Uploaded on 2014-10-19 by anamenino

[1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1413735314305524.jpg I decided to share this picture with all of you for two main reasons. I took this picture on my first business trip to Seoul. Even though working in Japan, I knew little about the Seoul architecture ad history. But I was clearly expecting to find traditional architecture made out of wood and adobe/bricks. Or at least, I was expecting to find some of these traditiona architecture. All I found were concrete buildings and more concrete buildings - what in Germany they call "Plattenbau". What first came to mind was exactly what it was explained on these weekly videos. However, it seems to me that there's anotehr reason. After the Korean war, South Korea was compeltely devastated. It was necessary to build a lot of houses for all the Koreans. So why not use their traditional construction method? The country was completely devastated and there were no trees left. Without trees, you have no wood to build a wooden structure. The second reason was the "westernization" of South Korea. After the war ended, some countries like Asutralia and USA remained in Korea as military observers. Even today, the U.S. still maintains a heavy military presence in Korea. I believe that this was also a huge influence on the rebuilding of Seoul and possibily all the South Korean cities.