South Korea

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Republic of Korea
대한민국
大韓民國
Daehanminguk
Motto: 홍익인간; 弘益人間
Benefit broadly the human world (unofficial)
Anthem: Aegukga (애국가; 愛國歌)
("The Patriotic Song")
Capital
(and largest city)
Seoul
37°35′N 127°0′E / 37.583°N 127°E / 37.583; 127
Official language(s) Korean
Official scripts Hangul
Ethnic groups  Korean (99.99%)[1]
Demonym South Korean, Korean
Government Presidential republic
 -  President Lee Myung-bak
 -  Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik
 -  Speaker Park Hee-tae
Legislature National Assembly
Establishment
 -  National Foundation Day October 3, 2333 BCE 
 -  Independence declared March 1, 1919 
 -  Provisional Government April 13, 1919 
 -  Liberation August 15, 1945 
 -  Constitution July 17, 1948 
 -  Government proclaimed August 15, 1948 
Area
 -  Total 100,210 km2 (109th)
38,691 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) 0.3
Population
 -  2010 estimate 48,875,000[2] (24th)
 -  Density 491/km2 (21st)
1,271/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate
 -  Total $1.556 trillion[3] (12th)
 -  Per capita $31,753[3] (26th)
GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate
 -  Total $1.163 trillion[3] (15th)
 -  Per capita $23,749[3] (32th)
Gini (2007) 31.3[4] 
HDI (2011) 0.897[5] (very high) (15th)
Currency South Korean won (₩) (KRW)
Time zone Korea Standard Time (UTC+9)
 -  Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+9)
Date formats yyyy년 mm월 dd일
yyyy/mm/dd (CE)
Drives on the right
Internet TLD .kr, .한국
Calling code 82
1 Mobile phone system CDMA, WCDMA, HSDPA and WiBro
2 Domestic power supply 220V/60 Hz, CEE 7/7 sockets

South Korea is a country in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, in the north east region of Asia. The capital city is Seoul. The official name of South Korea is the Republic of Korea in English, 대한민국 in Korean writing (Hangeul), and 大韓民國 in Chinese characters (Hanja). About half of the country's people live in its capital city, Seoul, or near the city in the metropolitan area. Korea's Seoul metropolitan area is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. In fact, some sources say it is the second most populous after Tokyo, Japan).[6]


Contents

[change] Cities and provinces

South Korea has 1 Special City (Teukbyeolsi; 특별시; 特別市), 6 Metropolitan Cities (Gwangyeoksi; 광역시; 廣域市), and 9 Provinces (do; 도; 道). The names below are given in English, Revised Romanization, Hangeul, and Hanja.

[change] Special City

  • Seoul Special City (Seoul Teukbyeolsi; 서울 특별시; 서울 特別市)
    • Note: 서울 (Seoul) itself has no corresponding Hanja. The city has been known in the Chinese language as 漢城 (read as Hancheng in Chinese, Hanseong in Korean). As 漢城 is a former name of the city, the City Government announced on January 18, 2005 that the Chinese name of the city shall be Shou'er (首爾), which is a close transliteration of Seoul, but 首爾 does not correspond to 서울 (Seoul) in Korean. Chinese people have not widely accepted the name 首爾.


[change] Metropolitan Cities


[change] Provinces

  • Gyeonggi Province (Gyeonggi-do; 경기도; 京畿道)
  • Gangwon Province (Gangwon-do; 강원도; 江原道)
  • North Chungcheong Province (Chungcheongbuk-do; 충청 북도; 忠清北道)
  • South Chungcheong Province (Chungcheongnam-do; 충청 남도; 忠清南道)
  • North Jeolla Province (Jeollabuk-do; 전라 북도; 全羅北道)
  • South Jeolla Province (Jeollanam-do; 전라 남도; 全羅南道)
  • North Gyeongsang Province (Gyeongsangbuk-do; 경상 북도; 慶尚北道)
  • South Gyeongsang Province(Gyeongsangnam-do; 경상 남도; 慶尚南道)
  • Jeju Province (Jeju-do; 제주도; 濟州道)


[change] Religion

In South Korea, 19.7% of people are Protestant, 6.6% are Catholic, 23.2% are Buddhist, 49.3% have no religion, and 1.3% either are a part of other religions or have beliefs that are unknown.[7]

[change] Notes and references


[change] Further reading

  • Breen, Michael (2004). The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, Where Their Future Lies, St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0312326092.
  • Cumings, Bruce (1997). Korea's place in the sun, New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-31681-5.
  • Hart, Dennis (2003). From Tradition to Consumption: Constructing a Capitalist Culture in South Korea. ISBN 89-88095-44-8.
  • Hawley, Samuel (2005). The Imjin War. Japan's Sixteenth-Century Invasion of Korea and Attempt to Conquer China, The Royal Asiatic Society. ISBN 89-954424-2-5.
  • KOIS (2003). Handbook of Korea, 11 edition, Hollym. ISBN 1-56591-212-8.
  • Nahm, Andrew C. (1996). Korea: A history of the Korean people, 2 edition, Hollym. ISBN 1-56591-070-2.
  • Yang, Sung Chul (1999). The North and South Korean political systems: A comparative analysis, Hollym. ISBN 1-56591-105-9.
  • Yonhap News Agency (2004). Korea Annual 2004. ISBN 89-7433-070-9.

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