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South Korea

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Republic of Korea
대한민국 (Korean)
Daehan Minguk (RR)
Anthem: 애국가
Aegukga
"The Patriotic Song"
National seal
Seal of South Korea.svg
Territory controlled by the Republic of Korea in dark green; territory claimed but not controlled in light green
Territory controlled by the Republic of Korea in dark green; territory claimed but not controlled in light green
Capital
and largest city
Seoul
37°33′N 126°58′E / 37.550°N 126.967°E / 37.550; 126.967
Official languagesKorean (Pyojuneo)
Korean Sign Language[1]
Official scriptHangul
Ethnic groups
(2019)[2]
Religion
(2015)[3][4]
Demonym(s)
GovernmentUnitary presidential constitutional republic
• President
Yoon Suk-yeol
Han Duck-soo
Kim Jin-pyo
Kim Myeong-soo
Yoo Nam-seok
LegislatureNational Assembly
Establishment history
• Gojoseon
2333 BCE (mythological)
57 BCE
668
918
17 July 1392
12 October 1897
22 August 1910
1 March 1919
11 April 1919
2 September 1945
• US administration of Korea south of the 38th parallel
8 September 1945
15 August 1948
25 February 1988
Area
• Total
100,363 km2 (38,750 sq mi) (107th)
• Water (%)
0.3 (301 km2 [116 sq mi])
Population
• 2022 estimate
51,844,834[5] (28th)
• Density
507/km2 (1,313.1/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2022 estimate
• Total
Increase $2.735 trillion[6] (14th)
• Per capita
Increase $53,051[6] (28th)
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
Increase $1.804 trillion[6] (12th)
• Per capita
Increase $34,994[6] (32nd)
Gini (2018)Positive decrease 34.5[7]
medium
HDI (2021)Increase 0.925[8]
very high · 19th
CurrencyKorean Republic won (₩) (KRW)
Time zoneUTC+9 (Korea Standard Time)
Date format
  • yyyy년 m월 d일
  • yyyy. m. d. (CE)
Driving sideright
Calling code+82
ISO 3166 codeKR
Internet TLD

Coordinates: 36°N 128°E / 36°N 128°E / 36; 128

South Korea,[b] officially the Republic of Korea (ROK),[c] is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and shares a land border with North Korea.[d] The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of 51.75 million, of which roughly half live in the Seoul Capital Area, the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the world. Other major cities include Incheon, Busan, and Daegu.

The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century BCE. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea into Silla and Balhae in the late 7th century, Korea was ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) was annexed in 1910 into the Empire of Japan. Japanese rule ended following Japan's surrender in World War II, after which Korea was divided into two zones; a northern zone occupied by the Soviet Union and a southern zone occupied by the United States. After negotiations on reunification failed, the southern zone became the Republic of Korea in August 1948 while the northern zone became the socialist Democratic People's Republic of Korea the following month.

In 1950, a North Korean invasion began the Korean War, which saw extensive American-led United Nations intervention in support of the South, while China intervened to support the North, with Soviet assistance. After the war's end in 1953, the country entered into a military alliance with the U.S., which continues to this date, and its devastated economy began to soar, recording the fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world between 1980 and 1990. Despite lacking natural resources, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers based on international trade and economic globalization, integrating itself within the world economy with export-oriented industrialization; currently being one of the largest exporting nations in the world, along with having one of the largest foreign-exchange reserves in the world.[9] The June Democratic Struggle led to the end of authoritarian rule in 1987 and the country is now considered among the most advanced democracies in Asia, with the highest level of press freedom on the continent.[10]

South Korea is a regional power and a highly developed country, with its economy being ranked as the world's thirteenth-largest by nominal GDP and the fourteenth-largest by GDP (PPP). It ranks nineteenth globally by Human Development Index. In recent years, the country has been facing an aging population and the lowest fertility rate in the world. South Korea's citizens enjoy one of the world's fastest Internet connection speeds and the densest high-speed railway network. The country is the world's ninth-largest exporter and ninth-largest importer. Its armed forces are ranked as one of the world's strongest militaries, with the world's second-largest standing army by military and paramilitary personnel. In 21st century, South Korea has been renowned for its globally influential pop culture, particularly in music (K-pop), TV dramas (K-dramas) and cinema, a phenomenon referred to as the Korean wave.[11][12][13] It is a member of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, the G20, the IPEF, and the Paris Club.

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East Asia

East Asia

East Asia is the easternmost region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. Hong Kong and Macau, two small coastal quasi-dependent territories located in the south of China, are officially highly autonomous but are under Chinese sovereignty. Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau are among the world's largest and most prosperous economies. East Asia borders Siberia and the Russian Far East to the north, Southeast Asia to the south, South Asia to the southwest, and Central Asia to the west. To the east is the Pacific Ocean and to the southeast is Micronesia.

Demographics of South Korea

Demographics of South Korea

This is a demography of the population of South Korea including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Busan

Busan

Busan, officially known as Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, with its port being Korea's busiest and the sixth-busiest in the world. The surrounding "Southeastern Maritime Industrial Region" is South Korea's largest industrial area. The large volumes of port traffic and urban population in excess of 1 million make Busan a Large-Port metropolis using the Southampton System of Port-City classification.

Daegu

Daegu

Daegu, formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.

Balhae

Balhae

Balhae, also rendered as Bohai, was a multi-ethnic kingdom whose land extends to what is today Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. It was established in 698 by Dae Joyeong and originally known as the Kingdom of Jin (Zhen) until 713 when its name was changed to Balhae.

Division of Korea

Division of Korea

The division of Korea began with the defeat of Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be liberated from Japan but would be placed under an international trusteeship until the Koreans would be deemed ready for self-rule. In the last days of the war, the U.S. proposed dividing the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones with the 38th parallel as the dividing line. The Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea.

1987 South Korean presidential election

1987 South Korean presidential election

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 16 December 1987. They marked the establishment of the Sixth Republic, as well as the end of the authoritarian rule that had prevailed in the country for all but one year since its founding in 1948. They were the first direct presidential elections since 1971. For the previous 15 years, presidents had been indirectly elected by the National Conference for Unification, an electoral college dominated by the governing party.

Democracy Index

Democracy Index

The Democracy Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the research division of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company which publishes the weekly newspaper The Economist. Akin to a Human Development Index but centrally concerned with political institutions and freedoms, the index attempts to measure the state of democracy in 167 countries and territories, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member states.

Developed country

Developed country

A developed country is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic development are gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), the per capita income, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living. Which criteria are to be used and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate. Different definitions of developed countries are provided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; moreover, HDI ranking is used to reflect the composite index of life expectancy, education, and income per capita. Another commonly used measure of a developed country is the threshold of GDP (PPP) per capita of at least USD$22,000. In 2022, 36 countries fit all four criteria, while an additional 17 countries fit three out of four.

Aging of South Korea

Aging of South Korea

In South Korea, aging refers to an increase in the proportion of senior citizens to the total population. The term "senior citizens" include those aged 65 or older. According to Article 3 no.1 of the Framework Act on Low Birthrate of an Aging Society, the term "aging population" refers to the increasing proportion of elderly people in the entire population.

Cinema of South Korea

Cinema of South Korea

The cinema of South Korea refers to the film industry of South Korea from 1945 to present. South Korean films have been heavily influenced by such events and forces as the Japanese occupation of Korea, the Korean War, government censorship, the business sector, globalization, and the democratization of South Korea.

Development Assistance Committee

Development Assistance Committee

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a forum to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes itself as being the "venue and voice" of the world's major donor countries.

Etymology

The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo, also known as Koryŏ, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo, also known as Koryŏ, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.

The name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo, which was considered a great power of East Asia during its time, in the 5th century as a shortened form of its name.[14][15][16] The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo,[17][18] and thus inherited its name, which was pronounced by the visiting Arab and Persian merchants as "Korea".[19] The modern name of Korea, appears in the first Portuguese maps of 1568 by João vaz Dourado as Conrai [20] and later in the late 16th century and early 17th century as Korea (Corea) in the maps of Teixeira Albernaz of 1630.[21]

The kingdom of Goryeo became first known to Westerners when Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca in 1511 and described the peoples who traded with this part of the world known by the Portuguese as the Gores.[22] Despite the coexistence of the spellings Corea and Korea in 19th century publications, some Koreans believe that Imperial Japan, around the time of the Japanese occupation, intentionally standardized the spelling on Korea, making Japan appear first alphabetically.[23][24]

After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the official name for the entire territory, though it was not universally accepted. The new official name has its origin in the ancient kingdom of Gojoseon (2333 BCE). In 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk (Korean Empire). The name Daehan (Great Han) derives from Samhan (Three Han), referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula.[25][26] However, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted. There were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (대한민국 임시정부 / 大韓民國臨時政府).

Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the "Republic of Korea" (대한민국 / 大韓民國, IPA: ˈtɛ̝ːɦa̠nminɡuk̚, lit.'Great Korean People's State'; listen) was adopted as the legal English name for the new country. However, it is not a direct translation of the Korean name.[27] As a result, the Korean name "Daehan Minguk" is sometimes used by South Koreans as a metonym to refer to the Korean ethnicity (or "race") as a whole, rather than just the South Korean state.[28][27] Conversely, the official name of North Korea in English, the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea", is a direct translation of the Korean name.

Since the government only controlled the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, the informal term "South Korea" was coined, becoming increasingly common in the Western world. While South Koreans use Han (or Hanguk) to refer to both Koreas collectively, North Koreans and ethnic Koreans living in China and Japan use the term Joseon instead.

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Goguryeo

Goguryeo

Goguryeo also called Goryeo, was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most of the Korean Peninsula, large parts of Manchuria and parts of eastern Mongolia and Inner Mongolia.

Great power

Great power

A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power influence, which may cause middle or small powers to consider the great powers' opinions before taking actions of their own. International relations theorists have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities, spatial aspects, and status dimensions.

Goryeo

Goryeo

Goryeo was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unification" by Korean historians as it not only unified the Later Three Kingdoms but also incorporated much of the ruling class of the northern kingdom of Balhae, who had origins in Goguryeo of the earlier Three Kingdoms of Korea. The name "Korea" is derived from the name of Goryeo, also romanized as Koryŏ, which was first used in the early 5th century by Goguryeo. According to Korean historians, it was during the Goryeo period that the individual identities of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla were successfully merged into a single entity that became the basis of the modern-day Korean identity. Goryeo was the successor state to Later Goguryeo and Goguryeo.

Afonso de Albuquerque

Afonso de Albuquerque

Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa, was a Portuguese general, admiral, and statesman. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across the Indian Ocean and built a reputation as a fierce and skilled military commander.

Empire of Japan

Empire of Japan

The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent formation of modern Japan. It encompassed the Japanese archipelago and several colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories.

Gojoseon

Gojoseon

Gojoseon, also called Joseon, was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Peninsula at the time and was an important marker in the progression towards the more centralized states of later periods. The addition of Go, meaning "ancient", is used in historiography to distinguish the kingdom from the Joseon dynasty founded in 1392 CE.

Joseon

Joseon

Joseon, officially the Great Joseon, was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom was founded following the aftermath of the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul. The kingdom's northernmost borders were expanded to the natural boundaries at the rivers of Amrok and Tuman through the subjugation of the Jurchens.

Korean Empire

Korean Empire

The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910.

Korea under Japanese rule

Korea under Japanese rule

Korea was ruled as a part of the Empire of Japan from 1910 to 1945. Joseon had come into the Japanese sphere of influence with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876; a complex coalition of the Meiji government, military, and business officials began a process of integrating Korea's politics and economy with Japan. The Korean Empire, proclaimed in 1897, became a protectorate of Japan with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905; thereafter Japan ruled the country indirectly through the Japanese Resident-General of Korea. Japan formally annexed the Korean Empire with the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1910, without the consent of the former Korean Emperor Gojong, the regent of the Emperor Sunjong. Upon its annexation, Japan declared that Korea would henceforth be officially named Chōsen. This name was recognized internationally until the end of Japanese colonial rule. The territory was administered by the Governor-General of Chōsen based in Keijō (Seoul).

Korean independence movement

Korean independence movement

The Korean independence movement was a military and diplomatic campaign to achieve the independence of Korea from Japan. After the Japanese annexation of Korea in 1910, Korea's domestic resistance peaked in the March 1st Movement of 1919, which was crushed and sent Korean leaders to flee into China. In China, Korean independence activists built ties with the National Government of the Republic of China which supported the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (KPG), as a government in exile. At the same time, the Korean Liberation Army, which operated under the Chinese National Military Council and then the KPG, led attacks against Japan.

International Phonetic Alphabet

International Phonetic Alphabet

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standardized representation of speech sounds in written form. The IPA is used by lexicographers, foreign language students and teachers, linguists, speech–language pathologists, singers, actors, constructed language creators, and translators.

Korean ethnic nationalism

Korean ethnic nationalism

Korean ethnic nationalism, is a political ideology and a form of ethnic and racial identity that is widely prevalent by the Korean people in Korea, particularly in South Korea. It is based on the belief that Koreans form a nation, and an ethnic group. It is centered on the notion of the minjok, a term that had been coined in Imperial Japan ("minzoku") in the early Meiji period. Minjok has been translated as "nation", "people", "ethnic group", "race", and "race-nation".

History

Ancient Korea

Seokguram Grotto from the Silla era, a UNESCO World Heritage SiteBalhae (violet) and Silla (blue), circa 830 CE
Balhae (violet) and Silla (blue), circa 830 CE
The oldest surviving metal movable type book, the Jikji, was printed in 1377, and Goryeo created the world's first metal-based movable type in 1234.[29]The Tripitaka Koreana — the Buddhist canon (Tripiṭaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks and stored (and still remaining) at Haeinsa, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The oldest surviving metal movable type book, the Jikji, was printed in 1377, and Goryeo created the world's first metal-based movable type in 1234.[29]
The oldest surviving metal movable type book, the Jikji, was printed in 1377, and Goryeo created the world's first metal-based movable type in 1234.[29]The Tripitaka Koreana — the Buddhist canon (Tripiṭaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks and stored (and still remaining) at Haeinsa, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Tripitaka Koreana — the Buddhist canon (Tripiṭaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks and stored (and still remaining) at Haeinsa, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period.[30][31] The history of Korea begins with the founding of Joseon (also known as "Gojoseon", or Old Joseon, to differentiate it with the 14th century dynasty) in 2333 BCE by Dangun, according to Korea's foundation mythology.[32][33] Gojoseon was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century.[34] Gojoseon expanded until it controlled the northern Korean Peninsula and parts of Manchuria. Gija Joseon was purportedly founded in the 12th century BCE, but its existence and role have been controversial in the modern era.[33][35] In 108 BCE, the Han dynasty defeated Wiman Joseon and installed four commanderies in the northern Korean peninsula. Three of the commanderies fell or retreated westward within a few decades. As Lelang commandery was destroyed and rebuilt around this time, the place gradually moved toward Liaodong. Thus, its force was diminished and it only served as a trade center until it was conquered by Goguryeo in 313.[36][37][38]

Three Kingdoms of Korea

During the period known as the Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea, the states of Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye and Samhan occupied the whole Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria. From them, Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla emerged to control the peninsula as the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Goguryeo, the largest and most powerful among them, was a highly militaristic state,[39] and competed with various Chinese dynasties during its 700 years of history. Goguryeo experienced a golden age under Gwanggaeto the Great and his son Jangsu,[40][41][42][43] who both subdued Baekje and Silla during their times, achieving a brief unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea and becoming the most dominant power on the Korean Peninsula.[44][45] In addition to contesting for control of the Korean Peninsula, Goguryeo had many military conflicts with various Chinese dynasties, most notably the Goguryeo–Sui War, in which Goguryeo defeated a huge force said to number over a million men.[46] Baekje was a great maritime power;[47] its nautical skill, which made it the Phoenicia of East Asia, was instrumental in the dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and continental culture to Japan.[48][49] Baekje was once a great military power on the Korean Peninsula, especially during the time of Geunchogo,[50] but was critically defeated by Gwanggaeto the Great and declined. Silla was the smallest and weakest of the three, but it used cunning diplomatic means to make opportunistic pacts and alliances with the more powerful Korean kingdoms, and eventually Tang China, to its great advantage.[51][52]

The unification of the Three Kingdoms by Silla in 676 led to the North South States Period, in which much of the Korean Peninsula was controlled by Later Silla, while Balhae controlled the northern parts of Goguryeo. Balhae was founded by a Goguryeo general and formed as a successor state to Goguryeo. During its height, Balhae controlled most of Manchuria and parts of the Russian Far East, and was called the "Prosperous Country in the East".[53] Later Silla was a golden age of art and culture,[54][55][56][57] as evidenced by the Hwangnyongsa, Seokguram, and Emille Bell. Relationships between Korea and China remained relatively peaceful during this time. Later Silla carried on the maritime prowess of Baekje, which acted like the Phoenicia of medieval East Asia,[58] and during the 8th and 9th centuries dominated the seas of East Asia and the trade between China, Korea and Japan, most notably during the time of Jang Bogo; in addition, Silla people made overseas communities in China on the Shandong Peninsula and the mouth of the Yangtze River.[59][60][61][62] Later Silla was a prosperous and wealthy country,[63] and its metropolitan capital of Gyeongju[64] was the fourth largest city in the world.[65][66][67][68] Buddhism flourished during this time, and many Korean Buddhists gained great fame among Chinese Buddhists[69] and contributed to Chinese Buddhism,[70] including: Woncheuk, Wonhyo, Uisang, Musang,[71][72][73][74] and Kim Gyo-gak, a Silla prince whose influence made Mount Jiuhua one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism.[75] However, Later Silla weakened under internal strife and the revival of Baekje and Goguryeo, which led to the Later Three Kingdoms period in the late ninth century.

Unified dynasties

In 936, the Later Three Kingdoms were united by Wang Geon, a descendant of Goguryeo nobility,[76] who established Goryeo as the successor state of Goguryeo.[17][18][77][78] Balhae had fallen to the Khitan Empire in 926, and a decade later the last crown prince of Balhae fled south to Goryeo, where he was warmly welcomed and included into the ruling family by Wang Geon, thus unifying the two successor nations of Goguryeo.[79] Like Silla, Goryeo was a highly cultural state, and invented the metal movable type printing press.[29] After defeating the Khitan Empire, which was the most powerful empire of its time,[80][81] in the Goryeo–Khitan War, Goryeo experienced a golden age that lasted a century, during which the Tripitaka Koreana was completed and there were great developments in printing and publishing, promoting learning and dispersing knowledge on philosophy, literature, religion, and science; by 1100, there were 12 universities that produced famous scholars and scientists.[82][83] However, the Mongol invasions in the 13th century greatly weakened the kingdom. Goryeo was never conquered by the Mongols, but exhausted after three decades of fighting, the Korean court sent its crown prince to the Yuan capital to swear allegiance to Kublai Khan, who accepted, and married one of his daughters to the Korean crown prince.[84] Henceforth, Goryeo continued to rule Korea, though as a tributary ally to the Mongols for the next 86 years. During this period, the two nations became intertwined as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses,[84] and the last empress of the Yuan dynasty was a Korean princess. In the mid-14th century, Goryeo drove out the Mongols to regain its northern territories, briefly conquered Liaoyang, and defeated invasions by the Red Turbans. However, in 1392, General Yi Seong-gye, who had been ordered to attack China, turned his army around and staged a coup.

Yi Seong-gye declared the new name of Korea as "Joseon" in reference to Gojoseon, and moved the capital to Hanseong (one of the old names of Seoul).[85] The first 200 years of the Joseon dynasty were marked by peace, and saw great advancements in science[86][87] and education,[88] as well as the creation of Hangul by Sejong the Great to promote literacy among the common people.[89] The prevailing ideology of the time was Neo-Confucianism, which was epitomized by the seonbi class: nobles who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity. Between 1592 and 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched invasions of Korea, but his advance was halted by Korean forces (most notably the Joseon Navy led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his renowned "turtle ship") with assistance from Righteous Army militias formed by Korean civilians, and Ming dynasty Chinese troops.[90] Through a series of successful battles of attrition, the Japanese forces were eventually forced to withdraw, and relations between all parties became normalized. However, the Manchus took advantage of Joseon's war-weakened state and invaded in 1627 and 1637, and then went on to conquer the destabilized Ming dynasty. After normalizing relations with the new Qing dynasty, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace. Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo particularly led a new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty during the 18th century.[91][92] In the 19th century, the royal in-law families gained control of the government, leading to mass corruption and weakening of the state, and severe poverty and peasant rebellions throughout the country. Furthermore, the Joseon government adopted a strict isolationist policy, earning the nickname "the hermit kingdom", but ultimately failed to protect itself against imperialism and was forced to open its borders. After the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Korea was annexed by Japan (1910–1945). What followed was a period of forced assimilation, in which Korean language, culture, and history were suppressed.[93]

Towards the end of World War II, the U.S. proposed dividing the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones (a U.S. and Soviet one). Dean Rusk and Charles H. Bonesteel III suggested the 38th parallel as the dividing line, as it placed Seoul under U.S. control. To the surprise of Rusk and Bonesteel, the Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea.[94]

Modern history

The War Memorial of Korea, built in remembrance of the Korean War (1950–1953)
The War Memorial of Korea, built in remembrance of the Korean War (1950–1953)
Between 1962 and 1994, the South Korean economy grew at an average of 10% annually, fueled by annual export growth of 20%,[95] in a period called the Miracle on the Han River.
Between 1962 and 1994, the South Korean economy grew at an average of 10% annually, fueled by annual export growth of 20%,[95] in a period called the Miracle on the Han River.

Despite the initial plan of a unified Korea in the 1943 Cairo Declaration, escalating Cold War antagonism between the Soviet Union and the United States eventually led to the establishment of separate governments, each with its own ideology, leading to the division of Korea into two political entities in 1948: North Korea and South Korea. In the South, Syngman Rhee, an opponent of communism, who had been backed and appointed by the United States as head of the provisional government, won the first presidential elections of the newly declared Republic of Korea in May. In the North, however, a former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist, Kim Il-sung, was appointed premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in September.

In October, the Soviet Union declared Kim Il-sung's government as sovereign over both parts. The UN declared Rhee's government as "a lawful government having effective control and jurisdiction over that part of Korea where the UN Temporary Commission on Korea was able to observe and consult" and the Government "based on elections which was observed by the Temporary Commission" in addition to a statement that "this is the only such government in Korea."[96] Both leaders began an authoritarian repression of their political opponents inside their region, seeking for a unification of Korea under their control.[97] While South Korea's request for military support was denied by the United States,[98] North Korea's military was heavily reinforced by the Soviet Union.[99][100]

Korean War

On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, sparking the Korean War, the Cold War's first major conflict, which continued until 1953. At the time, the Soviet Union had boycotted the United Nations (UN), thus forfeiting their veto rights. This allowed the UN to intervene in a civil war when it became apparent that the superior North Korean forces would unify the entire country. The Soviet Union and China backed North Korea, with the later participation of millions of Chinese troops. After an ebb and flow that saw both sides facing defeat with massive losses among Korean civilians in both the north and the south, the war eventually reached a stalemate. During the war, Rhee's party promoted the One-People Principle, an effort to build an obedient citizenry through ethnic homogeneity and authoritarian appeals to nationalism.[101]

The 1953 armistice, never signed by South Korea, split the peninsula along the demilitarized zone near the original demarcation line. No peace treaty was ever signed, resulting in the two countries remaining technically at war. Approximately 3 million people died in the Korean War, with a higher proportional civilian death toll than World War II or the Vietnam War, making it one of the deadliest conflicts of the Cold War era.[102][103] In addition, virtually all of Korea's major cities were destroyed by the war.[104]

Post-Korean War (1960–1990)

President Park Chung-hee played a pivotal role in rapidly developing South Korea's economy through export-oriented industrialization.
President Park Chung-hee played a pivotal role in rapidly developing South Korea's economy through export-oriented industrialization.

In 1960, a student uprising (the "April 19 Revolution") led to the resignation of the autocratic then-President Syngman Rhee. This was followed by 13 months of political instability as South Korea was led by a weak and ineffectual government. This instability was broken by the 16 May 1961 coup led by General Park Chung-hee. As president, Park oversaw a period of rapid export-led economic growth enforced by political repression.

Park was heavily criticized as a ruthless military dictator, who in 1972 extended his rule by creating a new constitution, which gave the president sweeping (almost dictatorial) powers and permitted him to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. The Korean economy developed significantly during Park's tenure. The government developed the nationwide expressway system, the Seoul subway system, and laid the foundation for economic development during his 17-year tenure, which ended with his assassination in 1979.

The years after Park's assassination were marked again by political turmoil, as the previously suppressed opposition leaders all campaigned to run for president in the sudden political void. In 1979, General Chun Doo-hwan led the coup d'état of December Twelfth. Following the coup d'état, Chun Doo-hwan planned to rise to power through several measures. On 17 May, Chun Doo-hwan forced the Cabinet to expand martial law to the whole nation, which had previously not applied to the island of Jejudo. The expanded martial law closed universities, banned political activities, and further curtailed the press. Chun's assumption of the presidency through the events of 17 May triggered nationwide protests demanding democracy; these protests were particularly focused in the city of Gwangju, to which Chun sent special forces to violently suppress the Gwangju Democratization Movement.[105]

Chun subsequently created the National Defense Emergency Policy Committee and took the presidency according to his political plan. Chun and his government held South Korea under a despotic rule until 1987, when a Seoul National University student, Park Jong-chul, was tortured to death.[106] On 10 June, the Catholic Priests Association for Justice revealed the incident, igniting the June Democratic Struggle across the country. Eventually, Chun's party, the Democratic Justice Party, and its leader, Roh Tae-woo, announced the June 29 Declaration, which included the direct election of the president. Roh went on to win the election by a narrow margin against the two main opposition leaders, Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam. Seoul hosted the Olympic Games in 1988, widely regarded as successful and a significant boost for South Korea's global image and economy.[107]

South Korea was formally invited to become a member of the United Nations in 1991. The transition of Korea from autocracy to modern democracy was marked in 1997 by the election of Kim Dae-jung, who was sworn in as the eighth president of South Korea, on 25 February 1998. His election was significant given that he had in earlier years been a political prisoner sentenced to death (later commuted to exile). He won against the backdrop of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, where he took IMF advice to restructure the economy and the nation soon recovered its economic growth, albeit at a slower pace.[108]

Contemporary South Korea

President Kim Dae-jung, the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for advancing democracy and human rights in South Korea and East Asia and for reconciliation with North Korea, was sometimes called the "Nelson Mandela of Asia."[108]
President Kim Dae-jung, the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for advancing democracy and human rights in South Korea and East Asia and for reconciliation with North Korea, was sometimes called the "Nelson Mandela of Asia."[108]

In June 2000, as part of president Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" of engagement, a North–South summit took place in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.[109] Later that year, Kim received the Nobel Peace Prize "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular".[110] However, because of discontent among the population for fruitless approaches to the North under the previous administrations and, amid North Korean provocations, a conservative government was elected in 2007 led by President Lee Myung-bak, former mayor of Seoul.[111] Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan jointly co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[112] However, South Korean and Japanese relations later soured because of conflicting claims of sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks.[113]

South Korea became the first non-G7 chair of the G-20 when it hosted the 2010 Seoul summit.[114]
South Korea became the first non-G7 chair of the G-20 when it hosted the 2010 Seoul summit.[114]

In 2010, there was an escalation in attacks by North Korea. In March 2010 the South Korean warship ROKS Cheonan was sunk leading to the death of 46 South Korean sailors, allegedly by a North Korean submarine. In November 2010 Yeonpyeong island was attacked by a significant North Korean artillery barrage, with 4 people dying. The lack of a strong response to these attacks from both South Korea and the international community (the official UN report declined to explicitly name North Korea as the perpetrator for the Cheonan sinking) caused significant anger with the South Korean public.[115]

South Korea saw another milestone in 2012 with the first ever female president Park Geun-hye elected and assuming office. Daughter of another former president, Park Chung-hee, she carried on a conservative brand of politics.[116] President Park Geun-hye's administration was formally accused of corruption, bribery, and influence-peddling for the involvement of close friend Choi Soon-sil in state affairs. There followed a series of massive public demonstrations from November 2016[117] and she was removed from office.[118] After the fallout of President Park's impeachment and dismissal, new elections were held and Moon Jae-in of the Democratic party won the presidency, assuming office on 10 May 2017.[119] His tenure saw an improving political relationship with North Korea, some increasing divergence in the military alliance with the United States, and the successful hosting of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.[120] In April 2018, former president Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in jail, because of abuse of power and corruption.[121] The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the nation since 2020. That same year, South Korea recorded more deaths than births, resulting in a population decline for the first time on record.[122]

In March 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol, the candidate of conservative opposition People Power Party, won a close election over Democratic Party candidate by the narrowest margin ever. On 10 May 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol was sworn in as South Korea's new president to succeed Moon.[123]

On 29 October 2022, at least 153 people were crushed to death when a crowd surged in an alleyway during Halloween festivities in Seoul's Itaewon district. President Yoon declared a state of official national mourning.[124]

Discover more about History related topics

History of Korea

History of Korea

The Lower Paleolithic era on the Korean Peninsula and in Manchuria began roughly half a million years ago. The earliest known Korean pottery dates to around 8000 BC, and the Neolithic period began after 6000 BC, followed by the Bronze Age by 2000 BC, and the Iron Age around 700 BC.

Balhae

Balhae

Balhae, also rendered as Bohai, was a multi-ethnic kingdom whose land extends to what is today Northeast China, the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East. It was established in 698 by Dae Joyeong and originally known as the Kingdom of Jin (Zhen) until 713 when its name was changed to Balhae.

Jikji

Jikji

Jikji is the abbreviated title of a Korean Buddhist document whose title can be translated to "Anthology of Great Buddhist Priests' Zen Teachings". Jikji Simche means, "If you look at a person's heart correctly through the Zen meditation, you will realize that the nature of the heart is the heart of Buddha.". Printed during the Goryeo Dynasty in 1377, it is the world's oldest extant book printed with movable metal type. UNESCO confirmed Jikji as the world's oldest metalloid type in September 2001 and includes it in the Memory of the World Programme.

Goryeo

Goryeo

Goryeo was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unification" by Korean historians as it not only unified the Later Three Kingdoms but also incorporated much of the ruling class of the northern kingdom of Balhae, who had origins in Goguryeo of the earlier Three Kingdoms of Korea. The name "Korea" is derived from the name of Goryeo, also romanized as Koryŏ, which was first used in the early 5th century by Goguryeo. According to Korean historians, it was during the Goryeo period that the individual identities of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla were successfully merged into a single entity that became the basis of the modern-day Korean identity. Goryeo was the successor state to Later Goguryeo and Goguryeo.

Haeinsa

Haeinsa

Haeinsa is a head temple of the Jogye Order of Korean Seon Buddhism in Gayasan National Park, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Haeinsa is most notable for being the home of the Tripitaka Koreana, the whole of the Buddhist Scriptures carved onto 81,350 wooden printing blocks, which it has housed since 1398.

Lower Paleolithic

Lower Paleolithic

The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears in the current archaeological record, until around 300,000 years ago, spanning the Oldowan and Acheulean lithics industries.

Gojoseon

Gojoseon

Gojoseon, also called Joseon, was the first kingdom on the Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary founder named Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in the Korean Peninsula at the time and was an important marker in the progression towards the more centralized states of later periods. The addition of Go, meaning "ancient", is used in historiography to distinguish the kingdom from the Joseon dynasty founded in 1392 CE.

Dangun

Dangun

Dangun or Dangun Wanggeom was the legendary founder and god-king of Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, around present-day Liaoning province in Northeast China and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. He is said to be the "grandson of heaven" and "son of a bear", and to have founded the kingdom in 2333 BC. The earliest recorded version of the Dangun legend appears in the 13th-century Samguk Yusa, which cites China's Book of Wei and Korea's lost historical record Gogi . However, it has been confirmed that there is no relevant record in the China's Book of Wei. There are around seventeen religious groups that focus on the worship of Dangun.

Civil religion

Civil religion

Civil religion, also referred to as a civic religion, is the implicit religious values of a nation, as expressed through public rituals, symbols, and ceremonies on sacred days and at sacred places. It is distinct from churches, although church officials and ceremonies are sometimes incorporated into the practice of civil religion. Countries described as having a civil religion include France, the former Soviet Union, and the United States. As a concept, it originated in French political thought and became a major topic for U.S. sociologists since its use by Robert Bellah in 1960.

Manchuria

Manchuria

Manchuria is an exonym for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China and parts of the Russian Far East. Its meaning may vary depending on the context:Historical polities and geographical regions usually referred to as Manchuria: The Later Jin (1616–1636), the Manchu-led dynasty which renamed itself from "Jin" to "Qing", and the ethnicity from "Jurchen" to "Manchu" in 1636 the subsequent duration of the Qing dynasty prior to its conquest of China proper (1644) the northeastern region of Qing dynasty China, the homeland of Manchus, known as "Guandong" or "Guanwai" during the Qing dynasty The region of Northeast Asia that served as the historical homeland of the Jurchens and later their descendants the Manchus Qing control of Dauria was contested in 1643 when Russians entered; the ensuing Sino-Russian border conflicts ended when Russia agreed to withdraw in the 1689 Treaty of Nerchinsk controlled in whole by Qing dynasty China until the Amur Annexation of Outer Manchuria by Russia in 1858–1860 controlled as a whole by the Russian Empire after the Russian invasion of Manchuria in 1900 until the Russo-Japanese War and the Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905, which required Russian withdrawal. controlled by Qing China again, and reorganised in 1907 under the Viceroy of the Three Northeast Provinces controlled by the Republic of China (1912–1949) after the 1911 revolution controlled by the Fengtian clique lead by Zhang Zuolin from 1917 to 1928, until the military Northern Expedition and the Northeast Flag Replacement brought it under control the Republic of China again controlled by Imperial Japan as the puppet state of Manchukuo, often translated as "Manchuria", (1932–1945). Formed after the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, it included all of Northeast China, the northern fringes of present-day Hebei Province, and the eastern part of Inner Mongolia. briefly entirely controlled by the USSR after the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945, but then divided with China Modern Northeast China, specifically the three provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning, but broadly also including the eastern Inner Mongolian prefectures of Hulunbuir, Hinggan, Tongliao, and Chifeng, and sometimes Xilin Gol Areas of the modern Russian Federation also known as Outer Manchuria. The two areas involved are Priamurye between the Amur River and the Stanovoy Range to the north, and Primorye which runs down the coast from the Amur mouth to the Korean border, including the island of Sakhalin

Gija Joseon

Gija Joseon

Gija Joseon was a dynasty of Gojoseon allegedly founded by the sage Jizi (Gija), a member of the Shang dynasty royal house. Concrete evidence for Jizi's role in the history of Gojoseon is lacking, and the narrative has been challenged since the 20th century.

Han dynasty

Han dynasty

The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China, established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty and a warring interregnum known as the Chu–Han contention, and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period. The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty established by usurping regent Wang Mang, and is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han and the Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history, and it has influenced the identity of the Chinese civilization ever since. Modern China's majority ethnic group refers to themselves as the "Han people", the Sinitic language is known as "Han language", and the written Chinese is referred to as "Han characters".

Geography, climate and environment

Geography

Topography of South Korea
Topography of South Korea

South Korea occupies the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, which extends some 1,100 km (680 mi) from the Asian mainland. This mountainous peninsula is flanked by the Yellow Sea to the west, and the Sea of Japan to the east. Its southern tip lies on the Korea Strait and the East China Sea.

The country, including all its islands, lies between latitudes 33° and 39°N, and longitudes 124° and 130°E. Its total area is 100,032 square kilometers (38,622.57 sq mi).[125]

South Korea can be divided into four general regions: an eastern region of high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains; a western region of broad coastal plains, river basins, and rolling hills; a southwestern region of mountains and valleys; and a southeastern region dominated by the broad basin of the Nakdong River.[126] South Korea is home to three terrestrial ecoregions: Central Korean deciduous forests, Manchurian mixed forests, and Southern Korea evergreen forests.[127]

South Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous, most of which is not arable. Lowlands, located primarily in the west and southeast, make up only 30% of the total land area.

About three thousand islands, mostly small and uninhabited, lie off the western and southern coasts of South Korea. Jeju-do is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the southern coast of South Korea. It is the country's largest island, with an area of 1,845 square kilometers (712 square miles). Jeju is also the site of South Korea's highest point: Hallasan, an extinct volcano, reaches 1,950 meters (6,400 feet) above sea level. The easternmost islands of South Korea include Ulleungdo and Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima), while Marado and Socotra Rock are the southernmost islands of South Korea.[126]

South Korea has 20 national parks and popular nature places like the Boseong Tea Fields, Suncheon Bay Ecological Park, and the first national park of Jirisan.[128]

Climate

In the Köppen climate classification system, South Korea tends to have a humid continental climate and a humid subtropical climate, and is affected by the East Asian monsoon, with precipitation heavier in summer during a short rainy season called jangma (장마), which begins end of June through the end of July. Winters can be extremely cold with the minimum temperature dropping below −20 °C (−4 °F) in the inland region of the country: in Seoul, the average January temperature range is −7 to 1 °C (19 to 34 °F), and the average August temperature range is 22 to 30 °C (72 to 86 °F). Winter temperatures are higher along the southern coast and considerably lower in the mountainous interior.[130] Summer can be uncomfortably hot and humid, with temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) in most parts of the country. South Korea has four distinct seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter. Spring usually lasts from late March to early May, summer from mid-May to early September, autumn from mid-September to early November, and winter from mid-November to mid-March.

Rainfall is concentrated in the summer months of June through September. The southern coast is subject to late summer typhoons that bring strong winds, heavy rains and sometimes floods. The average annual precipitation varies from 1,370 millimeters (54 in) in Seoul to 1,470 millimeters (58 in) in Busan.

Environment

Cheonggyecheon river is a modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul.
Cheonggyecheon river is a modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul.

During the first 20 years of South Korea's growth surge, little effort was made to preserve the environment.[131] Unchecked industrialization and urban development have resulted in deforestation and the ongoing destruction of wetlands such as the Songdo Tidal Flat.[132] However, there have been recent efforts to balance these problems, including a government run $84 billion five-year green growth project that aims to boost energy efficiency and green technology.[133]

The green-based economic strategy is a comprehensive overhaul of South Korea's economy, utilizing nearly two percent of the national GDP. The greening initiative includes such efforts as a nationwide bike network, solar and wind energy, lowering oil dependent vehicles, backing daylight saving time and extensive usage of environmentally friendly technologies such as LEDs in electronics and lighting.[134] The country – already the world's most wired – plans to build a nationwide next-generation network that will be 10 times faster than broadband facilities, in order to reduce energy usage.[134]

The renewable portfolio standard program with renewable energy certificates runs from 2012 to 2022.[135] Quota systems favor large, vertically integrated generators and multinational electric utilities, if only because certificates are generally denominated in units of one megawatt-hour. They are also more difficult to design and implement than a Feed-in tariff.[136] Around 350 residential micro combined heat and power units were installed in 2012.[137]

In 2017, South Korea was the world's seventh largest emitter of carbon emissions and the fifth largest emitter per capita. The president Moon Jae-in pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – which contribute to climate change – to zero in 2050.[138][139]

Seoul's tap water recently became safe to drink, with city officials branding it "Arisu" in a bid to convince the public.[140] Efforts have also been made with afforestation projects. Another multibillion-dollar project was the restoration of Cheonggyecheon, a stream running through downtown Seoul that had earlier been paved over by a motorway.[141] One major challenge is air quality, with acid rain, sulfur oxides, and annual yellow dust storms being particular problems.[131] It is acknowledged that many of these difficulties are a result of South Korea's proximity to China, which is a major air polluter.[131] South Korea had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.02/10, ranking it 87th globally out of 172 countries.[142]

South Korea is a member of the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity Treaty, Kyoto Protocol (forming the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG), regarding UNFCCC,[143] with Mexico and Switzerland), Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (not into force), Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, and Whaling.[144]

Discover more about Geography, climate and environment related topics

Geography of South Korea

Geography of South Korea

South Korea is located in East Asia, on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula located out from the far east of the Asian landmass. The only country with a land border to South Korea is North Korea, lying to the north with 238 kilometres (148 mi) of the border running along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. South Korea is mostly surrounded by water and has 2,413 kilometres (1,499 mi) of coast line along three seas; to the west is the Yellow Sea, to the south is the East China Sea, and to the east is the Sea of Japan. Geographically, South Korea's landmass is approximately 100,032 square kilometres (38,623 sq mi). 290 square kilometres (110 sq mi) of South Korea are occupied by water. The approximate coordinates are 37° North, 128° East.

Geology of South Korea

Geology of South Korea

The geology of South Korea includes rocks dating to the Archean and two large massifs of metamorphic rock as the crystalline basement, overlain by thick sedimentary sequences, younger metamorphic rocks and volcanic deposits. Although extent is small, Geology is diverse, and there are diverse rocks that were formed during the Precambrian to Cenozoic Era in the Korea Peninsula.

Korean Peninsula

Korean Peninsula

The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula located in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 1,100 km (680 mi) from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the east and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the two bodies of water. The total area of the peninsula is 220,847 km2 (85,270 sq mi).

Korea Strait

Korea Strait

The Korea Strait is a sea passage in East Asia between Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The strait is split by the Tsushima Island into the Western Channel and the Tsushima Strait or Eastern Channel. It is economically important, as many shipping lanes pass through the strait, and both Japan and Korea permit free passage through it. In ancient times, both Buddhism and Mongol invaders passed over the strait to reach Japan. More recently, it was the site of the Battle of Korea Strait in the Korean War. A tunnel running underneath the strait connecting Japan and Korea, the Japan–Korea Undersea Tunnel, has been proposed to connect the two countries.

East China Sea

East China Sea

The East China Sea is an arm of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. It covers an area of roughly 1,249,000 square kilometers (482,000 sq mi). The sea’s northern extension between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula is the Yellow Sea, separated by an imaginary line between the eastern tip of Qidong at the Yangtze River estuary and the southwestern tip of South Korea's Jeju Island.

33rd parallel north

33rd parallel north

The 33rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 33 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It is approximate at the midpoint between the equator and the Arctic Circle It crosses North Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean.

39th parallel north

39th parallel north

The 39th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 39 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

124th meridian east

124th meridian east

The meridian 124° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Australia, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.

130th meridian east

130th meridian east

The meridian 130° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.

Drainage basin

Drainage basin

A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the drainage divide, made up of a succession of elevated features, such as ridges and hills. A basin may consist of smaller basins that merge at river confluences, forming a hierarchical pattern.

Central Korean deciduous forests

Central Korean deciduous forests

The Central Korea deciduous forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion on the Korean Peninsula, covering portions of South Korea and North Korea.

Arable land

Arable land

Arable land is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops. Alternatively, for the purposes of agricultural statistics, the term often has a more precise definition:Arable land is the land under temporary agricultural crops, temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow. The abandoned land resulting from shifting cultivation is not included in this category. Data for 'Arable land' are not meant to indicate the amount of land that is potentially cultivable.

Government

Separation of powers and the election system of South Korea
Separation of powers and the election system of South Korea
South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol portrait.jpg Han Duck-soo 2022.jpg
Yoon Suk-yeol
President
Han Duck-soo
Prime Minister

The South Korean government's structure is determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. Like many democratic states,[145] South Korea has a government divided into three branches: executive, judicial, and legislative. The executive and legislative branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. The judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. South Korea is a constitutional democracy.

The constitution has been revised several times since its first promulgation in 1948 at independence. However, it has retained many broad characteristics and with the exception of the short-lived Second Republic of South Korea, the country has always had a presidential system with an independent chief executive.[146] Under its current constitution the state is sometimes referred to as the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The first direct election was also held in 1948.

Although South Korea experienced a series of military dictatorships from the 1960s until the 1980s, it has since developed into a successful liberal democracy. Today, the CIA World Factbook describes South Korea's democracy as a "fully functioning modern democracy".[147] South Korea is ranked 45th on the Corruption Perceptions Index (9th in the Asia-Pacific region), with a score of 57 out of 100.[148]

Discover more about Government related topics

Government of South Korea

Government of South Korea

The Government of South Korea is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and is the highest figure of executive authority in the country, followed by the prime minister and government ministers in decreasing order.

Politics of South Korea

Politics of South Korea

The politics of the Republic of Korea take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, and of a multi-party system. To ensure a separation of powers, the Republic of Korea Government is made up of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The government exercises executive power and legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises a Supreme Court, appellate courts, and a Constitutional Court.

Separation of powers

Separation of powers

Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into "branches", each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typical division into three branches of government, sometimes called the trias politica model, includes a legislature, an executive, and a judiciary. It can be contrasted with the fusion of powers in parliamentary and semi-presidential systems where there can be overlap in membership and functions between different branches, especially the executive and legislative. In most non-authoritarian jurisdictions, however, the judiciary almost never overlaps with the other branches, whether powers in the jurisdiction are separated or fused.

Elections in South Korea

Elections in South Korea

Elections in South Korea are held on a national level to select the President and the National Assembly. Local elections are held every four years to elect governors, metropolitan mayors, municipal mayors, and provincial and municipal legislatures.

President of South Korea

President of South Korea

The president of the Republic of Korea, also known as the president of South Korea (Korean: 대통령), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is the chief of the executive branch of the national government as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

Han Duck-soo

Han Duck-soo

Han Duck-soo is a South Korean diplomat, economist, and politician serving as the 44th and current Prime Minister of South Korea since May 2022. Han is the fifth person to serve as the prime minister twice having served as the 34th Prime Minister under President Roh Moo-hyun from 2007 to 2008. He was the ambassador to the United States from 2009 to 2012. He served as Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association from 2012 to 2015.

Prime Minister of South Korea

Prime Minister of South Korea

The prime minister of the Republic of Korea is the deputy head of government and the second highest political office of South Korea who is appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea, with the National Assembly's approval. The prime minister may be a member of the National Assembly, but this is not required to hold the office. The prime minister of South Korea is not the head of government of South Korea, for the President is both the head of state and government in the country.

Constitution of South Korea

Constitution of South Korea

The Constitution of the Republic of Korea is the supreme law of South Korea. It was promulgated on July 17, 1948, and last revised on October 29, 1987.

Executive (government)

Executive (government)

The executive, also referred as the executive branch or executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.

Judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law in legal cases.

Legislature

Legislature

A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.

Liberal democracy

Liberal democracy

Liberal democracy or western democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under a representative democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into different branches of government, the rule of law in everyday life as part of an open society, a market economy with private property, and the equal protection of human rights, civil rights, civil liberties and political freedoms for all people. To define the system in practice, liberal democracies often draw upon a constitution, either codified or uncodified, to delineate the powers of government and enshrine the social contract. After a period of expansion in the second half of the 20th century, liberal democracy became a prevalent political system in the world.

Administrative divisions

The major administrative divisions in South Korea are eight provinces, one special self-governing province, six metropolitan cities (self-governing cities that are not part of any province), one special city and one special self-governing city.

Map Namea Hangul Hanja Populationc
Special city (Teukbyeol-si)a
Seoul 서울특별시 서울特別市b 9,830,452
Metropolitan city (Gwangyeok-si)a
Busan 부산광역시 釜山廣域市 3,460,707
Daegu 대구광역시 大邱廣域市 2,471,136
Incheon 인천광역시 仁川廣域市 2,952,476
Gwangju 광주광역시 光州廣域市 1,460,972
Daejeon 대전광역시 大田廣域市 1,496,123
Ulsan 울산광역시 蔚山廣域市 1,161,303
Special self-governing city (Teukbyeol-jachi-si)a
Sejong 세종특별자치시 世宗特別自治市 295,041
Province (Do)a
Gyeonggi 경기도 京畿道 12,941,604
Gangwon 강원도 江原道 1,545,452
North Chungcheong 충청북도 忠淸北道 1,595,164
South Chungcheong 충청남도 忠淸南道 2,120,666
North Jeolla 전라북도 全羅北道 1,847,089
South Jeolla 전라남도 全羅南道 1,890,412
North Gyeongsang 경상북도 慶尙北道 2,682,897
South Gyeongsang 경상남도 慶尙南道 3,377,126
Special self-governing province (Teukbyeol-jachi-do)a
Jeju 제주특별자치도 濟州特別自治道 661,511

a Revised Romanisation; b See Names of Seoul; c May As of 2018.[149]

Discover more about Administrative divisions related topics

Administrative divisions of South Korea

Administrative divisions of South Korea

South Korea is made up of 17 first-tier administrative divisions: 6 metropolitan cities, 1 special city, 1 special self-governing city, and 9 provinces, including one special self-governing province. These are further subdivided into a variety of smaller entities, including cities, counties, districts, towns, townships, neighborhoods and villages.

Hangul

Hangul

The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs used to pronounce them, and they are systematically modified to indicate phonetic features; similarly, the vowel letters are systematically modified for related sounds, making Hangul a featural writing system. It has been described as a syllabic alphabet as it combines the features of alphabetic and syllabic writing systems, although it is not necessarily an abugida.

Hanja

Hanja

Hanja, alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.

Population

Population

Population is the term typically used to refer to the number of people in a single area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the size of a resident population within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to animals, microorganisms, and plants, and has specific uses within such fields as ecology and genetics.

Incheon

Incheon

Incheon, formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City, is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. Today, about 3 million people live in the city, making it South Korea's third-most-populous city after Seoul and Busan.

Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province

Gyeonggi Province is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, Gyeonggi, means "京 and 畿 ". Thus, Gyeonggi-do can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946. Incheon, the nation's third-largest city, is on the coast of the province and has been similarly administered as a provincial-level metropolitan city since 1981. The three jurisdictions are collectively referred to as Sudogwon and cover 11,730 km2 (4,530 sq mi), with a combined population of over 26 million - amounting to over half (50.25%) of the entire population of South Korea at the 2020 Census.

North Chungcheong Province

North Chungcheong Province

North Chungcheong Province, also known as Chungbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Chungcheong has a population of 1,578,934 (2014) and has a geographic area of 7,433 km2 (2,870 sq mi) located in the Hoseo region in the south-center of the Korean Peninsula. North Chungcheong borders the provinces of Gyeonggi and Gangwon to the north, North Gyeongsang to the east, North Jeolla to the south and South Chungcheong, Sejong Special Autonomous City and Daejeon Metropolitan City to the west.

Daejeon

Daejeon

Daejeon is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and research institutions, and for celebrating its natural environment, with most mountains, hot springs, and rivers freely open for public use. Daejeon serves as a hub of transportation for major rail and road routes, and is approximately 50 minutes from the capital, Seoul, by KTX or SRT high speed rail.

North Gyeongsang Province

North Gyeongsang Province

North Gyeongsang Province is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea(as Keishōhoku-dō during Japanese rule) until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea.

North Jeolla Province

North Jeolla Province

North Jeolla Province, also known as Jeonbuk, is a province of South Korea. North Jeolla has a population of 1,869,711 (2015) and has a geographic area of 8,067 km2 located in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. North Jeolla borders the provinces of South Jeolla to the south, North Gyeongsang and South Gyeongsang to the east, North Chungcheong to the northeast, and South Chungcheong to the north.

Daegu

Daegu

Daegu, formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.

Busan

Busan

Busan, officially known as Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, with its port being Korea's busiest and the sixth-busiest in the world. The surrounding "Southeastern Maritime Industrial Region" is South Korea's largest industrial area. The large volumes of port traffic and urban population in excess of 1 million make Busan a Large-Port metropolis using the Southampton System of Port-City classification.

Demographics

Population pyramid of South Korea in 2021
Population pyramid of South Korea in 2021
Population[150][151]
Year Million
1950 19.2
2000 47.3
2021 51.8

In April 2016, South Korea's population was estimated to be around 50.8 million by National Statistical Office, with continuing decline of working age population and total fertility rate.[152][153] In a further indication of South Korea's dramatic decline in fertility, in 2020 the country recorded more deaths than births, resulting in a population decline for the first time since modern records began.[154][155] In 2021, the fertility rate stood at just 0.81 children per woman.[156] The country is noted for its population density, which was an estimated 505 per square kilometer in 2015,[152] more than 10 times the global average. Aside from micro-states and city-states, South Korea is the world's third most densely-populated country.[157] In practice the population density in much of South Korea is higher than the national one, as most of the country's land is uninhabitable due to being used for other purposes such as farming.[157] Most South Koreans live in urban areas, because of rapid migration from the countryside during the country's quick economic expansion in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.[158] The capital city of Seoul is also the country's largest city and chief industrial center. According to the 2005 census, Seoul had a population of 10 million inhabitants. The Seoul National Capital Area has 24.5 million inhabitants (about half of South Korea's entire population) making it the world's second largest metropolitan area. Other major cities include Busan (3.5 million), Incheon (3.0 million), Daegu (2.5 million), Daejeon (1.4 million), Gwangju (1.4 million) and Ulsan (1.1 million).[159]

Koreans in traditional dress
Koreans in traditional dress

The population has also been shaped by international migration. After World War II and the division of the Korean Peninsula, about four million people from North Korea crossed the border to South Korea. This trend of net entry reversed over the next 40 years because of emigration, especially to North America through the United States and Canada. South Korea's total population in 1955 was 21.5 million,[160] and has more than doubled, to 50 million, by 2010.[161]

South Korea is considered one of the most ethnically homogeneous societies in the world with ethnic Koreans representing approximately 96% of total population. Precise numbers are difficult to estimate since statistics do not record ethnicity and given many immigrants are ethnically Korean themselves, and some South Korean citizens are not ethnically Korean.[162]

The percentage of foreign nationals has been growing rapidly since late 1990s.[163] As of 2016, South Korea had 1,413,758 foreign residents, 2.75 percent of the population;[162] however, many of them are ethnic Koreans with a foreign citizenship. For example, migrants from China (PRC) make up 56.5 percent of foreign nationals, but approximately 70 percent of the Chinese citizens in Korea are Joseonjok (조선족), PRC citizens of Korean ethnicity.[164] Regardless of the ethnicity, there are 28,500 US military personnel serving in South Korea, most serving a one-year unaccompanied tour (though approximately 10 percent serve longer tours accompanied by family), according to the Korea National Statistical Office.[165][166] In addition, about 43,000 English teachers from English-speaking countries reside temporarily in Korea.[167] Currently, South Korea has one of the highest rates of growth of foreign born population, with about 30,000 foreign born residents obtaining South Korean citizenship every year since 2010.

Large numbers of ethnic Koreans live overseas, sometimes in Korean ethnic neighborhoods also known as Koreatowns. The four largest diaspora populations can be found in China (2.3 million), the United States (1.8 million), Japan (0.85 million), and Canada (0.25 million).

South Korea's birth rate was the world's lowest in 2009,[168] at an annual rate of approximately 9 births per 1000 people.[169] Fertility saw some modest increase afterwards,[170] but dropped to a new global low in 2017,[171] with fewer than 30,000 births per month for the first time since records began[172] and less than 1 child per woman in 2018.[173] The average life expectancy in 2008 was 79.10 years,[174] (which was 34th in the world[175]) but by 2015 it had increased to around 81.[176] South Korea has the steepest decline in working age population of the OECD nations.[177] In 2015, National Statistical Office estimated that the population of the country will have reached its peak by 2035.[152][153]

 
Largest cities or towns in South Korea
Rank Name Province Pop. Rank Name Province Pop.
Seoul
Seoul
Busan
Busan
1 Seoul Seoul 9,904,312 11 Yongin Gyeonggi 971,327 Incheon
Incheon
Daegu
Daegu
2 Busan Busan 3,448,737 12 Seongnam Gyeonggi 948,757
3 Incheon Incheon 2,890,451 13 Bucheon Gyeonggi 843,794
4 Daegu Daegu 2,446,052 14 Cheongju North Chungcheong 833,276
5 Daejeon Daejeon 1,538,394 15 Ansan Gyeonggi 747,035
6 Gwangju Gwangju 1,502,881 16 Jeonju North Jeolla 658,172
7 Suwon Gyeonggi 1,194,313 17 Cheonan South Chungcheong 629,062
8 Ulsan Ulsan 1,166,615 18 Namyangju Gyeonggi 629,061
9 Changwon South Gyeongsang 1,059,241 19 Hwaseong Gyeonggi 608,725
10 Goyang Gyeonggi 990,073 20 Anyang Gyeonggi 585,177

Education

Seoul National University is considered to be the most prestigious university in South Korea.
Seoul National University is considered to be the most prestigious university in South Korea.

A centralized administration in South Korea oversees the process for the education of children from kindergarten to the third and final year of high school. The school year is divided into two semesters, the first of which begins at the beginning of March and ends in mid-July, the second of which begins in late August and ends in mid-February. The schedules are not uniformly standardized and vary from school to school. Most South Korean middle schools and high schools have school uniforms, modeled on western-style uniforms. Boys' uniforms usually consist of trousers and white shirts, and girls wear skirts and white shirts (this only applies in middle schools and high schools). The country adopted a new educational program to increase the number of their foreign students through 2010. According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the number of scholarships for foreign students in South Korea would have (under the program) doubled by that time, and the number of foreign students would have reached 100,000.[179]

South Korea is one of the top-performing OECD countries in reading literacy, mathematics and sciences with the average student scoring 519, compared with the OECD average of 492, placing it ninth in the world. The country has one of the world's highest-educated labor forces among OECD countries.[180][181] The country is well known for its highly feverish outlook on education, where its national obsession with education has been called "education fever".[182][183][184] This obsession with education has catapulted the resource-poor nation consistently atop the global education rankings. In 2014, South Korea ranked second worldwide (after Singapore) in the national rankings of students' math and science scores by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) .[185]

Higher education is a serious issue in South Korean society, where it is viewed as one of the fundamental cornerstones of South Korean life. Education is regarded with a high priority for South Korean families, as success in education is often a source of honor and pride for families and within South Korean society at large, and is seen as a fundamental necessity to channel one's social mobility to ultimately improve one's socioeconomic position in South Korean society.[186][187] South Koreans view education as the main propeller of social mobility for themselves and their family, as a gateway to the South Korean middle class. Often seen as the objective among many South Korean prospective university students, graduating from an elite South Korean university is the ultimate marker of prestige, high socioeconomic status, promising marriage prospects, and a respectable career path.[188] The entrance into a top-tier higher educational institution leads to a prestigious, secure and well-paid white collar job with the government, banks, or a major South Korean conglomerate such as Samsung, Hyundai or LG Electronics.[189] With incredible pressure on high school students to secure limited spots at the nation's most esteemed universities, its institutional reputation and alumni networks are strong predictors of future career prospects. The top three universities in South Korea, often referred to as "SKY", are Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University.[190][191] An average South Korean student's life revolves around education, with intensely cutthroat competition for top grades, pressure to succeed academically and being the top student in every core class is deeply ingrained in the psyche of South Korean students at a young age.[191] Yet with only so many limited places at the nation's most prestigious universities and even far fewer job openings at top-tier companies to accommodate the glut of numerously highly-qualified university graduates competing for such openings that have flooded the job market, many young South Koreans remain disappointed and are often unwilling to lower their expectations with regards employment prospects with the result of many feeling as though they are underachievers. There is a major cultural taboo in South Korean society attached to those who have not achieved formal university education, where those who do not hold university degrees face social prejudice and are often condescendingly looked down by others with contempt as second-class citizens. This often results in fewer opportunities for employment, improvement of one's socioeconomic position and prospects for marriage.[192][193]

KAIST main campus in Daejeon
KAIST main campus in Daejeon

In 2015, the country spent 5.1% of its GDP on all levels of education – roughly 0.8 percentage points above the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 4.3%.[194] A strong investment in education, a militant drive to achieve academic success, as well as the passion for scholarly excellence has helped the resource-poor country rapidly grow its economy over the past 60 years from a war-torn wasteland to a prosperous first-world country.[195]

International reception regarding the South Korean education system has been divided. It has been praised for various reasons, including its comparatively high test results and its major role in generating South Korea's economic development, creating one of the world's most educated workforces.[196] South Korea's highly enviable academic performance has persuaded British education ministers to actively remodel their own curriculums and exams to try to emulate Korea's militant drive and passion for scholarly excellence and high educational achievement and success.[196] Former U.S. President Barack Obama has also praised the country's rigorous school system, where over 80 percent of South Korean high school graduates go on to university.[197] The nation's high university entrance rate has created a highly skilled workforce, making South Korea among the most highly educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentages of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree.[198] In 2017, the country ranked fifth for the percentage of 25 to 64 year old's that have attained tertiary education with 47.7 percent.[198] In addition, 69.8 percent of South Koreans aged 25–34 have completed some form of tertiary education qualification, and bachelor's degrees are held by 34.2 percent of South Koreans aged 25–64, the most in the OECD.[194][198]

The system's rigid and hierarchical structure has been criticized for stifling creativity and innovation;[199][200] described as intensely and "brutally" competitive,[201] the system is often blamed for the high suicide rate in the country, particularly the growing rates among those aged 10–19. Various media outlets attribute the country's high suicide rate to the nationwide anxiety around the country's college entrance exams, which determine the trajectory of students' entire lives and careers.[202][203] Former South Korean hagwon teacher Se-Woong Koo wrote that the South Korean education system amounts to child abuse and that it should be "reformed and restructured without delay".[204] The system has also been criticized for producing an excess supply of university graduates creating an overeducated and underemployed labor force; in the first quarter of 2013 alone, nearly 3.3 million South Korean university graduates were jobless, leaving many graduates overqualified for jobs requiring less education.[205] Further criticism has been stemmed for causing labor shortages in various skilled blue collar labor and vocational occupations, where many go unfilled as the negative social stigma associated with vocational careers and not having a university degree continues to remain deep-rooted in South Korean society.[206][207][208]

Language

Dialects of the Korean language
Dialects of the Korean language

Korean is the official language of South Korea, and is classified by most linguists as a language isolate. It incorporates a significant number of loan words from Chinese. Korean uses an indigenous writing system called Hangul, created in 1446 by King Sejong, to provide a convenient alternative to the Classical Chinese Hanja characters that were difficult to learn and did not fit the Korean language well. South Korea still uses some Chinese Hanja characters in limited areas, such as print media and legal documentation.

The Korean language in South Korea has a standard dialect known as the Seoul dialect (after the capital city), with an additional four dialects (Chungcheong, Gangwon, Gyeongsang, and Jeolla) and one language (Jeju) in use around the country.

Almost all South Korean students today learn English throughout their education, with some optionally choosing Japanese or Mandarin as well.

Religion

Religion in South Korea (2015 census)[209][4]

  Irreligious (56.1%)
  Protestantism (19.7%)
  Korean Buddhism (15.5%)
  Catholicism (7.9%)
  Other (0.8%)

According to the results of the census of 2015, more than half of the South Korean population (56.1%) declared themselves not affiliated with any religious organizations.[209] In a 2012 survey, 52% declared themselves "religious", 31% said they were "not religious" and 15% identified themselves as "convinced atheists".[210] Of the people who are affiliated with a religious organization, most are Christians and Buddhists. According to the 2015 census, 27.6% of the population were Christians (19.7% identified themselves as Protestants, 7.9% as Roman Catholics) and 15.5% were Buddhists.[209] Other religions include Islam (130,000 Muslims, mostly migrant workers from Pakistan and Bangladesh but including some 35,000 Korean Muslims[211]), the homegrown sect of Won Buddhism, and a variety of indigenous religions, including Cheondoism (a Confucianizing religion), Jeungsanism, Daejongism, Daesun Jinrihoe, and others. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution, and there is no state religion.[212] Overall, between the 2005 and 2015 censuses, there has been a slight decline of Christianity (down from 29% to 27.6%), a sharp decline of Buddhism (down from 22.8% to 15.5%), and a rise of the unaffiliated population (from 47.2% to 56.9%).[209]

Christianity is South Korea's largest organized religion, accounting for more than half of all South Korean adherents of religious organizations. There are approximately 13.5 million Christians in South Korea today; about two thirds of them belonging to Protestant churches, and the rest to the Catholic Church.[209] The number of Protestants has been stagnant throughout the 1990s and the 2000s, but increased to a peak level throughout the 2010s. Roman Catholics increased significantly between the 1980s and the 2000s, but declined throughout the 2010s.[209] Christianity, unlike in other East Asian countries, found fertile ground in Korea in the 18th century, and by the end of the 18th century it persuaded a large part of the population, as the declining monarchy supported it and opened the country to widespread proselytism as part of a project of Westernization. The weakness of Korean Sindo, which – unlike Japanese Shinto and China's religious system – never developed into a national religion of high status,[213] combined with the impoverished state of Korean Buddhism, (after 500 years of suppression at the hands of the Joseon state, by the 20th century it was virtually extinct) left a free hand to Christian churches. Christianity's similarity to native religious narratives has been studied as another factor that contributed to its success in the peninsula.[214] The Japanese colonization of the first half of the 20th century further strengthened the identification of Christianity with Korean nationalism, as the Japanese coopted native Korean Sindo into the Nipponic Imperial Shinto that they tried to establish in the peninsula.[215] Widespread Christianization of the Koreans took place during State Shinto,[215] after its abolition, and then in the independent South Korea as the newly established military government supported Christianity and tried to utterly oust native Sindo.

Buddha's Birthday celebration in Seoul
Buddha's Birthday celebration in Seoul

Among Christian denominations, Presbyterianism is the largest. About nine million people belong to one of the hundred different Presbyterian churches; the biggest ones are the HapDong Presbyterian Church, TongHap Presbyterian Church and the Koshin Presbyterian Church. South Korea is also the second-largest missionary-sending nation, after the United States.[216]

Buddhism was introduced to Korea in the 4th century.[217] It soon became a dominant religion in the southeastern kingdom of Silla, the region that hitherto hosts the strongest concentration of Buddhists in South Korea. In the other states of the Three Kingdoms Period, Goguryeo and Baekje, it was made the state religion respectively in 372 and 528. It remained the state religion in Later Silla (North South States Period) and Goryeo. It was later suppressed throughout much of the subsequent history under the unified kingdom of Joseon (1392–1897), which officially adopted a strict Korean Confucianism. Today, South Korea has about 7 million Buddhists,[209] most of them affiliated to the Jogye Order. Most of the National Treasures of South Korea are Buddhist artifacts.

Health

Development of life expectancy in North Korea and South Korea
Development of life expectancy in North Korea and South Korea

South Korea has a universal healthcare system.[218] According to one ranking, it has the world's second best healthcare system.[219]

Suicide in South Korea is the 10th highest in the world according to the World Health Organization, as well as the highest suicide rate in the OECD.[220][221]

South Korean hospitals have advanced medical equipment and facilities readily available, ranking 4th for MRI units per capita and 6th for CT scanners per capita in the OECD.[222] It also had the OECD's second largest number of hospital beds per 1000 people at 9.56 beds.

Life expectancy has been rising rapidly and South Korea ranked 11th in the world for life expectancy at 82.3 years by the WHO in 2015.[223] It also has the third highest health adjusted life expectancy in the world.[224]

Discover more about Demographics related topics

Demographics of South Korea

Demographics of South Korea

This is a demography of the population of South Korea including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Koreans

Koreans

Koreans are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. The majority of Koreans live in the two states of North and South Korea, which are collectively referred to as Korea. As of 2021, an estimated 7.3 million ethnic Koreans resided outside of Korea. Koreans are also an officially recognized ethnic minority in other Asian countries, including China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Outside of Asia, sizeable Korean communities have formed in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Canada, and Oceania.

List of cities in South Korea

List of cities in South Korea

The largest cities of South Korea have an autonomous status equivalent to that of provinces. Seoul, the largest city and capital, is classified as a teukbyeolsi, while the next six-largest cities are classified as gwangyeoksi. Smaller cities are classified as si ("cities") and are under provincial jurisdiction, at the same level as counties.

Seoul

Seoul

Seoul, officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. According to the 2020 census, Seoul has a population of 9.9 million people, and forms the heart of the Seoul Capital Area with the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province. Considered to be a global city and rated as an Alpha – City by Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC), Seoul was the world's fourth largest metropolitan economy in 2014, following Tokyo, New York City and Los Angeles.

Busan

Busan

Busan, officially known as Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, with its port being Korea's busiest and the sixth-busiest in the world. The surrounding "Southeastern Maritime Industrial Region" is South Korea's largest industrial area. The large volumes of port traffic and urban population in excess of 1 million make Busan a Large-Port metropolis using the Southampton System of Port-City classification.

Incheon

Incheon

Incheon, formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City, is a city located in northwestern South Korea, bordering Seoul and Gyeonggi to the east. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Incheon was home to just 4,700 people when it became an international port in 1883. Today, about 3 million people live in the city, making it South Korea's third-most-populous city after Seoul and Busan.

Daegu

Daegu

Daegu, formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.

Daejeon

Daejeon

Daejeon is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and research institutions, and for celebrating its natural environment, with most mountains, hot springs, and rivers freely open for public use. Daejeon serves as a hub of transportation for major rail and road routes, and is approximately 50 minutes from the capital, Seoul, by KTX or SRT high speed rail.

Gwangju

Gwangju

Gwangju is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office moved to the southern village of Namak in Muan County in 2005 because Gwangju was promoted to a metropolitan city and was independent of South Jeolla province.

Division of Korea

Division of Korea

The division of Korea began with the defeat of Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be liberated from Japan but would be placed under an international trusteeship until the Koreans would be deemed ready for self-rule. In the last days of the war, the U.S. proposed dividing the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones with the 38th parallel as the dividing line. The Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea.

Korean diaspora

Korean diaspora

The Korean diaspora, also known as Hanin, consists of around 7.3 million people, both descendants of early emigrants from the Korean Peninsula, as well as more recent emigres from Korea. Around 84.5% of overseas Koreans live in just five countries: China, the United States, Japan, Canada, and Uzbekistan. Other countries with greater than 0.5% Korean minorities include Brazil, Russia, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. All these figures include both permanent migrants and sojourners.

Koreans in China

Koreans in China

Koreans in China, Korean Chinese, Joseonjok, Chosŏnjok, or Chaoxianzu are all ethnic Koreans with Chinese nationality/citizenship. A majority of the chaoxianzu are descendants of immigrants from Korean peninsula from recent immigration. The Chinese government officially recognize them as one of the 56 ethnicities being part of the 55 ethnic minorities in China. They are the 13th largest minority group in China. Their total population was estimated at 1,923,842 as of 2005 and 1,830,929 according to the 2010 Chinese census. High levels of emigration to the Republic of Korea for better economic and financial opportunities, which has conversely reported a large increase of Korean Chinese in Korea, are the likely cause of the drop in China. Most of them live in South Korea and Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. They are also located in Heilongjiang, Liaoning, and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Foreign relations

South Korea maintains diplomatic relations with more than 188 countries. The country has also been a member of the United Nations since 1991, when it became a member state at the same time as North Korea. On 1 January 2007, former South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon served as UN Secretary-General from 2007 to 2016. It has also developed links with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as both a member of ASEAN Plus three, a body of observers, and the East Asia Summit (EAS).

In November 2009, South Korea joined the OECD Development Assistance Committee, marking the first time a former aid recipient country joined the group as a donor member.

South Korea hosted the G-20 Summit in Seoul in November 2010, a year that saw South Korea and the European Union conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) to reduce trade barriers. South Korea went on to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Australia in 2014, and another with New Zealand in 2015.

North Korea

Both North and South Korea claim complete sovereignty over the entire peninsula and outlying islands.[225] Despite mutual animosity, reconciliation efforts have continued since the initial separation between North and South Korea. Political figures such as Kim Koo worked to reconcile the two governments even after the Korean War.[226] With longstanding animosity following the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, North Korea and South Korea signed an agreement to pursue peace.[227] On 4 October 2007, Roh Moo-Hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed an eight-point agreement on issues of permanent peace, high-level talks, economic cooperation, renewal of train services, highway and air travel, and a joint Olympic cheering squad.[227]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands inside the Peace House.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands inside the Peace House.

Despite the Sunshine Policy and efforts at reconciliation, the progress was complicated by North Korean missile tests in 1993, 1998, 2006, 2009, and 2013. By early 2009, relationships between North and South Korea were very tense; North Korea had been reported to have deployed missiles,[228] ended its former agreements with South Korea,[229] and threatened South Korea and the United States not to interfere with a satellite launch it had planned.[230] North and South Korea are still technically at war (having never signed a peace treaty after the Korean War) and share the world's most heavily fortified border.[231] On 27 May 2009, North Korean media declared that the Armistice is no longer valid because of the South Korean government's pledge to "definitely join" the Proliferation Security Initiative. To further complicate and intensify strains between the two nations, the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March 2010 was affirmed by the South Korean government[232] to have been caused by a North Korean torpedo, which the North denies. President Lee Myung-bak declared in May 2010 that Seoul would cut all trade with North Korea as part of measures primarily aimed at striking back at North Korea diplomatically and financially, except for the joint Kaesong Industrial Project and humanitarian aid.[233] North Korea initially threatened to sever all ties, to completely abrogate the previous pact of non-aggression, and to expel all South Koreans from a joint industrial zone in Kaesong, but backtracked on its threats and decided to continue its ties with South Korea. Despite the continuing ties, the Kaesong Industrial Region has seen a large decrease in investment and manpower as a result of this military conflict. In February 2016, the Kaesong complex was closed by Seoul in reaction to North Korea's launch of a rocket earlier in the month,[234] which was unanimously condemned by the United Nations Security Council.[235] The 2017 election of President Moon Jae-in has seen a change in approach towards the North, and both sides used the South Korean-held 2018 Winter Olympics as an opportunity for engagement,[236] with a very senior North Korean political delegation sent to the games, along with a reciprocal visit by senior South Korean cabinet members to the North soon afterwards.[237]

China and Russia

Historically, Korea had close relations with the dynasties in China, and some Korean kingdoms were members of the Imperial Chinese tributary system. The Korean kingdoms also ruled over some Chinese kingdoms including the Khitan people and the Manchurians before the Qing dynasty and received tributes from them.[238] In modern times, before the formation of South Korea, Korean independence fighters worked with Chinese soldiers during the Japanese occupation. However, after World War II, the People's Republic of China embraced Maoism while South Korea sought close relations with the United States. The PRC assisted North Korea with manpower and supplies during the Korean War, and in its aftermath the diplomatic relationship between South Korea and the PRC almost completely ceased. Relations thawed gradually and South Korea and the PRC re-established formal diplomatic relations on 24 August 1992. The two countries sought to improve bilateral relations and lifted the forty-year-old trade embargo,[239] and South Korean–Chinese relations have improved steadily since 1992.[239] The Republic of Korea broke off official relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) upon gaining official relations with the People's Republic of China, which does not recognize Taiwan's sovereignty.[240]

South Korean president Moon Jae-in meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
South Korean president Moon Jae-in meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

China has become South Korea's largest trading partner by far, sending 26% of South Korean exports in 2016 worth $124 billion, as well as an additional $32 billion worth of exports to Hong Kong.[241] South Korea is also China's fourth largest trading partner, with $93 billion of Chinese imports in 2016.[242]

The 2017 deployment of THAAD defense missiles by the United States military in South Korea in response to North Korean missile tests has been protested strongly by the Chinese government, concerned that the technologically advanced missile defense could be used more broadly against China.[243] Relations between the governments have cooled in response, with South Korean commercial and cultural interests in China having been targeted, and Chinese tourism to South Korea having been curtailed.[244] The situation was largely resolved by South Korea making significant military concessions to China in exchange for THAAD, including not deploying any more anti-ballistic missile systems in South Korea and not participating in an alliance between the United States and Japan.[245]

South Korea and Russia are participants in the Six-party talks on the North Korea's nuclear proliferation issue. Moon Jae-in's administration has focused on increasing South Korea's consumption of natural gas. These plans include re-opening dialogue around a natural gas pipeline that would come from Russia and pass through North Korea.[246] In June 2018, president Moon Jae-in became the first South Korean leader to speak in the Russian Parliament.[247] On 22 June, Moon Jae-in and Putin signed a document for foundation of free trade area.[248]

Japan

The Liancourt Rocks have become an issue known as the Liancourt Rocks dispute.
The Liancourt Rocks have become an issue known as the Liancourt Rocks dispute.

Korea and Japan have had difficult relations since ancient times, but also significant cultural exchange, with Korea acting as the gateway between East Asia and Japan. Contemporary perceptions of Japan are still largely defined by Japan's 35 year colonization of Korea in the 20th century, which is generally regarded in South Korea as having been very negative. Japan is today South Korea's third largest trading partner, with 12% ($46 billion) of exports in 2016.[241]

There were no formal diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan directly after independence the end of World War II in 1945. South Korea and Japan eventually signed the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea in 1965 to establish diplomatic ties. There is heavy anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea because of a number of unsettled Japanese-Korean disputes, many of which stem from the period of Japanese occupation after the Japanese annexation of Korea. During World War II, more than 100,000 Koreans served in the Imperial Japanese Army.[249][250] Korean women were coerced and forced to serve the Imperial Japanese Army as sexual slaves, called comfort women, in both Korea and throughout the Japanese war fronts.[251][252]

Longstanding issues such as Japanese war crimes against Korean civilians, the negationist re-writing of Japanese textbooks relating Japanese atrocities during World War II, the territorial disputes over the Liancourt Rocks, known in South Korea as "Dokdo" and in Japan as "Takeshima",[253] and visits by Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine, honoring Japanese people (civilians and military) killed during the war continue to trouble Korean-Japanese relations. The Liancourt Rocks were the first Korean territories to be forcibly colonized by Japan in 1905. Although it was again returned to Korea along with the rest of its territory in 1951 with the signing of the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan does not recant on its claims that the Liancourt Rocks are Japanese territory.[254] In response to then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, former President Roh Moo-hyun suspended all summit talks between South Korea and Japan in 2009.[255] A summit between the nations' leaders was eventually held on 9 February 2018 during the Korean held Winter Olympics.[256] South Korea asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban the Japanese Rising Sun Flag from the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo,[257][258] and the IOC said in a statement "sports stadiums should be free of any political demonstration. When concerns arise at games time we look at them on a case-by-case basis."[259]

European Union

The European Union (EU) and South Korea are important trading partners, having negotiated a free trade agreement for many years since South Korea was designated as a priority FTA partner in 2006. The free trade agreement was approved in September 2010, and took effect on 1 July 2011.[260] South Korea is the EU's tenth largest trade partner, and the EU has become South Korea's fourth largest export destination. EU trade with South Korea exceeded €90 billion in 2015 and has enjoyed an annual average growth rate of 9.8% between 2003 and 2013.[261]

The EU has been the single largest foreign investor in South Korea since 1962, and accounted for almost 45% of all FDI inflows into Korea in 2006. Nevertheless, EU companies have significant problems accessing and operating in the South Korean market because of stringent standards and testing requirements for products and services often creating barriers to trade. Both in its regular bilateral contacts with South Korea and through its FTA with Korea, the EU is seeking to improve this situation.[261]

United States

President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden having lunch on 21 May 2021, on the Oval Office Patio of the White House
President Moon Jae-in and U.S. President Joe Biden having lunch on 21 May 2021, on the Oval Office Patio of the White House

The close relationship began directly after World War II, when the United States temporarily administrated Korea for three years (mainly in the South, with the Soviet Union engaged in North Korea) after Japan. Upon the onset of the Korean War in 1950, U.S. forces were sent to defend against an invasion from North Korea of the South, and subsequently fought as the largest contributor of UN troops. The United States participation was critical for preventing the near defeat of the Republic of Korea by northern forces, as well as fighting back for the territory gains that define the South Korean nation today.

Following the Armistice, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to a "Mutual Defense Treaty", under which an attack on either party in the Pacific area would summon a response from both.[262] In 1967, South Korea obliged the mutual defense treaty, by sending a large combat troop contingent to support the United States in the Vietnam War. The US has over 23,000 troops stationed in South Korea, including the U.S. Eighth Army, Seventh Air Force, and U.S. Naval Forces Korea. The two nations have strong economic, diplomatic, and military ties, although they have at times disagreed with regard to policies towards North Korea, and with regard to some of South Korea's industrial activities that involve usage of rocket or nuclear technology. There had also been strong anti-American sentiment during certain periods, which has largely moderated in the modern day.[263]

The two nations also share a close economic relationship, with the U.S. being South Korea's second largest trading partner, receiving $66 billion in exports in 2016.[241] In 2007, a free trade agreement known as the Republic of Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) was signed between South Korea and the United States, but its formal implementation was repeatedly delayed, pending approval by the legislative bodies of the two countries. On 12 October 2011, the U.S. Congress passed the long-stalled trade agreement with South Korea.[264] It went into effect on 15 March 2012.[265]

Discover more about Foreign relations related topics

Foreign relations of South Korea

Foreign relations of South Korea

South Korea maintains diplomatic relations with 191 countries. The country has also been a member of the United Nations since 1991, when it became a member state at the same time as North Korea. South Korea has also hosted major international events such as the 1988 Summer Olympics and 2002 World Cup Football Tournament and the 2011 IAAF World Championships Daegu South Korea. Furthermore, South Korea had hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics which took place in Pyeongchang, South Korea from 9 to 25 February.

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade between 2004 and 2006. Ban was the foreign minister of South Korea between 2004 and 2006. Ban was initially considered to be a long shot for the office of Secretary-General of the United Nations; he began to campaign for the office in February 2006. As the foreign minister of South Korea, he was able to travel to all the countries on the United Nations Security Council, a maneuver that subsequently turned him into the campaign's front runner.

East Asia Summit

East Asia Summit

The East Asia Summit (EAS) is a regional forum held annually by leaders of, initially, 16 countries in the East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian and Oceanian regions, based on the ASEAN Plus Six mechanism. Membership expanded to 18 countries including Russia and the United States at the Sixth EAS in 2011. Since its establishment, ASEAN has held the central role and leadership in the forum. EAS meetings are held after the annual ASEAN leaders' meetings, and plays an important role in the regional architecture of Asia-Pacific. The first summit was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 14 December 2005.

Development Assistance Committee

Development Assistance Committee

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is a forum to discuss issues surrounding aid, development and poverty reduction in developing countries. It describes itself as being the "venue and voice" of the world's major donor countries.

European Union

European Union

The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of 4,233,255.3 km2 (1,634,469.0 sq mi) and an estimated total population of nearly 447 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.

European Union–South Korea Free Trade Agreement

European Union–South Korea Free Trade Agreement

The European Union–South Korea Free Trade Agreement is a free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and South Korea. The agreement was signed on 15 October 2009. The agreement was provisionally applied from 1 July 2011, and entered into force from 13 December 2015, after having been ratified by all signatories.

Australia–Korea Free Trade Agreement

Australia–Korea Free Trade Agreement

The Korea–Australia Free Trade Agreement (KAFTA) is a bilateral agreement seeking to reduce trade and investment barriers between Australia and South Korea. The agreement, which came into effect on the 12th of December 2014 provides Australian goods exporters, service providers and investors with significantly improved access to the South Korean market. The trade agreement stems from decades of bilateral relations, encompassing security, trade and diplomatic ties from 1962, when then President Park Chung-Hee introduced a series of five-year plans designed to spur globalisation efforts and industrial development in Korea following the end of the Korean War.

North Korea–South Korea relations

North Korea–South Korea relations

Formerly a single nation that was annexed by Japan in 1910, the Korean Peninsula has been divided into North Korea and South Korea since the end of World War II on 2 September 1945. The two governments were founded in the two regions in 1948, leading to the consolidation of division. The two countries became opposite and engaged in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953 which ended in an armistice agreement but without a peace treaty. North Korea is a one-party totalitarian state run by the Kim dynasty. South Korea was formerly governed by a succession of military dictatorships, save for a brief one-year democratic period from 1960 to 1961, until thorough democratization in 1987, after which direct elections were held. Both nations claim the entire Korean peninsula and outlying islands. Both nations joined the United Nations in 1991 and are recognized by most member states. Since the 1970s, both nations have held informal diplomatic dialogues in order to ease military tensions. In 2000, President Kim Dae-jung became the first President of South Korea to visit North Korea, 55 years after the peninsula was divided.

Joint Security Area

Joint Security Area

The Joint Security Area is the only portion of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) where North and South Korean forces stand face-to-face. The JSA is used by the two Koreas for diplomatic engagements and, until March 1991, was also the site of military negotiations between North Korea and the United Nations Command (UNC).

Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and rebellions in South Korea. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union while South Korea was supported by the United States and allied countries. The fighting ended with an armistice on 27 July 1953.

Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il

Kim Jong-il was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim Il-sung, the first Supreme Leader, until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-un.

Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un

Kim Jong-un is a North Korean politician who has been the supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's second supreme leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui. He is a grandson of Kim Il-sung, who was the founder and first supreme leader of North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Kim Jong-un is the first leader of North Korea to have been born in the country after its founding in 1948.

Military

Unresolved tension with North Korea has prompted South Korea to allocate 2.6% of its GDP and 15% of all government spending to its military (Government share of GDP: 14.967%), while maintaining compulsory conscription for men. Consequently, South Korea has the world's seventh largest number of active troops (599,000 in 2018), the world's highest number of reserve troops (3,100,000 in 2018).[266]

The South Korean military consists of the Army (ROKA), the Navy (ROKN), the Air Force (ROKAF), and the Marine Corps (ROKMC), and reserve forces. Many of these forces are concentrated near the Korean Demilitarized Zone. All South Korean males are constitutionally required to serve in the military, typically 18 months. Previous exceptions for South Korean citizens of mixed race no longer apply since 2011.[267]

In addition to male conscription in South Korea's sovereign military, 1,800 Korean males are selected every year to serve 18 months in the KATUSA Program to further augment the United States Forces Korea (USFK). In 2010, South Korea was spending 1.68 trillion in a cost-sharing agreement with the US to provide budgetary support to the US forces in Korea, on top of the ₩29.6 trillion budget for its own military.

The South Korean-developed K2 Black Panther, built by Hyundai Rotem
The South Korean-developed K2 Black Panther, built by Hyundai Rotem

The South Korean Army has 2,500 tanks in operation, including the K1A1 and K2 Black Panther, which form the backbone of the South Korean army's mechanized armor and infantry forces. A sizable arsenal of many artillery systems, including 1,700 self-propelled K55 and K9 Thunder howitzers and 680 helicopters and UAVs of numerous types, are assembled to provide additional fire, reconnaissance, and logistics support. South Korea's smaller but more advanced artillery force and wide range of airborne reconnaissance platforms are pivotal in the counter-battery suppression of North Korea's large artillery force, which operates more than 13,000 artillery systems deployed in various state of fortification and mobility.

The South Korean Navy has made its first major transformation into a blue-water navy through the formation of the Strategic Mobile Fleet, which includes a battle group of Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyers, Dokdo class amphibious assault ship, AIP-driven Type 214 submarines, and King Sejong the Great class destroyers, which is equipped with the latest baseline of Aegis fleet-defense system that allows the ships to track and destroy multiple cruise missiles and ballistic missiles simultaneously, forming an integral part of South Korea's indigenous missile defense umbrella against the North Korean military's missile threat.[268]

The South Korean Air Force operates 840 aircraft, making it world's ninth largest air force, including several types of advanced fighters like F-15K, heavily modified KF-16C/D,[269] and the indigenous T-50 Golden Eagle,[270][271] supported by well-maintained fleets of older fighters such as F-4E and KF-5E/F that still effectively serve the air force alongside the more modern aircraft. In an attempt to gain strength in terms of not just numbers but also modernity, the commissioning of four Boeing 737 AEW&C aircraft, under Project Peace Eye for centralized intelligence gathering and analysis on a modern battlefield, will enhance the fighters' and other support aircraft's ability to perform their missions with awareness and precision.

In May 2011, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., South Korea's largest plane maker, signed a $400 million deal to sell 16 T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets to Indonesia, making South Korea the first country in East Asia to export supersonic jets.[272]

ROKAF FA-50, a supersonic combat aircraft developed by Korea Aerospace Industries
ROKAF FA-50, a supersonic combat aircraft developed by Korea Aerospace Industries

From time to time, South Korea has sent its troops overseas to assist American forces. It has participated in most major conflicts that the United States has been involved in the past 50 years. South Korea dispatched 325,517 troops to fight alongside American, Australian, Filipino, New Zealand and South Vietnamese soldiers in the Vietnam War, with a peak strength of 50,000.[273] In 2004, South Korea sent 3,300 troops of the Zaytun Division to help re-building in northern Iraq, and was the third largest contributor in the coalition forces after only the US and Britain.[274] Beginning in 2001, South Korea had so far deployed 24,000 troops in the Middle East region to support the War on Terrorism. A further 1,800 were deployed since 2007 to reinforce UN peacekeeping forces in Lebanon.

United States contingent

The United States has stationed a substantial contingent of troops to defend South Korea. There are approximately 28,500 U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea,[275] most of them serving one year unaccompanied tours. The U.S. troops, which are primarily ground and air units, are assigned to USFK and mainly assigned to the Eighth United States Army of the U.S. Army and Seventh Air Force of the U.S. Air Force. They are stationed in installations at Osan, Kunsan, Yongsan, Dongducheon, Sungbuk, Camp Humphreys, and Daegu, as well as at Camp Bonifas in the DMZ Joint Security Area.

A fully functioning UN Command is at the top of the chain of command of all forces in South Korea, including the U.S. forces and the entire South Korean military – if a sudden escalation of war between North and South Korea were to occur the United States would assume control of the South Korean armed forces in all military and paramilitary moves. There has been long-term agreement between the United States and South Korea that South Korea should eventually assume the lead for its own defense. This transition to a South Korean command has been slow and often postponed, although it is currently scheduled to occur in the early 2020s.[276]

Conscientious objection

Male citizens who refuse or reject to undertake military services because of conscientious objection are typically imprisoned, with over 600 individuals usually imprisoned at any given time; more than the rest of the world put together.[277] The vast majority of these are young men from the Jehovah's Witnesses Christian denomination.[278] However, in a court ruling of 2018, conscientious objectors were permitted to reject military service.[279]

Discover more about Military related topics

Republic of Korea Armed Forces

Republic of Korea Armed Forces

The Republic of Korea Armed Forces, also known as the ROK Armed Forces, are the armed forces of South Korea. The ROK Armed Forces is one of the largest and most powerful standing armed forces in the world with a reported personnel strength of 3,600,000 in 2022.

Republic of Korea Army

Republic of Korea Army

The Republic of Korea Army, also known as the ROK Army or South Korean Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare. It is the largest of the military branches of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces with 365,000 members as of 2022. This size is maintained through conscription; All able-bodied South Korean males must complete military service between the ages of 18 and 35.

Republic of Korea Navy

Republic of Korea Navy

The Republic of Korea Navy, also known as the ROK Navy or South Korean Navy, is the naval warfare service branch of the South Korean armed forces, responsible for naval and amphibious operations. The ROK Navy includes the Republic of Korea Marine Corps, which functions as a branch of the Navy. The ROK Navy has about 70,000 regular personnel including 29,000 Republic of Korea Marines. There are about 140 commissioned ships in the ROK Navy. The naval aviation force consists of about 70 fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The ROK Marine Corps has about 300 tracked vehicles including assault amphibious vehicles.

Republic of Korea Air Force

Republic of Korea Air Force

The Republic of Korea Air Force, also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the aerial warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of Korea.

Republic of Korea Marine Corps

Republic of Korea Marine Corps

The Republic of Korea Marine Corps, also known as the ROK Marine Corps or ROK Marines, is the marine corps of South Korea. The ROKMC is a branch of the Republic of Korea Navy responsible for amphibious operations, and also functions as a rapid reaction force and a strategic reserve.

Korean Demilitarized Zone

Korean Demilitarized Zone

The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in half. It was established to serve as a buffer zone between the countries of North Korea and South Korea under the provisions of the Korean Armistice Agreement in 1953, an agreement between North Korea, China, and the United Nations Command.

Sejong the Great-class destroyer

Sejong the Great-class destroyer

The Sejong the Great-class destroyers, also known as KDX-III, are three guided-missile destroyers of the Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN).

Guided-missile destroyer

Guided-missile destroyer

A guided-missile destroyer (DDG) is a destroyer whose primary armament is guided missiles so they can provide anti-aircraft warfare screening for the fleet. The NATO standard designation for these vessels is DDG, while destroyers which have a primary gun armament and/or a small number of anti-aircraft missiles sufficient only for point-defense are designated DD. Nations vary in their use of destroyer D designation in their hull pennant numbering, either prefixing or dropping it altogether.

Hyundai Heavy Industries

Hyundai Heavy Industries

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. is the world's largest shipbuilding company and a major heavy equipment manufacturer. Its headquarters are in Ulsan, South Korea.

South Korean won

South Korean won

The Korean Republic won, unofficially the South Korean won is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and it appears only in foreign exchange rates. The currency is issued by the Bank of Korea, based in the capital city of Seoul.

K2 Black Panther

K2 Black Panther

The K2 Black Panther is a South Korean main battle tank designed by the Agency for Defense Development and manufactured by Hyundai Rotem. The tank's design began in the 1990s to meet the strategic requirements of the Republic of Korea Army's reform for three-dimensional, high-speed maneuver warfare based on use of network-centric warfare.

Hyundai Rotem

Hyundai Rotem

Hyundai Rotem is a South Korean company that manufactures rolling stock, defense products and plant equipment. It is a part of the Hyundai Motor Group. Its name was changed from Rotem to Hyundai Rotem in December 2007 to reflect the parent company.

Economy

Share of world GDP (PPP)[280]
Year Share
1980 0.63%
1990 1.18%
2000 1.55%
2010 1.65%
2017 1.60%
The Bank of Korea, the central bank of South Korea and issuer of the South Korean wonThe Samsung headquarters in Samsung Town, located in Seocho-gu, SeoulThe Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, is the tallest building in South Korea and the 5th tallest in the world.
The Bank of Korea, the central bank of South Korea and issuer of the South Korean won
The Bank of Korea, the central bank of South Korea and issuer of the South Korean wonThe Samsung headquarters in Samsung Town, located in Seocho-gu, SeoulThe Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, is the tallest building in South Korea and the 5th tallest in the world.
The Samsung headquarters in Samsung Town, located in Seocho-gu, Seoul

South Korea's mixed economy[281][282][283] ranks 10th nominal[284] and 13th purchasing power parity GDP in the world, identifying it as one of the G-20 major economies. It is a developed country with a high-income economy and is the most industrialized member country of the OECD. South Korean brands such as LG Electronics and Samsung are internationally famous and garnered South Korea's reputation for its quality electronics and other manufactured goods.[285]

Its massive investment in education has taken the country from mass illiteracy to a major international technological powerhouse. The country's national economy benefits from a highly skilled workforce and is among the most educated countries in the world with one of the highest percentages of its citizens holding a tertiary education degree.[286] South Korea's economy was one of the world's fastest-growing from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and was still one of the fastest-growing developed countries in the 2000s, along with Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, the other three Asian Tigers.[287] It recorded the fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world between 1980 and 1990.[288] South Koreans refer to this growth as the Miracle on the Han River.[289] The South Korean economy is heavily dependent on international trade, and in 2014, South Korea was the fifth-largest exporter and seventh-largest importer in the world.

Despite the South Korean economy's high growth potential and apparent structural stability, the country suffers damage to its credit rating in the stock market because of the belligerence of North Korea in times of deep military crises, which has an adverse effect on South Korean financial markets.[290][291] The International Monetary Fund compliments the resilience of the South Korean economy against various economic crises, citing low state debt and high fiscal reserves that can quickly be mobilized to address financial emergencies.[292] Although it was severely harmed by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the South Korean economy managed a rapid recovery and subsequently tripled its GDP.[293]

Furthermore, South Korea was one of the few developed countries that were able to avoid a recession during the global financial crisis.[294] Its economic growth rate reached 6.2 percent in 2010 (the fastest growth for eight years after significant growth by 7.2 percent in 2002),[295] a sharp recovery from economic growth rates of 2.3% in 2008 and 0.2% in 2009 during the Great Recession. The unemployment rate in South Korea also remained low in 2009, at 3.6%.[296]

South Korea became a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1996.[297]

The following list includes the largest South Korean companies by revenue in 2017 who are all listed as part of the Fortune Global 500:

Rank[298] Name Headquarters Revenue
(mil. $)
Profit
(mil. $)
Assets
(mil. $)
01. Samsung Electronics Suwon 173,957 19,316 217,104
02. Hyundai Motor Seoul 80,701 4,659 148,092
03. SK Holdings Seoul 72,579 659 85.332
04. Korea Electric Power Naju 51,500 6,074 147,265
05. LG Electronics Seoul 47,712 66 31,348
06. POSCO Pohang 45,621 1,167 66,361
07. Kia Motors Seoul 45,425 2,373 42,141
08. Hanwha Seoul 40,606 423 128,247
09. Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan 33,881 469 40,783
010. Hyundai Mobis Seoul 32,972 2,617 34,541
011. Samsung Life Insurance Seoul 26,222 1,770 219,157
012. Lotte Shopping Seoul 25,444 144 34,710
013. Samsung C&T Seoul 24,217 92 36,816
014. LG Display Seoul 22,840 781 20,606
015. GS Caltex Seoul 22,207 1,221 15,969

Transportation, energy and infrastructure

Incheon International Airport's Maglev stationSouth Korea developed the HEMU 430X high-speed train, which can travel at over 430 km/h (270 mph), making South Korea the world's fourth country after France, Japan and China to develop a high-speed train running above 420 km/h (260 mph) on conventional rails.The Daegu Metro Line 3 monorail
South Korea developed the HEMU 430X high-speed train, which can travel at over 430 km/h (270 mph), making South Korea the world's fourth country after France, Japan and China to develop a high-speed train running above 420 km/h (260 mph) on conventional rails.
Incheon International Airport's Maglev stationSouth Korea developed the HEMU 430X high-speed train, which can travel at over 430 km/h (270 mph), making South Korea the world's fourth country after France, Japan and China to develop a high-speed train running above 420 km/h (260 mph) on conventional rails.The Daegu Metro Line 3 monorail
The Daegu Metro Line 3 monorail

South Korea has a technologically advanced transport network consisting of high-speed railways, highways, bus routes, ferry services, and air routes that crisscross the country. Korea Expressway Corporation operates the toll highways and service amenities en route.

Korail provides frequent train services to all major South Korean cities. Two rail lines, Gyeongui and Donghae Bukbu Line, to North Korea are now being reconnected. The Korean high-speed rail system, KTX, provides high-speed service along Gyeongbu and Honam Line. Major cities including Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon and Gwangju have urban rapid transit systems.[299] Express bus terminals are available in most cities.[300]

South Korea's main gateway and largest airport is Incheon International Airport, serving 58 million passengers in 2016.[301] Other international airports include Gimpo, Busan and Jeju. There are also many airports that were built as part of the infrastructure boom but are barely used.[302] There are also many heliports.[303]

The national carrier, Korean Air served over 26,800,000 passengers, including almost 19,000,000 international passengers in 2016.[304] A second carrier, Asiana Airlines also serves domestic and international traffic. Combined, South Korean airlines serve 297 international routes.[305] Smaller airlines, such as Jeju Air, provide domestic service with lower fares.[306]

South Korea is the world's fifth-largest nuclear power producer and the second-largest in Asia as of 2010.[307] Nuclear power in South Korea supplies 45% of electricity production, and research is very active with investigation into a variety of advanced reactors, including a small modular reactor, a liquid-metal fast/transmutation reactor and a high-temperature hydrogen generation design. Fuel production and waste handling technologies have also been developed locally. It is also a member of the ITER project.[308]

South Korea is an emerging exporter of nuclear reactors, having concluded agreements with the UAE to build and maintain four advanced nuclear reactors,[309] with Jordan for a research nuclear reactor,[310][311] and with Argentina for construction and repair of heavy-water nuclear reactors.[312][313] As of 2010, South Korea and Turkey are in negotiations regarding construction of two nuclear reactors.[314] South Korea is also preparing to bid on construction of a light-water nuclear reactor for Argentina.[313]

South Korea is not allowed to enrich uranium or develop traditional uranium enrichment technology on its own, because of US political pressure,[315] unlike most major nuclear powers such as Japan, Germany, and France, competitors of South Korea in the international nuclear market. This impediment to South Korea's indigenous nuclear industrial undertaking has sparked occasional diplomatic rows between the two allies. While South Korea is successful in exporting its electricity-generating nuclear technology and nuclear reactors, it cannot capitalize on the market for nuclear enrichment facilities and refineries, preventing it from further expanding its export niche. South Korea has sought unique technologies such as pyroprocessing to circumvent these obstacles and seek a more advantageous competition.[316] The US has recently been wary of South Korea's burgeoning nuclear program, which South Korea insists will be for civilian use only.[307]

South Korea is the third highest ranked Continental Asian country in the World Economic Forum's Network Readiness Index (NRI) after Singapore and Hong Kong respectively – an indicator for determining the development level of a country's information and communication technologies. South Korea ranked number 10 overall in the 2014 NRI ranking, up from 11 in 2013.[317]

Tourism

In 2016, 17 million foreign tourists visited South Korea.[318][319] With rising tourist prospects, especially from foreign countries outside of East Asia, the South Korean government has set a target of attracting 20 million foreign tourists a year by 2017.[320]

South Korean tourism is driven by many factors, including the prominence of Korean pop culture such as South Korean pop music and television dramas, known as the Korean Wave or Hallyu, has gained popularity throughout East Asia. The Hyundai Research Institute reported that the Korean Wave has a direct impact in encouraging direct foreign investment back into the country through demand for products, and the tourism industry.[321] Among East Asian countries, China was the most receptive, investing $1.4 billion in South Korea, with much of the investment within its service sector, a sevenfold increase from 2001. According to an analysis by economist Han Sang-Wan, a 1 percent increase in the exports of Korean cultural content pushes consumer goods exports up 0.083 percent while a 1 percent increase in Korean pop content exports to a country produces a 0.019 percent bump in tourism.[321]

South Korean National Pension System

The South Korean pension system was created to provide benefits to persons reaching old age, families and persons stricken with death of their primary breadwinner, and for the purposes of stabilizing its nation's welfare state.[322] South Korea's pension system structure is primarily based on taxation and is income-related. In 2007 there was a total of 18,367,000 insured individuals with only around 511,000 persons excluded from mandatory contribution.[323] The current pension system is divided into four categories distributing benefits to participants through national, military personnel, governmental, and private school teacher pension schemes.[324] The national pension scheme is the primary welfare system providing allowances to the majority of persons. Eligibility for the national pension scheme is not dependent on income but on age and residence, where those between the ages of 18 to 59 are covered.[325] Any one who is under the age of 18 are dependents of someone who is covered or under a special exclusion where they are allowed to alternative provisions.[326] The national pension scheme is divided into four categories of insured persons – the workplace-based insured, the individually insured, the voluntarily insured, and the voluntarily and continuously insured.

Employees between the ages of 18 to 59 are covered under the workplace-based pension scheme and contribute 4.5% of their gross monthly earnings.[322] The national pension covers employees who work in firms that employ five or more employees, fishermen, farmers, and the self-employed in both rural and urban areas. Employers are also covered under the workplace-based pension scheme and help cover their employees obligated 9% contribution by providing the remaining 4.5%.[326] Anyone who is not employed, of the age of 60 or above, or excluded by article 6 of the National Pension Act,[327] but is of the ages between 18 and 59, is covered under the individually insured pension scheme.[327] Persons covered by the individually insured pension scheme are in charge of paying the entire 9% contribution themselves. Voluntarily insured persons are not subjected to mandatory coverage but can choose to be. This category comprises retirees who voluntarily choose to have additional benefits, individuals under the age of 27 without income, and individuals whose spouses are covered under a public welfare system, whether military, governmental, or private school teacher pensions.[325] Like the individually insured persons, they too are in charge of covering the full amount of the contribution. Voluntarily and continuously insured persons consists of individuals 60 years of age who want to fulfill the minimum insured period of 20 years to qualify for old age pension benefits.[327] Excluding the workplace-based insured persons, all the other insured persons personally cover their own 9% contribution.[325]

South Korea's old-age pension scheme covers individuals age 60 or older for the rest of their life as long as they have satisfied the minimum of 20 years of national pension coverage beforehand.[326] Individuals with a minimum of 10 years covered under the national pension scheme and who are 60 years of age are able to be covered under a 'reduced old-age pension' scheme. There also is an 'active old-age pension' scheme that covers individuals age 60 to 65 engaged in activities yielding earned income. Individuals age of 55 and younger than 60 who are not engaged in activities yielding earned income are eligible to be covered under the 'early old-age pension' scheme.[327] Around 60% of all Korean elders, age 65 and over are entitled to a 5% benefit of their past average income at an average of 90,000 Korean Won (KRW).[328] Basic old-age pension schemes covered individuals 65 years of age who earned below an amount set by presidential order. In 2010, that ceiling was 700,000 KRW for a single individual and 1,120,000 for a couple, equivalent to around $600.00 and $960.00.[326]

Discover more about Economy related topics

Economy of South Korea

Economy of South Korea

The economy of South Korea is a highly developed mixed economy. By nominal GDP, it has the 4th largest economy in Asia and the 13th largest in the world. South Korea is notable for its rapid economic development from an underdeveloped nation to a developed, high-income country in a few generations. This economic growth has been described as the Miracle on the Han River, which has allowed it to join OECD and the G-20. South Korea remains one of the fastest-growing developed countries in the world following the Great Recession and the COVID-19 recession. It is included in the group of Next Eleven countries as having the potential to play a dominant role in the global economy by the middle of the 21st century.

List of largest companies of South Korea

List of largest companies of South Korea

This article lists the largest companies in South Korea in terms of their revenue, net profit and total assets, according to the American business magazines Fortune and Forbes.

Bank of Korea

Bank of Korea

The Bank of Korea is the central bank of the Republic of Korea and issuer of Korean Republic won. It was established on 12 June 1950 in Seoul, South Korea.

Lotte World Tower

Lotte World Tower

The Lotte World Tower (Korean: 롯데월드타워) is a 555-metre (1,821 ft) 123-story supertall skyscraper located in Sincheon-dong, Songpa, Seoul, South Korea. It opened to the public on April 3, 2017, and is currently the tallest building in South Korea and the sixth tallest in the world.

List of tallest buildings in South Korea

List of tallest buildings in South Korea

This list of tallest buildings in South Korea ranks skyscrapers in South Korea by height. The tallest building in South Korea is currently the 123–story Lotte World Tower, which rises 554 metres (1,818 ft) and was completed on 22 December 2016. It is also the world's fifth tallest building. Other building complexes topping 300m include the three-building complex Haeundae LCT The Sharp in Busan, Parc1 in Seoul's Yeouido district, as well as the Northeast Asia Trade Tower in Incheon. The Hyundai Global Business Center, which began construction in May 2020 in Seoul's Gangnam District, is expected to become Korea's tallest building upon completion in 2026. Also under construction is the Cheongna City Tower in Incheon, although this structure is likely to eventually be classified as a tower rather than a building.

List of tallest buildings

List of tallest buildings

Tall buildings, such as skyscrapers, are intended here as enclosed structures with continuously occupiable floors and a height of at least 340 metres (1,120 ft). Such definition excludes non-building structures, such as towers.

Mixed economy

Mixed economy

A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed economies is a combination of free-market principles and principles of socialism. While there is no single definition of a mixed economy, one definition is about a mixture of markets with state interventionism, referring specifically to a capitalist market economy with strong regulatory oversight and extensive interventions into markets. Another is that of active collaboration of capitalist and socialist visions. Yet another definition is apolitical in nature, strictly referring to an economy containing a mixture of private enterprise with public enterprise. Alternatively, a mixed economy can refer to a reformist transitionary phase to a socialist economy that allows a substantial role for private enterprise and contracting within a dominant economic framework of public ownership. This can extend to a Soviet-type planned economy that has been reformed to incorporate a greater role for markets in the allocation of factors of production.

List of countries by GDP (nominal)

List of countries by GDP (nominal)

Gross domestic product (GDP) is the market value of all final goods and services from a nation in a given year. Countries are sorted by nominal GDP estimates from financial and statistical institutions, which are calculated at market or government official exchange rates. Nominal GDP does not take into account differences in the cost of living in different countries, and the results can vary greatly from one year to another based on fluctuations in the exchange rates of the country's currency. Such fluctuations may change a country's ranking from one year to the next, even though they often make little or no difference in the standard of living of its population.

Developed country

Developed country

A developed country is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy, and advanced technological infrastructure relative to other less industrialized nations. Most commonly, the criteria for evaluating the degree of economic development are gross domestic product (GDP), gross national product (GNP), the per capita income, level of industrialization, amount of widespread infrastructure and general standard of living. Which criteria are to be used and which countries can be classified as being developed are subjects of debate. Different definitions of developed countries are provided by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank; moreover, HDI ranking is used to reflect the composite index of life expectancy, education, and income per capita. Another commonly used measure of a developed country is the threshold of GDP (PPP) per capita of at least USD$22,000. In 2022, 36 countries fit all four criteria, while an additional 17 countries fit three out of four.

OECD

OECD

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is a forum whose member countries describe themselves as committed to democracy and the market economy, providing a platform to compare policy experiences, seek answers to common problems, identify good practices, and coordinate domestic and international policies of its members.

LG Electronics

LG Electronics

LG Electronics Inc. is a South Korean multinational electronics company headquartered in Yeouido-dong, Seoul, South Korea. LG Electronics is a part of LG Corporation, the fourth largest chaebol in South Korea, and often considered as the pinnacle of LG Corp with the group's chemical and battery division LG Chem. It comprises four business units: home entertainment, mobile communications, home appliances & air solutions, and vehicle components. LG Electronics acquired Zenith in 1995 and the largest shareholder of LG Display, world's largest display company by revenue in 2020. LG Electronics is also the world's second largest TV manufacturer behind Samsung Electronics. The company has 128 operations worldwide, employing 83,000 people.

Four Asian Tigers

Four Asian Tigers

The Four Asian Tigers are the developed East Asian economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Between the early 1950s and 1990s, they underwent rapid industrialization and maintained exceptionally high growth rates of more than 7 percent a year.

Science and technology

A 3D OLED TV made by Korean LG Display, the world's largest LCD and OLED maker
A 3D OLED TV made by Korean LG Display, the world's largest LCD and OLED maker

Scientific and technological development in South Korea at first did not occur largely because of more pressing matters such as the division of Korea and the Korean War that occurred right after its independence. It was not until the 1960s under the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee where South Korea's economy rapidly grew from industrialization and the Chaebol corporations such as Samsung and LG. Ever since the industrialization of South Korea's economy, South Korea has placed its focus on technology-based corporations, which has been supported by infrastructure developments by the government. South Korean corporations Samsung and LG were ranked first and third largest mobile phone companies in the world in the first quarter of 2012, respectively.[329] An estimated 90% of South Koreans own a mobile phone.[330] Aside from placing/receiving calls and text messaging, mobile phones in the country are widely used for watching Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) or viewing websites.[331] Over one million DMB phones have been sold and the three major wireless communications providers SK Telecom, KT, and LG U+ provide coverage in all major cities and other areas. South Korea has the fastest Internet download speeds in the world,[332] with an average download speed of 25.3 Mbit/s.[333]

South Korea leads the OECD in graduates in science and engineering.[334] From 2014 to 2019, the country ranked first among the most innovative countries in the Bloomberg Innovation Index.[335] It was ranked 5th in the Global Innovation Index 2022, up from 10th in 2020 and 11st in 2019.[336][337][338] Additionally, South Korea today is known as a Launchpad of a mature mobile market, where developers can reap benefits of a market where very few technology constraints exist. There is a growing trend of inventions of new types of media or apps, utilizing the 4G and 5G internet infrastructure in South Korea. South Korea has today the infrastructures to meet a density of population and culture that has the capability to create strong local particularity.[339]

Cyber security

Following cyberattacks in the first half of 2013, whereby government, news-media, television station, and bank websites were compromised, the national government committed to the training of 5,000 new cybersecurity experts by 2017. The South Korean government blamed North Korea for these attacks, as well as incidents that occurred in 2009, 2011 and 2012, but Pyongyang denies the accusations.[340]

In late September 2013, a computer-security competition jointly sponsored by the defense ministry and the National Intelligence Service was announced. The winners were announced on 29 September 2013 and shared a total prize pool of 80 million won (US$74,000).[340]

South Korea's government maintains a broad-ranging approach toward the regulation of specific online content and imposes a substantial level of censorship on election-related discourse and on many websites that the government deems subversive or socially harmful.[341][342]

Aerospace engineering

Naro-1 during liftoff
Naro-1 during liftoff

South Korea has sent up 10 satellites since 1992, all using foreign rockets and overseas launch pads, notably Arirang-1 in 1999, and Arirang-2 in 2006 as part of its space partnership with Russia.[343] Arirang-1 was lost in space in 2008, after nine years in service.[344]

In April 2008, Yi So-yeon became the first Korean to fly in space, aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-12.[345][346]

In June 2009, the first spaceport of South Korea, Naro Space Center, was completed at Goheung, Jeollanam-do.[347] The launch of Naro-1 in August 2009 resulted in a failure.[348] The second attempt in June 2010 was also unsuccessful.[349] However, the third launch of the Naro 1 in January 2013 was successful.[350] The government plans to develop Naro-2 by 2018.[351]

South Korea's efforts to build an indigenous space launch vehicle have been marred due to persistent political pressure from the United States, who had for many decades hindered South Korea's indigenous rocket and missile development programs[352] in fear of their possible connection to clandestine military ballistic missile programs, which Korea many times insisted did not violate the research and development guidelines stipulated by US-Korea agreements on restriction of South Korean rocket technology research and development.[353] South Korea has sought the assistance of foreign countries such as Russia through MTCR commitments to supplement its restricted domestic rocket technology. The two failed KSLV-I launch vehicles were based on the Universal Rocket Module, the first stage of the Russian Angara rocket, combined with a solid-fueled second stage built by South Korea.

Robotics

Albert HUBO, developed by KAIST, can make expressive gestures with its five separate fingers.
Albert HUBO, developed by KAIST, can make expressive gestures with its five separate fingers.

Robotics has been included in the list of main national R&D projects in Korea since 2003.[354] In 2009, the government announced plans to build robot-themed parks in Incheon and Masan with a mix of public and private funding.[355]

In 2005, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed the world's second walking humanoid robot, HUBO. A team in the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology developed the first Korean android, EveR-1 in May 2006.[356] EveR-1 has been succeeded by more complex models with improved movement and vision.[357][358]

Plans of creating English-teaching robot assistants to compensate for the shortage of teachers were announced in February 2010, with the robots being deployed to most preschools and kindergartens by 2013.[359] Robotics are also incorporated in the entertainment sector as well; the Korean Robot Game Festival has been held every year since 2004 to promote science and robot technology.[360]

Biotechnology

Since the 1980s, the Korean government has invested in the development of a domestic biotechnology industry, and the sector is projected to grow to $6.5 billion by 2010.[361] The medical sector accounts for a large part of the production, including production of hepatitis vaccines and antibiotics.

Recently, research and development in genetics and cloning has received increasing attention, with the first successful cloning of a dog, Snuppy (in 2005), and the cloning of two females of an endangered species of gray wolves by the Seoul National University in 2007.[362]

The rapid growth of the industry has resulted in significant voids in regulation of ethics, as was highlighted by the scientific misconduct case involving Hwang Woo-Suk.[363]

Since late 2020, SK Bioscience Inc. (a division of SK Group) has been producing a major proportion of the Vaxzevria vaccine (also known as COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca), under license from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, for worldwide distribution through the COVAX facility under the WHO hospice. A recent agreement with Novavax expands its production for a second vaccine to 40 million doses in 2022, with a $450 million investment in domestic and overseas facilities.[364]

Discover more about Science and technology related topics

History of science and technology in Korea

History of science and technology in Korea

Like most other regions in the world, science and technology in Korea has experienced periods of intense growth as well as long periods of stagnation.

List of Korean inventions and discoveries

List of Korean inventions and discoveries

This is a list of Korean inventions and discoveries; Koreans have made contributions to science and technology from ancient to modern times. In the present, South Korea plays an active role in the ongoing Digital Revolution, with one of the largest electronics industries and most innovative economies in the world.

OLED

OLED

An organic light-emitting diode (OLED), also known as organic electroluminescent diode, is a light-emitting diode (LED) in which the emissive electroluminescent layer is a film of organic compound that emits light in response to an electric current. This organic layer is situated between two electrodes; typically, at least one of these electrodes is transparent. OLEDs are used to create digital displays in devices such as television screens, computer monitors, and portable systems such as smartphones and handheld game consoles. A major area of research is the development of white OLED devices for use in solid-state lighting applications.

LG Display

LG Display

LG Display is one of the world's largest manufacturers and supplier of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels, OLEDs and flexible displays. LG Display is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea, and currently operates nine fabrication facilities and seven back-end assembly facilities in Korea, China, Poland and Mexico.

Division of Korea

Division of Korea

The division of Korea began with the defeat of Japan in World War II. During the war, the Allied leaders considered the question of Korea's future after Japan's surrender in the war. The leaders reached an understanding that Korea would be liberated from Japan but would be placed under an international trusteeship until the Koreans would be deemed ready for self-rule. In the last days of the war, the U.S. proposed dividing the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones with the 38th parallel as the dividing line. The Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea.

Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was fought between North Korea and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following clashes along the border and rebellions in South Korea. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union while South Korea was supported by the United States and allied countries. The fighting ended with an armistice on 27 July 1953.

Park Chung-hee

Park Chung-hee

Park Chung-hee was a South Korean politician and army general who served as President of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; he ruled as an unelected military strongman from 1961 to 1963, then as the third President of South Korea from 1963 to 1979.

Economy of South Korea

Economy of South Korea

The economy of South Korea is a highly developed mixed economy. By nominal GDP, it has the 4th largest economy in Asia and the 13th largest in the world. South Korea is notable for its rapid economic development from an underdeveloped nation to a developed, high-income country in a few generations. This economic growth has been described as the Miracle on the Han River, which has allowed it to join OECD and the G-20. South Korea remains one of the fastest-growing developed countries in the world following the Great Recession and the COVID-19 recession. It is included in the group of Next Eleven countries as having the potential to play a dominant role in the global economy by the middle of the 21st century.

Chaebol

Chaebol

A chaebol is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group whose power over the group often exceeds legal authority. Several dozen large South Korean family-controlled corporate groups fall under this definition. The term first appeared in English text in 1972.

Samsung

Samsung

Samsung Group, or simply Samsung, is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol. As of 2020, Samsung has the eighth highest global brand value.

Mobile phone

Mobile phone

A mobile phone is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while the user is moving within a telephone service area, as opposed to a fixed-location phone. The radio frequency link establishes a connection to the switching systems of a mobile phone operator, which provides access to the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Modern mobile telephone services use a cellular network architecture and therefore mobile telephones are called cellphones in North America. In addition to telephony, digital mobile phones support a variety of other services, such as text messaging, multimedia messagIng, email, Internet access, short-range wireless communications, satellite access, business applications, video games and digital photography. Mobile phones offering only basic capabilities are known as feature phones; mobile phones which offer greatly advanced computing capabilities are referred to as smartphones.

SK Telecom

SK Telecom

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. SK Telecom is the largest wireless carrier in South Korea, with 27.019 million subscribers as of Q4 2017.

Culture and society

A musician playing a gayageum
A musician playing a gayageum

South Korea shares its traditional culture with North Korea, but the two Koreas have developed distinct contemporary forms of culture since the peninsula was divided in 1945. Historically, while the culture of Korea has been heavily influenced by that of neighboring China, it has nevertheless managed to develop a unique cultural identity that is distinct from its larger neighbor.[365] Its rich and vibrant culture left 21 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity,[366] the fourth largest in the world, along with 15 World Heritage Sites. The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism actively encourages the traditional arts, as well as modern forms, through funding and education programs.[367]

The industrialization and urbanization of South Korea have brought many changes to the way modern Koreans live. Changing economics and lifestyles have led to a concentration of population in major cities, especially the capital Seoul, with multi-generational households separating into nuclear family living arrangements. A 2014 Euromonitor study found that South Koreans drink the most alcohol on a weekly basis compared to the rest of the world. South Koreans drink 13.7 shots of liquor per week on average and, of the 44 other countries analyzed, Russia, the Philippines, and Thailand follow.[368]

Art

A blue and white porcelain peach-shaped water dropper from the Joseon Dynasty in the 18th century
A blue and white porcelain peach-shaped water dropper from the Joseon Dynasty in the 18th century

Korean art has been highly influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism, which can be seen in the many traditional paintings, sculptures, ceramics and the performing arts.[369] Korean pottery and porcelain, such as Joseon's baekja and buncheong, and Goryeo's celadon are well known throughout the world.[370] The Korean tea ceremony, pansori, talchum and buchaechum are also notable Korean performing arts.

Post-war modern Korean art started to flourish in the 1960s and 1970s, when South Korean artists took interest in geometrical shapes and intangible subjects. Establishing a harmony between man and nature was also a favorite of this time. Because of social instability, social issues appeared as main subjects in the 1980s. Art was influenced by various international events and exhibits in Korea, and with it brought more diversity.[371] The Olympic Sculpture Garden in 1988, the transposition of the 1993 edition of the Whitney Biennial to Seoul,[372] the creation of the Gwangju Biennale[373] and the Korean Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 1995[374] were notable events.

Architecture

Because of South Korea's tumultuous history, construction and destruction has been repeated endlessly, resulting in an interesting melange of architectural styles and designs.[375]

Korean traditional architecture is characterized by its harmony with nature. Ancient architects adopted the bracket system characterized by thatched roofs and heated floors called ondol.[376] People of the upper classes built bigger houses with elegantly curved tiled roofs with lifting eaves. Traditional architecture can be seen in the palaces and temples, preserved old houses called hanok,[377] and special sites like Hahoe Folk Village, Yangdong Village of Gyeongju and Korean Folk Village. Traditional architecture may also be seen at the nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Korea.[378]

Western architecture was first introduced to Korea at the end of the 19th century. Churches, offices for foreign legislation, schools and university buildings were built in new styles. With the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910 the colonial regime intervened in Korea's architectural heritage, and Japanese-style modern architecture was imposed. The anti-Japanese sentiment, and the Korean War, led to the destruction of most buildings constructed during that time.[379]

Korean architecture entered a new phase of development during the post-Korean War reconstruction, incorporating modern architectural trends and styles. Stimulated by the economic growth in the 1970s and 1980s, active redevelopment saw new horizons in architectural design. In the aftermath of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, South Korea has witnessed a wide variation of styles in its architectural landscape due, in large part, to the opening up of the market to foreign architects.[380] Contemporary architectural efforts have been constantly trying to balance the traditional philosophy of "harmony with nature" and the fast-paced urbanization that the country has been going through in recent years.[381]

Cuisine

Korean cuisine, hanguk yori (한국요리; 韓國料理), or hansik (한식; 韓食), has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Ingredients and dishes vary by province. There are many significant regional dishes that have proliferated in different variations across the country in the present day. The Korean royal court cuisine once brought all of the unique regional specialties together for the royal family. Meals consumed both by the royal family and ordinary Korean citizens have been regulated by a unique culture of etiquette.

Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, noodles, tofu, vegetables, fish and meats. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes, banchan (반찬), which accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice. Every meal is accompanied by numerous banchan. Kimchi (김치), a fermented, usually spicy vegetable dish is commonly served at every meal and is one of the best known Korean dishes. Korean cuisine usually involves heavy seasoning with sesame oil, doenjang (된장), a type of fermented soybean paste, soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, and gochujang (고추장), a hot pepper paste. Other well-known dishes are Bulgogi (불고기), grilled marinated beef; Gimbap (김밥); and Tteokbokki (떡볶이), a spicy snack consisting of rice cake seasoned with gochujang or a spicy chili paste.

Soups are also a common part of a Korean meal and are served as part of the main course rather than at the beginning or the end of the meal. Soups known as guk (국) are often made with meats, shellfish and vegetables. Similar to guk, tang (탕; 湯) has less water, and is more often served in restaurants. Another type is jjigae (찌개), a stew that is typically heavily seasoned with chili pepper and served boiling hot.

Popular Korean alcoholic beverages include Soju, Makgeolli and Bokbunja ju.

Korea is unique among East Asian countries in its use of metal chopsticks. Metal chopsticks have been discovered in Goguryeo archaeological sites.[382]

Entertainment

BTS has emerged as one of the country's most successful K-pop groups since their rise to international prominence during the latter half of the 2010s.
BTS has emerged as one of the country's most successful K-pop groups since their rise to international prominence during the latter half of the 2010s.

In addition to domestic consumption, South Korea has a thriving entertainment industry where various facets of South Korean entertainment, including television dramas, films, and popular music, has garnered international popularity and generated significant export revenues for the nation's economy. The cultural phenomenon known as Hallyu or the "Korean Wave", has swept many countries across Continental and East Asia making South Korea a major soft power as an exporter of popular culture and entertainment, rivaling Western nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom.[383][384]

Psy became an international sensation with "Gangnam Style" in 2012.
Psy became an international sensation with "Gangnam Style" in 2012.

Until the 1990s, trot and traditional Korean folk based ballads dominated South Korean popular music. The emergence of the South Korean pop group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 marked a turning point for South Korean popular music, also known as K-pop. Since the 1990s, the genre has continuously re-modernized itself from incorporating elements of popular musical genres and trends from across the world such as Western popular music, experimental, jazz, gospel, Latin, classical, hip hop, rhythm and blues, electronic dance, reggae, country, folk, and rock on top of its uniquely traditional Korean music roots.[385] Though Western-style pop, hip hop, rhythm and blues, rock, folk, electronic dance oriented acts have become dominant in the contemporary South Korean popular music scene, trot is still continues to be appreciated and enjoyed by South Koreans from older generations. K-pop idols, stars, and groups are well known across Continental Asia and have found international fame in the Western World by making millions of dollars in export revenue by harnessing and tapping into new uncharted music markets beyond East Asia. Many K-pop acts have also been able to secure a strong global following using online social media platforms such as the video sharing website YouTube. K-pop first began to establish and makes it mark on the outside world beyond the confines of Continental and East Asia following the unexpected success of South Korean singer Psy, when he became an instant international musical sensation as his song "Gangnam Style" topped global music charts in 2012.

Since the success of the film Shiri in 1999, the Korean film industry has begun to gain recognition internationally. Domestic film has a dominant share of the market, partly because of the existence of screen quotas requiring cinemas to show Korean films at least 73 days a year.[386] 2019's Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, became the highest-grossing film in South Korea as well as the first non-English language film to win Best Picture at the United States-based Academy Awards that year amongst numerous other accolades.

South Korean television shows have become popular outside of Korea. South Korean television dramas, known as K-dramas, have begun to find fame internationally. Many dramas tend to have a romantic focus, such as Princess Hours, You're Beautiful, Playful Kiss, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Boys Over Flowers, Winter Sonata, Autumn in My Heart, Full House, City Hunter, All About Eve, Secret Garden, I Can Hear Your Voice, Master's Sun, My Love from the Star, Healer, Descendants of the Sun, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God and Reply (TV series) . Historical dramas have included Faith, Dae Jang Geum, The Legend, Dong Yi, Moon Embracing the Sun, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Iljimae and Kingdom.[387][388] The 2021 survival drama Squid Game, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, received critical acclaim and widespread international attention upon its release, becoming Netflix's most-watched series at launch and garnering a viewership of more than 142 million households during its first four weeks from launch.[389][390][391][392]

Holidays

There are many official public holidays in South Korea. Korean New Year's Day, or "Seollal", is celebrated on the first day of the Korean lunar calendar. Korean Independence Day falls on 1 March, and commemorates the 1 March Movement of 1919. Memorial Day is celebrated on 6 June, and its purpose is to honor the men and women who died in South Korea's independence movement. Constitution Day is on 17 July, and it celebrates the promulgation of Constitution of the Republic of Korea. Liberation Day, on 15 August, celebrates Korea's liberation from the Empire of Japan in 1945. Every 15th day of the 8th lunar month, Koreans celebrate the Midautumn Festival, in which Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and eat a variety of traditional Korean foods. On 1 October, Armed Forces day is celebrated, honoring the military forces of South Korea. 3 October is National Foundation Day. Hangul Day, on 9 October commemorates the invention of hangul, the native alphabet of the Korean language.

Sports

Seoul Sports Complex, Korea's largest integrated sports center
Seoul Sports Complex, Korea's largest integrated sports center

The martial art taekwondo originated in Korea. In the 1950s and 1960s, modern rules were standardized, with taekwondo becoming an official Olympic sport in 2000.[393] Other Korean martial arts include Taekkyon, hapkido, Tang Soo Do, Kuk Sool Won, kumdo and subak.[394]

Football has traditionally been regarded as the most popular sport in Korea, with Baseball as the second.[395] Recent polling indicates that a majority, 41% of South Korean sports fans continue to self-identify as football fans, with baseball ranked 2nd at 25% of respondents. However, the polling did not indicate the extent to which respondents follow both sports.[396] The national football team became the first team in the Asian Football Confederation to reach the FIFA World Cup semi-finals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan. The Korea Republic national team (as it is known) has qualified for every World Cup since Mexico 1986, and has broken out of the group stage twice: first in 2002, and again in 2010, when it was defeated by eventual semi-finalist Uruguay in the Round of 16. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, South Korea won the bronze medal for football.

Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in South Korea.
Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in South Korea.

Baseball was first introduced to Korea in 1905 and has since become one of the most popular sports in the country.[397][398][399] Recent years have been characterized by increasing attendance and ticket prices for professional baseball games.[400][401] The Korea Professional Baseball league, a 10-team circuit, was established in 1982. The South Korea national team finished third in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and second in the 2009 tournament. The team's 2009 final game against Japan was widely watched in Korea, with a large screen at Gwanghwamun crossing in Seoul broadcasting the game live.[402] In the 2008 Summer Olympics, South Korea won the gold medal in baseball.[403] Also in 1982, at the Baseball Worldcup, Korea won the gold medal. At the 2010 Asian Games, the Korean National Baseball team won the gold medal. Several Korean players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball.

Basketball is a popular sport in the country as well. South Korea has traditionally had one of the top basketball teams in Asia and one of the continent's strongest basketball divisions. Seoul hosted the 1967 and 1995 Asian Basketball Championship. The Korea national basketball team has won a record number of 23 medals at the event to date.[404]

Taekwondo, a Korean martial art and Olympic sport
Taekwondo, a Korean martial art and Olympic sport

South Korea hosted the Asian Games in 1986 (Seoul), 2002 (Busan), and 2014 (Incheon). It also hosted the Winter Universiade in 1997, the Asian Winter Games in 1999, and the Summer Universiade in 2003 and 2015. In 1988, South Korea hosted the Summer Olympics in Seoul, coming fourth with 12 gold medals, 10 silver medals, and 11 bronze medals. South Korea regularly performs well in archery, shooting, table tennis, badminton, short track speed skating, handball, field hockey, freestyle wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling, baseball, judo, taekwondo, speed skating, figure skating, and weightlifting. The Seoul Olympic Museum is dedicated to the 1988 Summer Olympics. On 6 July 2011, Pyeongchang was chosen by the IOC to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.

South Korea has won more medals in the Winter Olympics than any other Asian country, with a total of 45 (23 gold, 14 silver, and 8 bronze). At the 2010 Winter Olympics, South Korea ranked fifth in the overall medal rankings. South Korea is especially strong in short track speed skating. Speed skating and figure skating are also popular, and ice hockey is an emerging sport, with Anyang Halla winning their first ever Asia League Ice Hockey title in March 2010.[405]

Seoul hosted a professional triathlon race, which is part of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championship Series in May 2010.[406] In 2011, the South Korean city of Daegu hosted the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics.[407]

In October 2010, South Korea hosted its first Formula One race at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, about 400 kilometers (250 mi) south of Seoul.[408] The Korean Grand Prix was held from 2010 to 2013, but was not placed on the 2014 F1 calendar.[409]

Domestic horse racing events are also followed by South Koreans and Seoul Race Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do is located closest to Seoul out of the country's three tracks.[410]

Competitive video gaming, also called Esports (sometimes written e-Sports), has become more popular in South Korea in recent years, particularly among young people.[411] The two most popular games are League of Legends and StarCraft. The gaming scene of South Korea is managed by the Korean e-Sports Association.

Discover more about Culture and society related topics

Culture of South Korea

Culture of South Korea

The contemporary culture of South Korea developed from the traditional culture of Korea which was prevalent in the early Korean nomadic tribes. By maintaining thousands of years of ancient Korean culture, with influence from ancient Chinese culture, South Korea split on its own path of cultural development away from North Korean culture since the division of Korea in 1948. The industrialization, urbanization and westernization of South Korea, especially Seoul, have brought many changes to the way Korean people live. Changing economics and lifestyles have led to urbanization—a concentration of population in major cities, with multi-generational households separating into nuclear family living arrangements. Today, many cultural elements from South Korea, especially popular culture, have spread across the globe and have become some of the most prominent cultural forces in the world.

Culture of Korea

Culture of Korea

The traditional culture of Korea is the shared cultural and historical heritage of Korea before the division of Korea in 1945.

Gayageum

Gayageum

The gayageum or kayagum is a traditional Korean plucked zither with 12 strings, though some more recent variants have 18, 21 or 25 strings. It is probably the best known traditional Korean musical instrument. It is similar with other Asian instruments like Chinese guzheng, Japanese koto, Mongolian yatga, Vietnamese đàn tranh, Sundanese kacapi and Kazakh jetigen.

Korean art

Korean art

Korean arts include traditions in calligraphy, music, painting and pottery, often marked by the use of natural forms, surface decoration and bold colors or sounds.

Korean Confucianism

Korean Confucianism

Korean Confucianism is the form of Confucianism that emerged and developed in Korea. One of the most substantial influences in Korean intellectual history was the introduction of Confucian thought as part of the cultural influence from China.

Korean pottery and porcelain

Korean pottery and porcelain

Korean ceramic history begins with the oldest earthenware from around 8000 BC. Throughout the history, the Korean peninsula has been home to lively, innovative, and sophisticated art making. Long period of stability have allowed for the establishment of spiritual traditions, and artisan technologies specific to the region. Korean ceramics in Neolithic period have a unique geometric patterns of sunshine, or it's decorated with twists. In Southern part of Korea, Mumun pottery were popular. Mumun togi used specific minerals to make colors of red and black. Korean pottery developed a distinct style of its own, with its own shapes, such as the moon jar or Buncheong sagi which is a new form between earthenware and porcelain, white clay inlay celadon of Goryeo, and later styles like minimalism that represents Korean Joseon philosophers' idea. Many talented Korean potters were captured and brought to Japan during the invasions of Korea, where they heavily contributed to advancing Japanese pottery. Arita ware, founded by Yi Sam-pyeong opened a new era of porcelain in Japan. Another Japanese representative porcelain, Satsuma ware was also founded by Dang-gil Shim and Pyeong-ui Park. 14th generation of Su-kwan Shim have been using the same name to his grandfather and father to honor they are originally Korean, 14th Su-kwan Shim is honorable citizen of Namwon, Korea.

Joseon

Joseon

Joseon, officially the Great Joseon, was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom was founded following the aftermath of the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul. The kingdom's northernmost borders were expanded to the natural boundaries at the rivers of Amrok and Tuman through the subjugation of the Jurchens.

Joseon white porcelain

Joseon white porcelain

Joseon white porcelain or Joseon baekja refers to the white porcelains produced during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1910).

Buncheong

Buncheong

Buncheong, or punch'ong, ware is a traditional form of Korean stoneware, with a blue-green tone. Pieces are coated with white slip (ceramics), and decorative designs are added using a variety of techniques. This style originated in the 15th century and continues in a revived form today.

Goryeo

Goryeo

Goryeo was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unification" by Korean historians as it not only unified the Later Three Kingdoms but also incorporated much of the ruling class of the northern kingdom of Balhae, who had origins in Goguryeo of the earlier Three Kingdoms of Korea. The name "Korea" is derived from the name of Goryeo, also romanized as Koryŏ, which was first used in the early 5th century by Goguryeo. According to Korean historians, it was during the Goryeo period that the individual identities of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla were successfully merged into a single entity that became the basis of the modern-day Korean identity. Goryeo was the successor state to Later Goguryeo and Goguryeo.

Celadon

Celadon

Celadon is a term for pottery denoting both wares glazed in the jade green celadon color, also known as greenware or "green ware", and a type of transparent glaze, often with small cracks, that was first used on greenware, but later used on other porcelains. Celadon originated in China, though the term is purely European, and notable kilns such as the Longquan kiln in Zhejiang province are renowned for their celadon glazes. Celadon production later spread to other parts of East Asia, such as Japan and Korea as well as Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. Eventually, European potteries produced some pieces, but it was never a major element there. Finer pieces are in porcelain, but both the color and the glaze can be produced in stoneware and earthenware. Most of the earlier Longquan celadon is on the border of stoneware and porcelain, meeting the Chinese but not the European definitions of porcelain.

Korean tea ceremony

Korean tea ceremony

The Korean Tea Ceremony or darye (茶禮) is a traditional form of tea ceremony practiced in Korea. Darye literally refers to "etiquette for tea" or "tea rite" and has been kept among Korean people for over a thousand years. The chief element of the Korean tea ceremony is the ease and naturalness of enjoying tea within an easy formal setting.

Source: "South Korea", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 24th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea.

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See also
Notes
  1. ^ 19.7% are Protestant and 7.9% are Catholic.
  2. ^ South Koreans use the name Hanguk (한국, 韓國) when referring to South Korea or Korea as a whole. The literal translation of South Korea, Namhan (남한, 南韓), is rarely used. North Koreans use Namchosŏn (남조선, 南朝鮮) when referring to South Korea, derived from the North Korean name for Korea, Chosŏn (조선, 朝鮮).
  3. ^ Korean대한민국; Hanja大韓民國; RRDaehan Minguk
  4. ^ South Korea's border with North Korea is a disputed border as both countries claim the entirety of the Korean Peninsula.
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Further reading