Wary South Koreans watch as Lotte World Tower rises

Seoul

FOR people hiking in the hills around Seoul, it is an unmistakable sight: the Lotte World Tower taking shape like a gigantic bamboo shoot.

If the tower is completed as expected by the end of next year, it will be a sorely needed international landmark for South Koreans, who like to measure their country on global scales: At 555 metres, it will be Seoul's first super-tall skyscraper and the sixth-tallest building in the world.