The Seoul Metropolitan City has created its new emblem in order to show the bright future of the capital city of the Republic of Korea, which will be developing to a leading world city in the era of localization in the 21st century.
  The new emblem has been used since Oct. 28, 1996 instead of the old one that had represented the city since 1947.
  The new emblem figures the Korean letters, Seoul, into mountains, sun and the Han River of Seoul, and symbolizes in general the look of a man in the merry mood.
  Thus, it symbolizes Seoul tilting toward a human-oriented city. In the context of nature, human and city, the green mountain means love of environment, blue Han River signifying history and vitality, and the sun in the center stands for future and vision.
  The emblem was designed on the basis of the national roots, so that it can become the symbol of opening today and tomorrow of Seoul. The basic idea for the design stems from ?? and drawings by two prominent painters of the Chosun Dynasty (1392-1910) "Mokmyokchodon" by "Kyomjae" Chong son and "Mudong(dancing boy)" by "Tanwon" Kim Hong-do.
  Designed using natural brush strokes, the cuddly mascot tiger Wangbomi was born in February 19, 1998. It represents the proud citizen of Seoul with a strong spirit, open mind, lofty ideal, and light heart. Taking its image from a tiger character in Korean folktales, the mascot is also a good match for the official city emblem.
  "Wangbomi" is a compound noun made up of "wang" (king, chief, head, or very big), "bom" (tiger), and "-i" (a noun-derivational suffix). The big-eyed tiger's name best befits the image of Seoul, a global city as well as the capital and the largest city in Korea.