South Korea
| Republic of Korea
대한민국
大韓民國 Daehanminguk |
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| Motto: 홍익인간; 弘益人間 Benefit broadly the human world (unofficial) |
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| Anthem: Aegukga (애국가; 愛國歌) ("The Patriotic Song") |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Seoul 37°35′N 127°0′E / 37.583°N 127°E |
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| Official language(s) | Korean | |||||
| Official scripts | Hangul | |||||
| Ethnic groups | Korean (99.99%)[1] | |||||
| Demonym | South Korean, Korean | |||||
| Government | Presidential republic | |||||
| - | President | Park Geunhye | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Jung Hong-won | ||||
| - | 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 |
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| - | Water (%) | 0.3 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2010 estimate | 48,875,000[2] (24th) | ||||
| - | Density | 491/km2 (21st) 1,271/sq mi |
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| 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) |
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| Currency | South Korean won (₩) (KRW) |
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| Time zone | Korea Standard Time (UTC+9) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | not observed (UTC+9) | ||||
| Date formats | yyyy년 mm월 dd일 yyyy/mm/dd (CE) |
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| 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 (officially called as Republic of 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]
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Politics and Government [change]
South Korea is a democracy, meaning that people can vote for their government. The President of South Korea is elected to a five-year term, and cannot stand in a Presidential Election for a second time. The current President is Park Geunhye, the first female President of South Korea, and is in this position since February 25, 2013, when she succeeded Lee Myung-bak.
Sciences and Technologies [change]
South Korea is a very rich country and is known for a lot of technology. This includes the car-maker Hyundai, which is a South Korean company.
Geography [change]
South Korea is in East Asia, bordering North Korea, and is surrounded by water on three sides, as it makes up the southern part of the Korean peninsula. It is separated from Japan, by the Pacific Ocean's Sea of Japan. Central South Korea is mainly mountainous, and there are many islands off the south coast. The capital city, Seoul, is fairly close to the North Korean border.
Education [change]
South Korea was the first country to provide high-speed internet access to every primary, junior, and high school.
Armed Forces [change]
Cities and provinces [change]
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.
Special City [change]
- 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.
Metropolitan Cities [change]
- Busan Metropolitan City(Busan-gwangyeoksi; 부산 광역시; 釜山廣域市)
- Daegu Metropolitan City(Daegu-gwangyeoksi; 대구 광역시; 大邱廣域市)
- Daejeon Metropolitan City(Daejeon-gwangyeoksi; 대전 광역시; 大田廣域市)
- Gwangju Metropolitan City(Gwangju-gwangyeoksi; 광주 광역시; 光州廣域市)
- Incheon Metropolitan City(Incheon-gwangyeoksi; 인천 광역시; 仁川廣域市)
- Ulsan Metropolitan City(Ulsan-gwangyeoksi; 울산 광역시; 蔚山廣域市)
Provinces [change]
- 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)
Culture and Religion [change]
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]
Notes and references [change]
- ↑ Korea, South: People and Society
- ↑ "총인구, 인구성장률 : 지표상세화면". Index.go.kr. http://www.index.go.kr/egams/stts/jsp/potal/stts/PO_STTS_IdxMain.jsp?idx_cd=1009&bbs=INDX_001. Retrieved 2010-10-29.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "South Korea". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2011/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2009&ey=2016&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=542&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr1.x=52&pr1.y=18. Retrieved 2011-11-05.
- ↑ Gini index CIA World Fact Book
- ↑ "Human Development Report 2011". United Nations. 2011. http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2011_EN_Table1.pdf. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ↑ "3_4whicharethe.pdf (application/pdf 객체)". uic.edu. http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/cityfutures/papers/webpapers/cityfuturespapers/session3_4/3_4whicharethe.pdf. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
- ↑ "Korean religious statistics". NationMaster.com. http://www.nationmaster.com/country/ks-korea-south/rel-religion. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
Further reading [change]
- 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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