There have been sudden changes in the urban environment due to rapid urbanization all over the world.Seoul which is the international metropolis with history over 600 years is no exception and is faced with rapid change.Considering its history over 600 years,however,research and development on change are not nearly enough.Therefore it is necessary to study the change of soil properties which is the basis of urban environment.In this study,three sites,urban forest around Gyeongbokgung (Gb),urban forest in Jongmyo Park (Jm) and Sajik Park (Sj) in Jongno area were selected for sampling.The sampling was carried out at two points per site using Geoprobe system and physicochemical properties of soils were analyzed.The sampling depths at each point were as follows:0-5cm,5-10cm,10-15cm,15-20cm,20-30cm,30-40cm,40-55cm,55-70cm,70-95cm,95-120cm,120-160cm,and 160-200cm.To compare urban with non-urban area,additional samples were collected at Mt.Baebong (Bb) in Dongdaemun-gu and a paddy field (Dp) and a cultivated upland (Dc) in Dangjin-gun and were analyzed by the same method.The pH values of soils from study area were generally higher than pH 7.The soil of the urban forest around Gyeongbokgung had higher organic carbon content than the rest due to the use of an organic fertilizer made of animal waste,resulting in rasied level of Cu and Zn.The contamination level by Cu and Zn,however,was not as serious as to exceed the warning standard of Soil Environment Conservation Law of Korea.The amount of exchangeable-Ca in the study area was 8.0cmol kg-1,which was higher than the average Ca content of the cultivated upland soil of 4.6cmol kg-1.The base saturation level of some soil samples was over 250% resulted from overuse of calcium chloride for snow melt in winter and Ca elution by rainwater from concrete buildings.