Seoul Sisters Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ankara, Turkey

Seoul and Ankara became sister cities in 1971. The largest city in Turkey is, of course, Istanbul (not Constantinople), which was the capital of the Ottoman Empire. With the establishment of the independent nation of Turkey in 1923, the new capital was set as Ankara, underlining the break with the past. Among the sites you might want to check out on a visit, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, first president of the Republic of Turkey, can be found atop Observation Hill.

The angora goat, bred in the region, gets its name from the city, and is the source for the lovely fibre mohair. Traditionally they were bred to have a white fleece, but in the 21st century there has been an increase in the breeding of goats colored in a range of tones on the grey-black scale, as well as some brown shades. The long silky fur of the angora rabbit, also developed in the area, is spun into angora, a textile much prized for its soft, fluffy texture.

Answer: Jakarta, Indonesia

Seoul and Jakarta became sister cities in 1984. The city has had a number of names over the years, starting with Sunda Kelapa when it was established as the major port on the northeast of Java in 397. In 1527 it was renamed Jayakarta (meaning complete victory) after the Portuguese were driven out in 1527. In 1619 the Dutch colonialists renamed it Batavia, while the Japanese designated it Djakarta when they took control of the city in 1942. Following World War II, Jakarta was declared the capital of the newly-independent nation of Indonesia. In 2019, it was announced that the capital is planned to move, because Jakarta is rapidly sinking, and experiences severe flooding every year. According to President Joko Widodo, construction of a new capital city on the island of Borneo was planned to start within a few years.

Jakarta's nickname is a reference to a local fruit which is renowned for its dreadful smell, although some people seem oblivious to the offensive components of the odor, and only note the sweet fruity part of it. Durians are large ovals (up to 30 cm in length and 15 cm in width) with a spiky skin and a scent which has been compared to raw sewage, a scent so strong that some luxury hotels have banned them because the lingering traces of their presence offend tourists for whom it is an unfamiliar odor. The Big Durian, with its reference to the more familiar Big Apple nickname for New York City, seems an appropriate nickname for this tropical beehive.

Answer: Moscow, Russia

Seoul and Moscow became sister cities in 1991. Moscow is thought to derive its name from the Moskva River, on which it stands. There have been people living in the area since the Neolithic Period, with a town definitely there by around 1100. From the end of the 13th century until the middle of the 16th century, when it was almost completely destroyed by the Crimean Tartars, it was the centre of power for the Duchy of Moscow. It was rebuilt, and became the capital of the Tsardom of Russia, until the capital was moved to St. Petersburg in 1712 by Peter the Great. After the Russian Revolution, Lenin moved the capital from Petrograd, as it was then called, back to Moscow, seeking a more defensible site for the capital should the country be invaded.

In Moscow, they say that all roads lead to Red Square. Or they would if they were familiar with the reference to Rome. It is certainly true that most of the city's major roads are connected to Red Square. There you will find the fabulous St Basil's Cathedral, with its famous onion-domed turrets, as well as the Kremlin, which was originally the fortified centre of the city and is now the residence of the President of Russia. Then there is the GUM department store and Lenin's mausoleum.

Answer: Ulaanbataar, Mongolia

Seoul and Ulaanbataar became sister cities in 1995. Ulaanbataar is situated at the confluence of the Tuul and Selenge Rivers, at a height of 1350 metres (4430 feet) above sea level. Its high elevation, combined with the fact that it is far away from any moderating influence of an ocean, means it is the coldest national capital in the world, with an annual average temperature just under 0C (32F). However, while winters are indeed icy, with overnight lows in January often around -40 degrees (the only temperature which has the same value on both Centigrade and Fahrenheit temperature scales), the summers are, for a short time, quite warm. Summer maxima above 38C (100F) have been recorded.

Starting in 1639, when the yurt monastery was established, not only did the settlement move around the place, it also had a number of names, mostly referring to it in some way as being an important settlement or palace. It stopped travelling in 1778. In 1911 it was designated the Capital Camp, as the capital of the newly-independent nation. With the establishment of the Mongolian People's Republic in 1924, the name was changed to Ulaanbataar, meaning Red Hero.

Answer: Hanoi, Vietnam

Seoul and Hanoi became sister cities in 1996. Founded as Thăng Long in 1010 as the capital of the Later Lư Dynasty, it was the major city of Vietnam until the Nguyễn dynasty moved the capital to Huế. Renamed Hanoi, it became the administrative centre of French Indochina. Following independence, it was named the capital of the People's Republic of Vietnam, while Saigon was made the capital of the southern part, which remained part of the French Empire. After reunification in 1975, Saigon was renamed Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi was made the capital of the entire country.

During the colonial period, the French (as was their common practice) put a lot of effort into transforming Hanoi to make it look more French. This can still be seen in the wide avenues and buildings such as the Hanoi Opera House. Other buildings, such as the National Museum of Vietnamese History, show a blend of European and traditional Vietnamese influences. During the 21st century there has been a dramatic increase in the number of skyscrapers, needed to support the city's rapid economic growth, but the older buildings have mostly been left intact, with development occurring around them.

Answer: Warsaw, Poland

Seoul and Warsaw became sister cities in 1996. Being in the centre of a country which has historically been hotly contested by various rules due to its strategic location, Warsaw has been the main city for a number of different ruling groups, but not always the capital. Krakow was capital from 1038 until 1596.

Warsaw was said to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe before World War II, but the war years dealt harshly with the city. In 1939 it was extensively bombed in advance of the German invasion and the siege of Warsaw. Warsaw was the site of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943, in protest against the deportation of Jews to concentration camps. This led to the destruction of the Ghetto area of the city in reprisal. Then came a more general uprising of the citizens in 1944, which not only involved extensive damage as fighting raged through the city, but also led to the Germans systematically destroying the city before it was captured by the Russians in 1945.

Answer: Cairo, Egypt

Seoul and Cairo became sister cities in 1997. Modern Cairo was founded in 969, but there were earlier versions of the city, capital of some pharaohs and other rulers of the Nile delta. The city's official name is 'al-Qāhirah', Arabic for the conqueror. Cairo is easily the largest city in Africa, and in the Arab League. And then there are the tourists - everyone who wants to see the Great Pyramid and/or the Sphinx passes through, as does anyone interested in visiting the ancient capital of Memphis.

The Arab League, formed in Cairo in 22 March 1945, was established to form a group of nations working together to promote Arab interests in the world as boundaries were being redrawn in the wake of World War II. The original members were Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan (which became known as Jordan in 1949), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Syria. Yemen joined a few months later. By the end of the 20th century, it had expanded to have 22 members, with other African and middle-Eastern nations joining the league as they gained independence.

Answer: Rome, Italy

Seoul and Rome became sister cities in 2000. According to Roman mythology, the city was founded by Romulus and Remus (more precisely, Romulus after he and his twin brother disagreed about the best site) around 750 BCE, but there is clear evidence of much earlier Etruscan settlement. It was successively capital of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire; after the fall of the Roman Empire, the government of the Roman Catholic Church exercised increasing political control, and Rome was the capital of the Papal States from the middle of the 8th century until 1870. In 1871 it became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, which became the nation we now know as Italy in 1946.

Vatican City was established by the Lateran Treaty of 1929 as the smallest sovereign state in the world, with an area of 44 hectares (110 acres, or 0.17 square miles). It is a theocracy, ruled by the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, who is also the Bishop of Rome.

Answer: Athens, Greece

Seoul and Athens became sister cities in 2006. The most commonly accepted story of the founding of Athens describes a competition between the goddess Athena and the god Poseidon to see whose city it was going to be. The arbiter decided that Athena's gift (an olive tree) was better than that of Poseidon (either a salt-water spring or a horse, depending on which version you prefer), and she became the patron of the city, which was therefore named in her honor. When did this happen? It's hard to say, but archaeological evidence show people living there since somewhere between 1100 BCE and 7000 BCE, and the site has been continuously inhabited since around 3000 BCE.

Athens is often considered the birthplace of Western civilization, for its contributions to the visual arts, literature, philosophy, political theory, science and more. As well as the two philosophers in the clue, there were many more whose names may be familiar even if you don't know what they were on about. These include (giving just one example for each), playwrights (Aeschylus for tragedy, Aristophanes for comedy), sculptors (Praxiteles), musicians (Chrysogonus), mathematicians (Theaetetus), architecture (cf. the Parthenon), and all those whose names have been lost in time, but whose creations can be seen in almost any museum that has a Classical section. And did I mention the concept of democracy?

Answer: Bangkok, Thailand

Seoul and Bangkok became sister cities in 2006. Bangkok sits in the delta of the Chao Phraya River, on swampland that was drained by the construction of canals, which became important transport networks in the developing city. Over the years, the city has subsided from its already-low elevation, and is now prone to regular and severe flooding. Consideration has been giving to moving the Thai capital to another, safer, location.

The full name of the city (transliterated from Thai script) is Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit. When translated into English, this means 'City of angels, great city of immortals, magnificent city of the nine gems, seat of the king, city of royal palaces, home of gods incarnate, erected by Vishvakarman at Indra's behest'. The full ceremonial title is thought to have been decreed by King Rama I when he made it his imperial capital, and came into widespread use during the reign of King Rama IV (Mongkut) during the 19th century. The official short form is Krung Thep Maha Nakhon.