South of the [Han] River; IPA: [ka̠ŋna̠m]), sometimes referred to as the Greater Gangnam Area, is a geographic and cultural region in Seoul.

As the result of Park's policies, a number of companies, prestigious schools, and government institutions relocated to the region and land prices in Gangnam skyrocketed.

[7][20] In addition, the region's lowland geography made it vulnerable to flooding, excluding Gangnam from prior development plans.

[21] Being geographically adjacent to Seoul and the Han River, the region was an important point of land and sea transportation during the Joseon dynasty and the Japanese annexation of Korea.

[28] The development of Gangnam began in earnest following the establishment of flood control measures, the opening of the Hannam Bridge in 1969, and the completion of the Gyeongbu Expressway in 1970, which connected Seoul to Busan.

During this time, intense media attention was focused on middle-class housewives who participated in the real estate market with the use of the pejorative term bok-buin (복부인; lit. Mrs.

[35] In the early 1980s, the Park government enacted the Gangbuk Suppression Policies, which restricted the new construction of businesses, entertainment venues, factories, and department stores north of the river.

In the following years, a number of elite high schools would move to Gangnam, giving the region its reputation as an educational mecca.

[39] The migration of these schools south of the river has been described as the primary reason behind Gangnam's current affluent status.

[21][46] The area around Teheran Boulevard has the highest concentration of technology companies within Seoul,[47] and the South Korean operations of Apple, Google, Oracle and Qualcomm began in Gangnam.

[51] In addition, the LG Corporation and KB Financial Group are headquartered in the Yeongdeungpo District, on the western part of the region south of the Han River.

[52][53] In 2010, the Gangnam, Seocho, and Songpa districts accounted for ten percent of the total land value of South Korea.

In Korean popular culture, Gangnam is depicted as both an object of aspiration and a region that draws reproval for the perceived corrupt and immoral ways in which its residents acquire their wealth.

[55] Similarly, studies of children from Gangnam have found that they hold negative views of non-Gangnam areas, describing them as "rough, dirty, countrified, smelly, and somewhat dangerous".

[56] Residency in Gangnam is considered a status symbol, with both businesses and people actively seeking out the region as a means of exhibiting one's success.

[67] During the 2000s, a number of buildings designed by popular architects, including Daniel Libeskind, Mario Botta, and Ben van Berkel, were built in Gangnam.

[21] As a result of its location within the Gangnam Eighth School District and the end of the South Korean ban on private tutoring, Daechi-dong emerged as the epicenter of hagwons in Seoul.

[69] After the democratization of South Korea and the 1997 Asian financial crisis, Gangnam has gradually shifted towards the right, and the region is considered more politically conservative than the rest of Seoul.

[26] A disproportionate number of government officials appointed under the Lee Myung-bak and Yoon Suk Yeol administrations have been from Gangnam.

[75] The Gyeongbu Expressway, which connected Seoul to Busan through Gangnam, began construction in 1968, and the project was completed on July 7, 1970.

[76] Construction for the project was completed on October 20, 1981, and to promote its use, the city forcibly closed the bus terminal in Gangbuk, opened the Jamsu Bridge in 1976, and excavated the Third Namsan Tunnel in May 1978.

[77] Gangnam has the greatest number of connections on the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, a product of Park Chung Hee's targeted development in the region.

[78] Lines Two and Three of the Seoul Metropolitan Subway were intentionally designed to go through Gangnam, which previously had a dearth of public transportation.