Seoul means very much for them. If I understand right, "Seoul" is a word for capital. They took traditions seriously and traditionally it's THE capital. Even N

Seoul means very much for them. If I understand right, "Seoul" is a word for capital. They took traditions seriously and traditionally it's THE capital. Even North Korea considered Seoul the capital for decades, calling Pyongyang "the capital of revolution" or something like that. Also, it was a very poor and unstable country post-war and didn't feature much strategic thinking. And obviously USA wanted their military bases near the border, i.e. in Seoul.