N Seoul Tower

YTN Seoul Tower
The N Seoul Tower in Seoul, South Korea, on March 9, 2006.
Location within Seoul
Alternative names	N Seoul Tower, Namsan Tower, Seoul Tower
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Communication tower
Location	Seoul
Coordinates	37°33′5.13″N 126°59′16.80″E / 37.5514250°N 126.9880000°E / 37.5514250; 126.9880000Coordinates: 37°33′5.13″N 126°59′16.80″E / 37.5514250°N 126.9880000°E / 37.5514250; 126.9880000
Completed	1971

The N Seoul Tower (Hangul: N서울타워), officially the YTN Seoul Tower^[1] and commonly known as the Namsan Tower or Seoul Tower, is a communication and observation tower located on Namsan Mountain in central Seoul, South Korea. At 236m, it marks the highest point in Seoul.^[2]

Built in 1971, the N Seoul Tower is Korea's first general radio wave tower, providing TV and radio broadcasting in Seoul.^[3] Currently, the tower broadcasts signals for Korean media outlets, such as KBS, MBC and SBS.

History

Built in 1969, and at a cost of approximately 2.5 million USD, the tower was opened to the public in 1980. Seoul Tower was completed on December 3, 1971, designed by architects at Jangjongryul though at the time the facility interior was not furnished. It took until August 1975, for the third floor of the observatory deck, museum, open hall, souvenir shop, in addition to bring the other facilities to completion. However, despite finalization of tower construction, the observatory was closed to the public until October 15, 1980. Since then, the tower has been a landmark of Seoul. Tower elevation ranges from 236.7 m (777 ft) at the base to 479.7 m (1,574 ft) above sea level. Seoul Tower had its name changed to N Seoul Tower in 2005 whereas the "N" stands for 'new', 'Namsan', and 'nature.' Approximately 15 billion KRW was spent in renovating and remodeling the tower.^[4][5]

When N Seoul Tower's original owner merged with CJ Corporation, it was renamed the N Seoul Tower (official name CJ Seoul Tower). It has also been known as the Namsan Tower or Seoul Tower. It is also Korea's first general radio wave tower that holds transmissions antennas of KBS, MBC, SBS TV, FM, PBC, TBS, CBS, and BBS FM.^[6] Seoul Tower chosen to worldwide travel expert evaluation and reader preferences is registered the world's 500 attractions in research. ^[7]

Floors & Amenities

Plaza P0/B1 (Lobby): Entrance to Observatory, Information Desk, Alive Museum, Cafe, Children's Theater, Nursing room

Plaza P1 - Ticket booth, Food Court, Light Garden, Grass Terrace, Souvenir Shop, Characters & Photos

Plaza P2 - Restaurant, Roof Terrace, Cafe

Tower T1 - Korean Restaurant "Hancook"

Tower T2 - Analogue Observatory, The Wishing Pond, Sky Restroom, Sky Coffee, Photo Studio

Tower T3 - Digital Observatory, Shocking Edge and Digital High-powered Telescope , Gift shop

Tower T5 - A revolving restaurant^[8]

Attractions

Many visitors ride the Namsan cable car up the Mt. Namsan to walk to the tower. The tower is renowned as a national landmark, and for its cityscape. The 236.7 m (777 ft) tower sits on the Namsan mountain (243m or 797 ft). It attracts thousands of tourists and locals every year, especially during nighttime when the tower lights up. Photographers enjoy the panoramic view the tower offers. Each year, approximately 8.4 million visit the N Seoul Tower, which is surrounded by many other attractions South Korea offers, including Namsan Park and Namsangol Hanok Village.^[9] Visitors may go up the tower for a fee that differs for the following groups: children, elderly and teenagers, and adults. Rates differ for each package and group size. The N Seoul Tower is divided into three main parts, including the N Lobby, N Plaza, and the N Tower. The N Plaza consists of two floors, while the N Tower includes four floors.

The N Lobby holds the N Gift, N Sweetbar, BH Style, the Alive Museum, Memshot, Nursing Room, Information booth, a cafe, and entrance to observatory. N Plaza has two floors. The first floor includes the ticket booth, N Terrace, N Gift and a burger shop. The second floor houses the Place Dining, an Italian restaurant, and the Roof Terrace where the "Locks of Love" can be found. The N Tower has four floors: 1F, 2F, 3F, and 5F (most buildings in Korea avoid having fourth floors).^[10] There are four observation decks (the 4th observation deck, which is the revolving restaurant, rotates at a rate of one revolution every 48 minutes), as well as gift shops and two restaurants. Most of the city of Seoul can be seen from the top. Close to N Seoul Tower is a second lattice transmission tower. The tower offers a digital observatory with a 360° panoramic view that showcases Korea's history through 32 LCD screens. This is located on the third floor of the N Tower.^[11]

In 2008, the Teddy Bear Museum was open at the Tower, with a 7-metre Christmas tree made with 300 teddy bears to celebrate the opening.^[12] It showcases teddy bears in the past, present, and future of Seoul, as well as teddy bears models in Seoul attractions, such as the Cheonggyecheon Stream, Myeongdong, Insadong, and Dongdaemun.^[13]

In a poll of nearly 2,000 foreign visitors, conducted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in November 2011, 16 percent stated that hanging named padlocks on the Tower fence as a symbol of love was their favorite activity in Seoul.^[14] This attraction is situated on the 2nd floor of the N Plaza, at the Roof Terrace. The "Locks of Love" is a popular location for people to hang locks that symbolize eternal love, and has been depicted in many Korean television shows, dramas, and movies for this reason.^[15]

The N Tower also holds many other attractions, including the digital observatory and the Wishing Pond. The Wishing Pond can be found on the second floor of the tower, where people throw coins into the pond wishing for eternal love. The coins are collected and donated to help develop schools in China and Southeast Asia.^[16] On the third floor, the newly designed observatory, renovated in 2011, can be found. The observatory not only offers the 360° view of the city, but also exhibits 600 years of Korean history through 36 LCD screens. The fifth floor houses a French restaurant known as N Grill.

The Tower is illuminated in blue from sunset to 23:00 (22:00 in winter) on days where the air quality in Seoul is 45 or less. During the spring of 2012, the Tower was lit up for 52 days, which is four days more than in 2011.^[17] The tower uses the latest LED technology to offer visitors a digital, cultural art experience through 'light art.' ^[18] The N Seoul Tower puts on many different shows, including the "Reeds of Light" and "Shower of Light."

In 2012, surveys conducted by Seoul City revealed foreign tourists ranked the N Seoul Tower as the number one tourist attraction.^[19] The N Seoul Tower is now also a symbol of Seoul.

Panorama of Seoul from N Seoul Tower

Broadcasting use

N Seoul Tower is used as a radio/television broadcast and communications tower.

Television broadcasters

Radio broadcasters

Image gallery

• 

  Teddy Bear Museum entrance

• 

  Love padlock trees

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  A view of Seoul, South Korea from the N Seoul Tower.

• 

  Another view of Seoul, South Korea from N Seoul Tower

• 

  The Namsan cable car, which leads up to the N Seoul Tower.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to N Seoul Tower.

• List of towers
• List of Korea-related topics
• YTN Group

References

External links

• N Seoul Tower official website (Korean)
• N Seoul Tower : Official Seoul City Tourism
• Seoul Tower at Structurae