Cheongju, South Korea

Cheongju (청주,淸州), also spelled Chongju, is the capital of North Chungcheong, South Korea.

Cheongju (not to be confused with nearby Chungju), in addition to being the provincial capital, is also a historic city credited with creating the world's oldest movable metal type print book: jikji. Do not expect to get a glimpse of the UNESCO-registered artifact as the Jikji (or what remains of it) is stored in France. Nonetheless, Cheongju is proud of its place in international history and subsequently hailed 2011 as a Jikji celebration year.