Coming from the relatively flat and sparsely populated Midwest, it has been quite the change living in Seoul. Roughly half the size of Nebraska, the country of South Korea seems so small. However, when we compare populations, they aren't even close! A quick search says the population in the entire state of Nebraska is about 2 million people. South Korea? A little over 50 million, and roughly 10 million of those people are just in Seoul.
Besides an incredibly dense population, South Korea is a small peninsula. To the west and south there are some plains, but where I live up north, it is all rolling hills and mountains. This was a big change from what I'm used to in flat Illinois! So how can a tiny country with a huge population live and grow in such a rough and limiting environment?
I think the difficult topography (the natural and artificial physical features of an area) of Seoul has forced its inhabitants to become flexible about population and industry growth. Limited space for such a large population means you have to get creative when you want to build something new. Houses and apartments are MUCH smaller than what we are used to in the US.This, in part, helps make Seoul such a bustling city.
