Seoul, the capital and largest city of South Korea, anchors a metropolitan area that was the world's sixth-largest economy in 2022 and houses over half of the nation's population, though its own residents have declined to about 9.6 million since peaking in 2014. Founded in 18 BC by the Baekje kingdom and later the capital of the Joseon dynasty, the city was renamed "Keijō" under Japanese occupation and left in ruins after changing hands four times during the Korean War, but it has since undergone dramatic reconstruction. While the administrative capital has partially shifted to the planned city of Sejong (opened 2012), the Constitutional Court ruled in 2004 that Seoul must remain the national capital. Rated Asia's most livable city in 2015 with a GDP per capita of ~$40,000, Seoul hosts 15 Fortune Global 500 companies like Samsung and LG, and has staged major events including the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 2010 G20 summit. Set in mountainous terrain with five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the city blends historic landmarks with modern icons like the Lotte World Tower and serves as the global epicenter of K-pop and the Korean Wave. The name "Seoul" itself derives from the ancient Silla capital Seorabeol, meaning "capital city" in native Korean.