化和环境领域，今后有望更多地通过传授优秀经验和政策等，加强更具实质利益的交流与合作。 朴元淳市长指出，“就像蒙古那句‘聚水成海’的谚语一样，首尔和乌兰巴托在过去的20年间结成了深厚的情谊。正值今年韩蒙建交25周年，首尔与乌兰巴托缔结友好城市关系20周年之际，希望首尔与乌兰巴托的交流能够更上一个台阶。”

今年既是韩蒙建交25周年的一年，同时也是首尔与乌兰巴托缔结姊妹城市关系20周年。为了纪念如此有意义的一年，朴元淳市长将于2015年9月20日~23日到蒙古进行为期4天3夜的访问。这也是对今年5月份乌兰巴托市长Erdene Bat-Uul访问首尔的回访。首尔市将通过本次访问，进一步巩固两座城市维系了20年的深厚友情，并更好地推动经济方面的互利共赢式发展。 乌兰巴托目前处于快速城市化进程中，所以非常希望能够学到成就“汉江奇迹”的首尔的城市建设与开发经验。用交通卡结算交通费的首尔市交通卡系统已出口到内蒙，今年7月已正式投入使用。 本次行程中，朴元淳市长将与乌兰巴托市长会见，交流智能城市、环境、防灾、城市规划等旨在推动城市建设的政策制定及加强事业推进力度等，并将发布有关政策共享的共同宣言。 朴元淳市长除了与乌兰巴托进行交流和加强合作之外，还将参加蒙古外务部举办的“第2届东北亚市长论坛”，并会晤蒙古总统Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj等，进一步提升首尔作为东北亚领军城市的形象。 朴元淳首尔市长表示“就像不断挑战与沟通的游牧精神成就了蒙古大帝国一样，希望首尔与蒙古能够通过持续的沟通与交流，推动城市乃至整个亚洲的发展。”

从2016年4月份开始，首尔市将把1662个地铁站出入口与世宗大路等5条八车道以上马路追加纳入禁烟区。地铁站出入口方圆10米以内，以及八车道以上马路的两边步行道上均禁止吸烟。 首尔市从2015年1月起把市区内所有餐厅指定为禁烟区，以后还将扩大户外禁烟区的范围，为此，首尔市计划重新制订关于室内外禁烟区的整顿方案，并从2016年4月起开始执行。 首尔市从2012年开始执行的室内禁烟措施得到了广大市民的热烈响应，加上行政力度进一步加强，如今该政策已落地生根。因此，首尔市今后将把禁烟政策焦点放在大众利用率较高的户外设施上面。今年主要整顿路边公交车站与学校周边环境，2016年将整顿地铁出入口与主要街道。 目前包括机关办公楼、网吧、餐厅等室内大众便利设施，以及路边公交车站、托儿所与幼儿园周围及城市公园等共23万4244个地方被指定为禁烟区。据统计，最近三年室内禁烟区规模扩大了3倍之多。

延南洞胡同街位于首尔东部，近来以其独特的魅力深受人们的喜爱。这里商店与餐厅的店面租金比附近的弘大或新村便宜，店主们纷纷推出独具特色的美食与琳琅满目的商品。要想充分感受街头与胡同里热火朝天的氛围，最好晚上早点光顾。特别要推荐的是木偶奇遇记书吧和LIBRE咖啡厅。

Halfway across Yanghwadaegyo Bridge, which connects Hapjeong-dong and Dangsan-dong, there is a park floating on the river like a huge ship. Once the site of a water purification plant that supplied drinking water to the southwestern district of Seoul, when it was closed, the plant was reborn as Seonyudo Park, an ecological space on the...   Read more

Ham Seok-heon’s House in Ssangmun-dong, Dobong-gu, will open its doors in September to serve as a memorial hall. After a year of remodeling, the old house where Ham once lived has been modified into an exhibition room and various spaces for citizens, while preserving as much of its original form as possible. The memorial hall...   Read more

Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, with a total length of 5.7 kilometers and spanning an area of 1.2 square meters, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is the masterpiece of King Jeongjo of the Joseon Dynasty and features dozens of facilities, including four gates, especially Paldalmun Gate. Near Hwahongmun Gate, north of Hwaseong, there remain the...   Read more

Trekkers down from Inwangsan Mountain or tourists to Bukchon often visit this famous spot in Hwa-dong, Jongno-gu. It was the location of Kyunggi High School, the most renowned school for elite students in the 1980s, and became Jeongdok Public Library when the school moved to Gangnam. It is also the scene depicted in Inwangjesaekdo (“After...   Read more

During Korea’s modernization period, the street in front of Incheon’s Jung-gu Office was the center of Japanese leased territory. Shaped like a grid, the street was also the center of Japanese finance in Incheon. In front of the old Japanese consulate (presently Jung-gu Office), there were three private banks. The numbers attached to the banks...   Read more

If you walk from Tapgol Park through the small alleys toward the entrance of Insa-dong, you will find Seungdong Church, which was a main building in the area before the street became known as Insa-dong. Though it is now overshadowed by skyscrapers, it was once a magnificent monument erected against the backdrop of Bukhansan Mountain....   Read more

On a desolate mountain road in Banghak-dong, Dobong-gu, where the Bukhansan Mountain trail begins, there sits Gansong Jeon Hyeong-pil House, the restoration of which has been underway since it was designated as a registered cultural property in 2012. After his uncle, who had raised him, died, Gansong built a tomb near the house and continued...   Read more

The Catholic Medical Center was opened in 1936 with 25 beds in a wooden two-story building, and three years later, it was renamed “Myeongdong St. Mary’s Hospital.” It is now called the Catholic Center and is located at the intersection of Samil-ro and Myeongdong-gil, a street bustling with 1.5 million people every day. The initial...   Read more