Namsan Tower

The N Seoul Tower, (Hangul: N서울타워; hanja: 首爾塔), officially the YTN Seoul Tower 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. It marks the highest point in Seoul.

Built in 1969, and at a cost of approximately $2.5 million, the tower was opened to the public in 1980. Seoul Tower was completed on December 3, 1971, designed by architects jangjongryul, with not inside the facility being equipped. By August 1975, the third floor of the observatory room, museum, open hall, souvenir shop, in addition to other facilities, were open. After completion of the tower, the use of the observatory was prohibited. The tower was open to the public for the first time on October 15, 1980. Since then, the tower has been a landmark of Seoul. It measures 236.7 m (777 ft) in height from the base and tops out at 479.7 m (1,574 ft) above sea level.

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.

Many visitors ride the Namsan cable car up the mountain and then walk to the tower. The tower features a gift shop and restaurants on the ground floor. Visitors may go up the tower for a fee. 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.

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. 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.

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 is their favorite activity in Seoul. 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.