Economy of South Korea
Downtown Seoul
Rank	15th (nominal) / 12th (PPP)
Currency	South Korean Won (KRW)
Trade organisations	APEC, WTO, OECD, G-20
Statistics
GDP	Nominal: $1.164 trillion, PPP: $1.556 trillion (2011 est.)
GDP growth	3.9% (2011 est.)
GDP per capita	Nominal: $23,749, PPP: $31,753 (2011 est.)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 2.6%, industry: 39.3%, services: 58.2% (2010)
Inflation (CPI)	4.2% (2011 est.)
Population below poverty line	15% (2006 est.)[1]
Gini coefficient	31.0 (2010)
Labour force	24.62 million (2010 est.)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 7.3%, industry: 24.3%, services: 68.4% (2010 est.)
Unemployment	3.4% (2011 est.)
Main industries	electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel
Ease of Doing Business Rank	8th[2]
External
Exports	$558.8 billion (7th; 2011 est.)
Export goods	semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals
Main export partners	China 27.9%, United States 10.2%, Japan 5.8% (2010)
Imports	$525.2 billion (8th; 2011 est.)
Import goods	machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics
Main import partners	China 17.9%, Japan 16.2%, United States 10.1%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, Australia 4.9% (2010)
FDI stock	abroad: $115.6 billion (31 December 2009)
Gross external debt	$380.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Public finances
Public debt	23.7% of GDP (2010 est.)
Revenues	$248.3 billion (2010 est.)
Expenses	$267.3 billion (2010 est.)
Economic aid	ODA, $900 million (donor) (2009)[3] aid to North Korea excluded
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:[4] A+ (Domestic) A (Foreign) AA- (T&C Assessment) Outlook: Stable[5] Moody's:[5] A1 Outlook: Stable Fitch:[5] A+ Outlook: Stable
Foreign reserves	$298.806 billion (March 2011)[6]
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars

South Korea has a market economy which ranks 15th in the world by nominal GDP and 11th by purchasing power parity (PPP), identifying it as one of the G-20 major economies. It is a high-income developed country, with a developed market, and is a member of OECD. South Korea is one of the Asian Tigers, and is the only developed country so far to have been included in the group of Next Eleven countries. South Korea had one of the world's fastest growing economies from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and South Korea is still one of the fastest growing developed countries in the 2000s, along with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, the other three members of Asian Tigers.^[7] South Koreans refer to this growth as the Miracle on the Han River.^[8] Having almost no natural resources and always suffering from overpopulation in its small territory, which deterred continued population growth and the formation of a large internal consumer market, South Korea adapted an export-oriented economic strategy to fuel its economy, and in 2010, South Korea was the seventh largest exporter and tenth largest importer in the world.

Despite the South Korean economy's high growth potential and apparent structural stability, South Korea suffers perpetual damage to its credit rating in the stock market due to the belligerence of North Korea in times of deep military crises, which has an adverse effect on the financial markets of the South Korean economy.^[9][10] However, renowned financial organizations, such as the International Monetary Fund, also compliment 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 any expected financial emergencies.^[11] Other financial organizations like the World Bank describe Korea as one of the fastest-growing major economies of the next generation along with BRIC and Indonesia.^[12] South Korea was one of the few developed countries that was able to avoid a recession during the global financial crisis,^[13] and its economic growth rate will reach 6.1% in 2010,^[14] a sharp recovery from economic growth rates of 2.3% in 2008 and 0.2% in 2009 when the global financial crisis hit.

South Korea was a historical recipient of official development assistance (ODA) from OECD. Throughout the 1980s until the mid 1990s, South Korea's economic prosperity as measured in GDP by PPP per capita was still only a fraction of industrialized nations.^[15] In 1980, the South Korean GDP per capita was $2,300, about one-third of nearby developed Asian economies such as Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. Since then, South Korea has advanced into a developed economy to eventually attain a GDP per capita of $30,000 in 2010, almost thirteen times the figure thirty years ago. The whole country's GDP increased from $88 billion to $1,460 billion in the same time frame.^[16] In 2009, South Korea officially became the first major recipient of ODA to have ascended to the status of a major donor of ODA.^[3] Between 2008 and 2009, South Korea donated economic aid of $1.7 billion to countries other than North Korea. South Korea's separate annual economic aid to North Korea has historically been more than twice its ODA.^[17]

History[link]

Shipbuilding is a flagship industry of South Korea that boomed since the 1960s.

The growth of the industrial sector was the principal stimulus to economic development. In 1986, manufacturing industries accounted for approximately 30 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 25 percent of the work force. Benefiting from strong domestic encouragement and foreign aid, Seoul's industrialists introduced modern technologies into outmoded or newly built facilities at a rapid pace, increased the production of commodities—especially those for sale in foreign markets—and plowed the proceeds back into further industrial expansion. As a result, industry altered the country's landscape, drawing millions of laborers to urban manufacturing centers.

A downturn in the South Korean economy in 1989 spurred by a sharp decrease in exports and foreign orders caused deep concern in the industrial sector. Ministry of Trade and Industry analysts stated that poor export performance resulted from structural problems embedded in the nation's economy, including an overly strong won, increased wages and high labor costs, frequent strikes, and high interest rates. The result was an increase in inventories and severe cutbacks in production at a number of electronics, automobile, and textile manufacturers, as well as at the smaller firms that supplied the parts. Factory automation systems were introduced to reduce dependence on labor, to boost productivity with a much smaller work force, and to improve competitiveness. It was estimated that over two-thirds of South Korea's manufacturers spent over half of the funds available for facility investments on automation.

Rapid growth from 1960s to 1980s[link]

South Korea's real gross domestic product expanded by an average of more than 8 percent per year, from US$2.7 billion in 1962^[18] to US$230 billion in 1989,^[19] breaking the trillion dollar mark in 2007. Nominal GDP per capita grew from $103.88 in 1962^[20] to $5,438.24 in 1989,^[21] reaching the $20,000 milestone in 2007. The manufacturing sector grew from 14.3 percent of the GNP in 1962 to 30.3 percent in 1987. Commodity trade volume rose from US$480 million in 1962 to a projected US$127.9 billion in 1990. The ratio of domestic savings to GNP grew from 3.3 percent in 1962 to 35.8 percent in 1989.

The most significant factor in rapid industrialization was the adoption of an outward-looking strategy in the early 1960s. This strategy was particularly well suited to that time because of South Korea's poor natural resource endowment, low savings rate, and tiny domestic market. The strategy promoted economic growth through labor-intensive manufactured exports, in which South Korea could develop a competitive advantage. Government initiatives played an important role in this process. The inflow of foreign capital was greatly encouraged to supplement the shortage of domestic savings. These efforts enabled South Korea to achieve rapid growth in exports and subsequent increases in income.

By emphasizing the industrial sector, Seoul's export-oriented development strategy left the rural sector relatively underdeveloped. Except for mining, most industries were located in the urban areas of the northwest and southeast. Heavy industries generally were located in the south of the country. Factories in Seoul contributed over 25 percent of all manufacturing value-added in 1978; taken together with factories in surrounding Gyeonggi Province, factories in the Seoul area produced 46 percent of all manufacturing that year. Factories in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province employed 48 percent of the nation's 2.1 million factory workers. Increasing income disparity between the industrial and agricultural sectors became a serious problem by the 1970s and remained a problem, despite government efforts to raise farm income and improve rural living standards.

Shipbuilding[link]

During the 1970s and 1980s, South Korea became a leading producer of ships, including oil supertankers, and oil-drilling platforms. The country's major shipbuilder was Hyundai, which built a 1-million-ton capacity drydock at Ulsan in the mid-1970s. Daewoo joined the shipbuilding industry in 1980 and finished a 1.2-million-ton facility at Okpo on Geoje Island, south of Busan, in mid-1981. The industry declined in the mid-1980s because of the oil glut and because of a worldwide recession. There was a sharp decrease in new orders in the late 1980s; new orders for 1988 totaled 3 million gross tons valued at US$1.9 billion, decreases from the previous year of 17.8 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively. These declines were caused by labor unrest, Seoul's unwillingness to provide financial assistance, and Tokyo's new low-interest export financing in support of Japanese shipbuilders. However, the South Korean shipping industry was expected to expand in the early 1990s because older ships in world fleets needed replacing.^[22] South Korea eventually became the world's dominant shipbuilder with a 50.6% share of the global shipbuilding market as of 2008. Notable Korean shipbuilders are Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding, the world's four largest shipbuilding companies. South Korea also owns STX Europe, which is Europe's largest shipbuilder.

Automobile[link]

The automobile industry was one of South Korea's major growth and export industries in the 1980s. By the late 1980s, the capacity of the South Korean motor industry had increased more than fivefold since 1984; it exceeded 1 million units in 1988. Total investment in car and car-component manufacturing was over US$3 billion in 1989. Total production (including buses and trucks) for 1988 totaled 1.1 million units, a 10.6 percent increase over 1987, and grew to an estimated 1.3 million vehicles (predominantly passenger cars) in 1989. Almost 263,000 passenger cars were produced in 1985—a figure that grew to approximately 846,000 units in 1989. In 1988 automobile exports totaled 576,134 units, of which 480,119 units (83.3 percent) were sent to the United States. Throughout most of the late 1980s, much of the growth of South Korea's automobile industry was the result of a surge in exports; 1989 exports, however, declined 28.5 percent from 1988. This decline reflected sluggish car sales to the United States, especially at the less expensive end of the market, and labor strife at home.^[23] South Korea today has developed into one of the world's largest automobile producers. Hyundai Kia Automotive Group is Korea's largest automaker.

Mining[link]

Most of the mineral deposits in the Korean Peninsula are located in North Korea, with the South only possessing an abundance of tungsten and graphite. Coal, iron ore, and molybdenum are found in South Korea, but not in large quantities and mining operations are on a small scale. Much of South Korea's minerals and ore are imported from other countries. Most South Korean coal is low-grade anthracite that is only used for heating homes and boilers.

Construction[link]

Construction has been an important South Korean export industry since the early 1960s and remains a critical source of foreign currency and invisible export earnings. By 1981 overseas construction projects, most of them in the Middle East, accounted for 60 percent of the work undertaken by South Korean construction companies. Contracts that year were valued at US$13.7 billion. In 1988, however, overseas construction contracts totaled only US$2.6 billion (orders from the Middle East were US$1.2 billion), a 1 percent increase over the previous year, while new orders for domestic construction projects totaled US$13.8 billion, an 8.8 percent increase over 1987.

The result was that South Korean construction companies concentrated on the rapidly growing domestic market in the late 1980s. By 1989 there were signs of a revival of the overseas construction market—the Dong Ah Construction Company signed a US$5.3 billion contract with Libya for the second phase of Libya's Great Man-Made River Project, which, when all five phases were completed, was projected to cost US$27 billion. South Korean construction companies signed over US$7 billion of overseas contracts in 1989.^[24] Korea's largest construction companies include Samsung C&T Corporation, who had built noteworthy constructs such as Petronas Towers, Taipei 101, and Burj Khalifa.

^[25][26]

Armaments[link]

Korea's remarkable technological advancements and industrialization allowed Korea to produce increasingly powerful military equipment.

Situated in the most heavily militarized region of the world, South Korea is an important manufacturer of armaments, both for domestic use and for export. During the 1960s, South Korea was largely dependent on the United States to supply its armed forces, but after the elaboration of President Richard M. Nixon's policy of Vietnamization in the early 1970s, South Korea began to manufacture many of its own weapons.^[27]

Since the 1980s, South Korea, now in possession of more modern military technology than in previous generations, has actively began shifting its defense industry's areas of interest more from its previously homeland defense-oriented militarization efforts, to the promotion of military equipments and technology as mainstream products of exportation to boost its international trade. Some of its key military export projects include T-155 Firtina self-propelled artillery for Turkey; K11 air-burst rifle for United Arab Emirates; Bangabandhu class guided-missile frigate for Bangladesh; fleet tankers such as Sirius class for the navies of Australia, New Zealand, and Venezuela; Makassar class amphibious assault ships for Indonesia; and KT-1 trainer for Turkey and Indonesia.

South Korea has also outsourced its defense industry to produce various core components of other countries' advanced military hardware. Those hardware include modern aircraft such as F-15K fighters and AH-64 attack helicopters which will be used by Singapore and Japan, whose airframes will be built by Korea Aerospace Industries in a joint-production deal with Boeing.^[28] In other major oursourcing and joint-production deals, South Korea has jointly produced the S-300 air defense system of Russia via Samsung Group, and will facilitate the sales of Mistral class amphibious assault ships to Russia that will be produced by STX Corporation.^[29] South Korea's defense exports were $1.03 billion in 2008 and $1.17 billion in 2009, and South Korea aims to increase the figure to $1.5 billion in 2010.^[30]

1990s and the Asian Financial Crisis[link]

For the first half of the 1990s, the South Korean economy continued a stable and strong growth in both private consumption and GDP. Things changed quickly in 1997 with the Asian Financial crisis. After several other Asian currencies were attacked by speculators, the Korean Won started to heavily depreciate in October 1997.^[31] The problem was exacerbated by the problem of non-performing loans at many of Korea's merchant banks. By December 1997, the IMF had approved a USD $21 billion loan, that would be part of a USD $58.4 billion bailout plan.^[31] By January 1998, the government had shut down a third of Korea's merchant banks.^[31] Throughout 1998, Korea's economy would continue to shrink quarterly at an average rate of -6.65%.^[31] Korean chaebol Daewoo became a casualty of the crisis as it was dismantled by the government in 1999 due to debt problems. American company General Motors managed to purchase the motors division. Indian conglomerate Tata Group, purchased the trucks and heavy vehicles division of Daewoo.^[31]

Actions by the South Korean government and debt swaps by international lenders contained the country's financial problems. Much of South Korea's recovery from the Asian Financial Crisis can be attributed to labor adjustments (i.e. a dynamic and productive labor market with flexible wage rates) and alternative funding sources.^[31] By the first quarter of 1999, GDP growth had risen to 5.4%, and strong growth thereafter combined with deflationary pressure on the currency lead to a yearly growth of 10.5%. In December 1999, president Kim Dae-jung declared the currency crisis over.^[31]

2000s[link]

After the bounce back from the crisis of the late nineties, the economy continued strong growth in 2000 with a GDP growth of 9.08%.^[31] Growth fell back to 3.8% in the early 2000s because of the slowing global economy, falling exports, and the perception that corporate and financial reforms had stalled.^[32] Thanks to industrialization GDP per hour worked (labor output) more than tripled from US$2.80 in 1963 to US$10.00 in 1989.^[32] More recently the economy stabilized and maintain a growth rate between 4-5% from 2003 onwards.^[32]

Like most industrialized economies, Korea suffered significant setbacks during the late-2000s recession that began in 2007. Growth fell by 3.4% in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the previous quarter, the first negative quarterly growth in 10 years, with year on year quarterly growth continuing to be negative into 2009.^[33] Most sectors of the economy reported declines, with manufacturing dropping 25.6% as of January 2009, and consumer goods sales dropping 3.1%.^[33] Exports in autos and semiconductors, two critical pillars of the economy, shrank 55.9% and 46.9% respectively, while exports overall fell by a record 33.8% in January, and 18.3% in February 2009 year on year.^[34] As in the 1997 crisis, Korea's currency also experienced massive fluctuations, declining by 34% against the dollar.^[34] Annual growth in the economy slowed to 2.3% in 2008, and was expected to drop to as low as -4.5% by Goldman Sachs,^[35] but South Korea was able to limit the downturn to a near standstill at 0.2% in 2009.^[36]

Despite the global financial crisis, the South Korean economy, helped by timely stimulus measures and strong domestic consumption of products that compensated for a drop in exports,^[37] was able to avoid a recession unlike most industrialized economies, posting positive economic growth for two consecutive years of the crisis. In 2010, South Korea made a strong economic rebound with a growth rate of 6.1%, signaling a return of the economy to pre-crisis levels. South Korea's export has recorded $424 billion in the first eleven months of the year 2010,^[38] already higher than its export in the whole year of 2008. The South Korean economy of the 21st century, as a Next Eleven economy, is expected to grow from 3.9% to 4.2% annually between 2011 and 2030,^[39] similar to growth rates of developing countries such as Brazil or Russia.^[40]

High-tech industries in the 1990s and 2000s[link]

The automotive line is a key sector in South Korea's industry.

In 1990, South Korean manufacturers planned a significant shift in future production plans toward high-technology industries. In June 1989, panels of government officials, scholars, and business leaders held planning sessions on the production of such goods as new materials, mechatronics—including industrial robotics—bioengineering, microelectronics, fine chemistry, and aerospace. This shift in emphasis, however, did not mean an immediate decline in heavy industries such as automobile and ship production, which had dominated the economy in the 1980s.

South Korea relies largely upon exports to fuel the growth of its economy, with finished products such as electronics, textiles, ships, automobiles, and steel being some of its most important exports. Although the import market has liberalized in recent years, the agricultural market has remained largely protectionist due to serious disparities in the price of domestic agricultural products such as rice with the international market. As of 2005, the price of rice in South Korea is about four times that of the average price of rice on the international market, and it was generally feared that opening the agricultural market would have disastrous effects upon the South Korean agricultural sector. In late 2004, however, an agreement was reached with the WTO in which South Korean rice imports will gradually increase from 4% to 8% of consumption by 2014. In addition, up to 30% of imported rice will be made available directly to consumers by 2010, where previously imported rice was only used for processed foods. Following 2014, the South Korean rice market will be fully opened.

Recent years[link]

Korea Export Treemap

The South Korean economy of 1990s and beyond was marked by the development of high-tech industries, in fields such as information display and electronics.

In the early 1980s, in order to control inflation, a conservative monetary policy and tight fiscal measures were adopted. Growth of the money supply was reduced from the 30 percent level of the 1970s to 15 percent. Seoul even froze its budget for a short while. Government intervention in the economy was greatly reduced and policies on imports and foreign investment were liberalized to promote competition. To reduce the imbalance between rural and urban sectors, Seoul expanded investments in public projects, such as roads and communications facilities, while further promoting farm mechanization.^[41]

These measures, coupled with significant improvements in the world economy, helped the South Korean economy regain its lost momentum in the late 1980s. South Korea achieved an average of 9.2 percent real growth between 1982 and 1987 and 12.5 percent between 1986 and 1988. The double digit inflation of the 1970s was brought under control. Wholesale price inflation averaged 2.1 percent per year from 1980 through 1988; consumer prices increased by an average of 4.7 percent annually. Seoul achieved its first significant surplus in its balance of payments in 1986 and recorded a US$7.7 billion and a US$11.4 billion surplus in 1987 and 1988 respectively. This development permitted South Korea to begin reducing its level of foreign debt. The trade surplus for 1989, however, was only US$4.6 billion dollars, and a small negative balance was projected for 1990.

In recent years, Korea's economy moved away from the centrally planned, government-directed investment model toward a more market-oriented one. South Korea bounced back from the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis with assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but its recovery was based largely on extensive financial reforms that restored stability to markets. These economic reforms, pushed by President Kim Dae-jung, helped Korea maintain one of Asia's few expanding economies, with growth rates of 10.8% in 1999 and 9.2% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.3% in 2001 because of the slowing global economy, falling exports, and the perception that much-needed corporate and financial reforms have stalled. Led by industry and construction, growth in 2002 was 5.8%, despite anemic global growth. Restructuring of Korean conglomerates (chaebols), bank privatization, and creating a more liberalized economy with a mechanism for bankrupt firms to exit the market remain Korea's most important unfinished reform tasks. Growth slowed again in 2004, but production expanded 5% in 2006, due to popular demand for key export products such as HDTVs and mobile phones.

Tourism[link]

Incheon International Airport, rated the best airport worldwide consecutively since 2005 by Airports Council International.^[42]

In 2007, South Korea had 6.4 million visitors making it the 36th most visited country in the world.^[43] Recently, the number of tourists from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia has grown dramatically due to the increased popularity of the Korean wave ("hallyu").

Seoul is the principal tourist destination for visitors; popular tourist destinations outside of Seoul include Seorak-san national park, the historic city of Gyeongju and semi-tropical Jeju Island.

See also[link]

	South Korea portal
	Economics portal

• Four Asian Tigers
• List of South Korean regions by GDP
• Economy of North Korea
• List of banks in South Korea
• List of Korea-related topics
• List of South Korean companies
• Heavy-Chemical Industry Drive

References and notes[link]

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.

Further reading[link]

• O. Yul Kwon (2010). The Korean Economy in Transition: An Institutional Perspective. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar. ISBN 978-1-84064-268-1. 
• T. Youn-Ja Shim, ed. (2010). Korean Entrepreneurship: The Foundation of the Korean Economy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-10707-6.  Essays on such topics as American-educated technocrats in the 1960s and their role in South Korea's economic growth, and entrepreneurial family companies in South Korea, as well as China and Japan.
• Byung-Nak Song (2003). The Rise of the Korean Economy (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-592827-X. 
• Sang Chul Suh (1978). Growth and Structural Changes in the Korean Economy, 1910-1940. Harvard East Asian Monographs. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-36439-2. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Economy of South Korea

• Econnewskorea, a Korean economic and business news aggregator
• Korea Statistical Information System
• Video on South Korea-US Relations from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
• Samsung Economic Research Institute
• OECD South Korea
• The Promise and Perils of Korean Reunification by Martin Hart-Landsberg.

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Republic of Korea 대한민국 大韓民國 Daehanminguk
Flag Emblem
Motto:  홍익인간; 弘益人間 (unofficial) (Translation: Benefit broadly the human world)
Anthem:  (애국가; 愛國歌) (tr.: "Aegukga") (English: "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[1] Hanja[citation needed]
Ethnic groups		Korean (99%)[2]
Demonym		South Korean, Korean
Government		Unitary presidential Constitutional republic
-	President	Lee Myung-bak
-	Prime Minister	Kim Hwang-sik
-	Speaker	Jeong Eui-hwa
Legislature		National Assembly (Gukhoe)
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[3] (24th)
-	Density	491/km2 (21st) 1,271/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$1.556 trillion[4] (12th)
-	Per capita	$31,753[4] (26th)
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$1.163 trillion[4] (15th)
-	Per capita	$23,749[4] (32nd)
Gini (2007)		31.3[5]
HDI (2011)		0.897[6] (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
ISO 3166 code		KR
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

This article contains Korean text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hangul or Hanja.

South Korea ( listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國; Daehan Minguk  listen), is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula.^[7] The name "Korea" is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages (an initial "G" in Korean is pronounced like an English "K").

Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the Korea Strait to the south. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers^[8] and has a population of almost 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304.

Archaeological findings show that the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the Lower Paleolithic period.^[9][10] Korean history begins with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary Dan-gun. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Silla 668 AD, Korea went through the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty as one nation until the end of the Korean Empire in 1910, when it was annexed by Japan. After liberation and occupation by Soviet and U.S. forces at the end of World War II, the nation was divided into North and South Korea. The latter was established in 1948 as a democracy, though political turmoil and times of military rule and martial law characterized much of the period until the foundation of the Sixth Republic in 1987.

After the invasion of South Korea by forces from the North on June 25, 1950, the resulting war between the two Koreas ended with an Armistice Agreement, but the border between the two nations is the most heavily fortified in the world.^[11] After the war, the South Korean economy grew significantly and the country was transformed into a major economy,^[12] a full democracy, and a regional power in East Asia.

South Korea is a presidential republic consisting of sixteen administrative divisions and is a developed country with a very high standard of living. It is Asia's fourth largest economy and the world's 15th (nominal) or 12th (purchasing power parity) largest economy.^[13] The economy is export-driven, with production focusing on electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics. South Korea is a member of the United Nations, WTO, OECD and G-20 major economies. It is also a founding member of APEC and the East Asia Summit.

History[link]

Before the division[link]

Korean history begins with the founding of Chosun (often known as "Gojoseon" to prevent confusion with another dynasty founded in the 14th century; the prefix Go- means 'older,' 'before,' or 'earlier') in 2333 BC by Dangun, according to Korean foundation mythology.^[14] Go Cho Sun expanded until it controlled northern Korean Peninsula and some parts of Manchuria. After many conflicts with the Chinese Dynasty Han Dynasty, Go Cho Sun disintegrated, leading to the Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea period.

In the early centuries of the Common Era, Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye, and the Samhan confederacy occupied the peninsula and southern Manchuria. Of the various states, Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla grew to control the peninsula as Three Kingdoms of Korea. 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 Unified Silla, while Balhae succeeded to have the control of northern parts of Goguryeo.

In Unified Silla, poetry and art was encouraged, and Buddhist culture thrived. Relationships between Korea and China remained relatively peaceful during this time. However, Unified Silla weakened under internal strife, and surrendered to Goryeo in 935. Balhae, Silla's neighbor to the north, was formed as a successor state to Goguryeo. During its height, Balhae controlled most of Manchuria and parts of Russian Far East. It fell to the Khitan in 926.

The peninsula was united by Emperor Taejo of Goryeo in 936. Like Silla, Goryeo was a highly cultural state and created the Jikji in 1377, using the world's oldest movable metal type printing press.^[15] The Mongol invasions in the 13th century greatly weakened Goryeo. After nearly 30 years of war, Goryeo continued to rule Korea, though as a tributary ally to the Mongols. After the Mongolian Empire collapsed, severe political strife followed and the Goryeo Dynasty was replaced by the Joseon Dynasty in 1392 following a rebellion by General Yi Seong-gye.

Gyeongbok Palace is the largest of the Five Grand Palaces built during the Joseon Dynasty.

King Taejo declared the new name of Korea as "Joseon" in reference to Gojoseon, and moved the capital to Hanseong (old name of Seoul). The first 200 years of the Joseon Dynasty were marked by relative peace and saw the creation of Hangul by King Sejong the Great in the 15th century and the rise in influence of Confucianism in the country.

Between 1592 and 1598, the Japanese invaded Korea. Toyotomi Hideyoshi led the forces and tried to invade the Asian continent through Korea, but was eventually repelled by the Righteous army and assistance from Ming Dynasty China. This war also saw the rise of Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his renowned "turtle ship". In the 1620s and 1630s, Joseon suffered from invasions by the Manchu who eventually conquered all of China.

After another series of wars against Manchuria, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace. King Yeongjo and King Jeongjo particularly led a new renaissance of the Joseon Dynasty.

However, the latter years of the Joseon Dynasty were marked by a dependence on China for external affairs and isolation from the outside world. During the 19th century, Korea's isolationist policy earned it the name the "Hermit Kingdom". The Joseon Dynasty tried to protect itself against Western imperialism, but was eventually forced to open trade. After the First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Korea was occupied by Japan (1910–1945). At the end of World War II, the Japanese surrendered to Soviet and U.S. forces who occupied the northern and southern halves of Korea, respectively.

After the division[link]

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 Korea's division into two political entities in 1948: North Korea and South Korea. In the North, a former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist, Kim Il-sung gained power through Soviet support. In the South, elections supervised by the United Nations were held, a Republic of Korea was declared, and Syngman Rhee inaugurated as its first president. In December, the UN General Assembly declared this "a lawful government" and "the only such government in Korea."^[16] On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, sparking the Korean War, the Cold War's first major conflict. 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 huge advances on both sides, and massive losses among Korean civilians in both the north and the south, the war eventually reached a stalemate. 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. At least 2.5 million people died during the Korean War.^[17]

Namdaemun is a historic pagoda-style gateway.

Korean peninsula at night.

In 1960, a student uprising (the "4.19 Revolution") led to the resignation of the autocratic President Syngman Rhee. A period of political instability followed, broken by General Park Chung-hee's military coup (the "5.16 coup d'état") against the weak and ineffectual government the next year. Park took over as president until his assassination in 1979, overseeing rapid export-led economic growth as well as political repression. Park was heavily criticised as a ruthless military dictator, although the Korean economy developed significantly during his tenure. The government developed the nation-wide highway system, the Seoul subway system, and laid the foundation for economic development during his tenure.

The years after Park's assassination were marked again by political turmoil, as the previously repressed opposition leaders all campaigned to run for president in the sudden political void. In 1979 there was Coup d'état of December Twelfth by General Chun Doo-hwan. After the Coup d'état, Chun Doo-hwan planned to rise to power with several measures. On May 17, Chun Doo-hwan forced the Cabinet to expand martial law to the whole nation, which had previously not applied to Jeju-do. The expanded martial law closed universities, banned political activities and further curtailed the press. Chun assumed the presidency by the event of May 17, triggering nationwide protests demanding democracy, in particular in the city of Gwangju, where Chun sent special forces to violently suppress the Gwangju Democratization Movement.^[18]

Chun subsequently created the National Defense Emergency Policy Committee and took the presidency according to his political plan. Chun and his government held Korea under a despotic rule until 1987, when a Seoul National University student, Park Jong-chul, was tortured to death.^[19] On June 10, the Catholic Priests Association for Justice revealed the incident, igniting huge demonstrations around the country. Eventually, Chun's party, the Democratic Justice Party, and its leader, Roh Tae-woo announced the 6.29 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.

In 1988, Seoul hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics. It became a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1996.^[20] It was adversely affected by the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. However, the country was able to recover and continue its economic growth, albeit at a slower pace.

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. 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."^[21] However, due to 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 2006 led by President Lee Myung-bak, former mayor of Seoul. Presidential election will be held in late 2012.

In 2002, South Korea and Japan jointly co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup. However, South Korean and Japanese relations later soured due to conflicting claims of sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks ("Dokdo" in Korea), in what became known as the Liancourt Rocks dispute.

Government[link]

The National Assembly of South Korea

Under its current constitution the state is sometimes referred to as the Sixth Republic of South Korea. Like many democratic states,^[22] 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. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. The judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels. South Korea is a constitutional democracy.

The South Korean government's structure is determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. This document 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.^[23] The first direct election was also held in 1948. Although South Korea experienced a series of military dictatorships from the 1960s up 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".^[24]

Administrative divisions[link]

See also Special cities of Korea and Provinces of Korea

The major administrative divisions in South Korea are provinces, metropolitan cities (self-governing cities that are not part of any province), one special city and one special autonomous city (by July 2012).

Map	Namea	Hangul	Hanja	Population
Gangwon Seoul Incheon Gyeonggi South Chungcheong North Chungcheong Sejong Daejeon North Gyeongsang North Jeolla Daegu Ulsan Busan South Gyeongsang Gwangju South Jeolla Jeju North Korea Japan Yellow Sea (West Sea) Korea Strait (Western Channel) Korea Strait (Tsushima Strait) Sea of Japan (East Sea)	Special city (Teukbyeolsi)a
	Seoul	서울특별시	서울特別市b	9,794,304
	Special autonomous city (Teukbyeol-jachisi)a
	Sejong	세종특별자치시	世宗特別自治市	96,000
	Metropolitan cities (Gwangyeoksi)a
	Busan	부산광역시	釜山廣域市	3,635,389
	Daegu	대구광역시	大邱廣域市	2,512,604
	Incheon	인천광역시	仁川廣域市	2,628,000
	Daejeon	대전광역시	大田廣域市	1,442,857
	Gwangju	광주광역시	光州廣域市	1,456,308
	Ulsan	울산광역시	蔚山廣域市	1,087,958
	Provinces (Do)a
	Gyeonggi	경기도	京畿道	10,415,399
	Gangwon	강원도	江原道	1,592,000
	North Chungcheong	충청북도	忠淸北道	1,462,621
	South Chungcheong	충청남도	忠淸南道	1,840,410
	North Jeolla	전라북도	全羅北道	1,890,669
	South Jeolla	전라남도	全羅南道	1,994,287
	North Gyeongsang	경상북도	慶尙北道	2,775,890
	South Gyeongsang	경상남도	慶尙南道	2,970,929
	Special self-governing province (Teukbyeoljachi-do)a
	Jeju	제주특별자치도	濟州特別自治道	560,000

^a Revised Romanisation; ^b Names of Seoul.

Foreign relations[link]

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 January 1, 2007, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon assumed the post of UN Secretary-General. 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 2010, South Korea and the European Union concluded a free trade agreement (FTA) to reduce trade barriers. South Korea is also negotiating a Free Trade Agreement with Canada,^[25] and another with New Zealand.^[26] 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.

China[link]

Historically, Korea has had close relations with China. 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 August 24, 1992. The two countries sought to improve bilateral relations and lifted the forty-year old trade embargo,^[27] and South Korean–Chinese relations have improved steadily since 1992.^[27] The Republic of Korea broke off official relations with the Republic of China upon gaining official relations with the People's Republic of China.^[28]

European Union[link]

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 July 1, 2011.^[29] South Korea is the EU's eighth largest trade partner, and the EU has become South Korea's second largest export destination. EU trade with South Korea exceeded €65 billion in 2008 and has enjoyed an annual average growth rate of 7.5% between 2004 and 2008.^[30]

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 due to 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.^[30]

Japan[link]

Liancourt Rocks has become an issue known as the Liancourt Rocks dispute

Although there were no formal diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan after the end of World War II, South Korea and Japan 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 due to 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 were forced to serve in the Imperial Japanese Army.^[31][32] Korean women claim that they were forced to the war front to serve the Imperial Japanese Army as sexual slaves, called comfort women.^[33][34]

Longstanding issues such as Japanese war crimes against Korean civilians, the visits by Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine honoring Japanese soldiers killed at war (including some class A war criminals), the re-writing of Japanese textbooks related to Japanese acts during World War II, and the territorial disputes over Liancourt Rocks (Japanese official name: Takeshima and South Korean official name: Dokdo)^[35] continue to trouble Korean-Japanese relations. Although Dokdo/Takeshima is claimed by both Korea and Japan, the islets are administered by South Korea, which has its Korean Coast Guard stationed there.^[36]

In response to then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, former President Roh Moo-hyun suspended all summit talks between South Korea and Japan.^[37]

North Korea[link]

Both North and South Korea continue to officially claim sovereignty over the entire peninsula and any outlying islands. With longstanding animosity following the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, North Korea and South Korea signed an agreement to pursue peace.^[38] On October 4, 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.^[38]

Despite the Sunshine Policy and efforts at reconciliation, the progress was complicated by North Korean missile tests in 1993, 1998, 2006 and 2009. As of early 2009^[update], relationships between North and South Korea were very tense; North Korea had been reported to have deployed missiles,^[39] ended its former agreements with South Korea,^[40] and threatened South Korea and the United States not to interfere with a satellite launch it had planned.^[41] 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.^[11] On May 27, 2009, North Korean media declared that the Armistice is no longer valid due to the South Korean government's pledge to "definitely join" the Proliferation Security Initiative.^[42] To further complicate and intensify strains between the two nations, the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March 2010, is affirmed by the South Korean government^[43] 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.^[44] 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. But despite the continuing ties, Kaesong industrial zone has seen a large decrease in investment and manpower as a result of this military conflict.

2009–2010 Timeline^[44]

• November 2009, South Korea fired on and badly damaged a North Korean patrol ship, which retreated in flames.^[45]
• March 26, 2010: South Korean warship Cheonan sinks, killing 46 sailors
• May 20, 2010: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement
• July–September 2010: South Korea and US hold military exercises; US places more sanctions on Pyongyang
• September 29, 2010: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move
• October 29, 2010: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border
• November 12, 2010: North Korea shows US scientist new – undeclared – uranium enrichment facility
• November 23, 2010: North shells island of Yeonpyeong, killing four South Koreans

United States[link]

United States President Barack Obama and Lee walking after a meeting at the Blue House in Seoul in November 2010.

The United States engaged in the decolonization of Korea (mainly in the South, with the Soviet Union engaged in North Korea) from Japan after World War II. After three years of military administration by the United States, the South Korean government was established. Upon the onset of the Korean War, U.S. forces were sent to defend South Korea against invasion by North Korea and later China. 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.^[46] 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 U.S. Eighth Army, Seventh Air Force, and U.S. Naval Forces Korea are stationed in South 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.^[47] In 2007, a free trade agreement known as the Republic of Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) was reportedly signed between South Korea and the United States, but its formal implementation has been repeatedly delayed, pending approval by the legislative bodies of the two countries. On October 12, 2011, the U.S. Congress passed the long-stalled trade agreement with South Korea along with similar trade agreements with Colombia and Panama.^[48]

Military[link]

This section's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (March 2012)

A long history of invasions by neighbors and the unresolved tension with North Korea have 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.^[49] Consequently, South Korea has the world's sixth largest number of active troops (650,000 in 2011),^[50] the world's second-largest number of reserve troops(3,200,000 in 2011)^[50] and the eleventh largest defense budget. The Republic of Korea, with both regular and reserve military force numbering 3.7 million regular personnel among a total national population of 50 million people, has the second highest number of soldiers per capita in the world,^[50] after the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.^[51]

ROKN Sejong the Great (DDG 991), a King Sejong the Great -class guided-missile destroyer

The South Korean military consists of the Army (ROKA), the Navy (ROKN), the Air Force (ROKAF), and the Marine Corps (ROKMC), and reserve forces.^[52] Many of these forces are concentrated near the Korean Demilitarized Zone. All South Korean males are constitutionally required to serve in the military, typically 21 months. Previously, Koreans of mixed race were exempt from military duty but no exception from 2011.^[53]

In addition to male conscription in South Korea's sovereign military, 1,800 Korean males are selected every year to serve 21 months in the KATUSA Program to further augment the USFK.^[54] 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 the ₩29.6 trillion budget for its own military.

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 over-sized artillery force, which operates more than 13,000 artillery systems deployed in various state of fortification and mobility.^[50][55]

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.^[56]

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,^[57] and the indigenous F/A-50,^[58][59] 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.

On 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, marking South Korea as the first time for the country in Asia to export supersonic jets.^[60]

ROKAF F-15K strike fighters

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. 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.^[61] 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.

The United States have stationed a substantial contingent of troops in South Korea since the Korean War to defend South Korea in case of East Asian military crises. There are approximately 28,500 U.S. Military personnel stationed in Korea,^[62] most of them serving one year of unaccompanied tours. The American troops, which primarily are assigned to the Eighth United States Army are stationed in installations at Osan, Yongsan, Dongducheon, Sungbuk, Camp Humphreys, and Daegu. A still functioning UN Command is technically the top of the chain of command of all forces in South Korea, including the US 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. However, in September 2006, the Presidents of the United States and the Republic of Korea agreed that South Korea should assume the lead for its own defense. In early 2007, the U.S. Secretary of Defense and ROK Minister of National Defense determined that South Korea will assume wartime operational control of its forces on December 1, 2015. U.S. Forces Korea will transform into a new joint-warfighting command, provisionally described as Korea Command (KORCOM).^[63]

Geography, climate and environment[link]

Geography[link]

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 Sea of Japan (East Sea) 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 kilometres (38,622.57 sq mi).^[64]

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.^[65]

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 located about 100 kilometres (about 60 mi) off the southern coast of South Korea. It is the country's largest island, with an area of 1,845 square kilometres (712 sq mi). Jeju is also the site of South Korea's highest point: Hallasan, an extinct volcano, reaches 1,950 meters (6,398 ft) above sea level. The most eastern islands of South Korea include Ulleungdo and Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo), while Marado and Socotra Rock are the southernmost islands of South Korea.^[65]

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.^[66]

Climate[link]

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 in the inland region of the country: in Seoul, the average January temperature range is −7 °C to 1 °C (19 °F to 33 °F), and the average August temperature range is 22 °C to 30 °C (71 °F to 86 °F). Winter temperatures are higher along the southern coast and considerably lower in the mountainous interior.^[68] 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 and heavy rains. The average annual precipitation varies from 1,370 millimeters (54 inches) in Seoul to 1,470 millimeters (58 inches) in Busan. There are occasional typhoons that bring high winds and floods.

Environment[link]

Cheonggye Stream in downtown Seoul

Boseong tea field

During the first 20 years of South Korea's growth surge, little effort was made to preserve the environment.^[69] Unchecked industrialization and urban development have resulted in deforestation and the ongoing destruction of wetlands such as the Songdo Tidal Flat.^[70] 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.^[71][72]

The green-based economic strategy is a comprehensive overhaul of South Korea's economy, utilizing nearly two percent of the national GDP.^[71] The greening initiative includes such efforts as a nationwide bike network, solar and wind energy, lowering oil dependent vehicles, backing daylight savings and extensive usage of environmentally friendly technologies such as LEDs in electronics and lighting.^[73] The country – already the world's most wired – plans to build a nationwide next-generation network which will be 10 times faster than broadband facilities in order to reduce energy usage.^[73]

Seoul's tap water recently became safe to drink, with city officials branding it "Arisu" in a bid to convince the public.^[74] Efforts have also been made with afforestation projects. Another multi-billion dollar project was the restoration of Cheonggyecheon, a stream running through downtown Seoul that had earlier been paved over by a motorway.^[75] One major challenge is air quality, with acid rain, sulfur oxides, and annual yellow dust storms being particular problems.^[69] It is acknowledged that many of these difficulties are a result of South Korea's proximity to China, which is a major air polluter.^[69]

South Korea is a member of the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity Treaty, Kyoto Protocol (forming the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG), regarding UNFCCC,^[76] 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.^[7]

Economy[link]

Teheranno in Seoul.

South Korea has a market economy which ranks 14th in the world by nominal GDP and 12th by purchasing power parity (PPP), identifying it as one of the G-20 major economies. It is a high-income developed country and is a member of OECD. According to a Wikipedia article, it is the most industrialised member country of the OECD. South Korea is one of the Asian Tigers, and is the only developed country so far to have been included in the group of Next Eleven countries. South Korea had one of the world's fastest-growing economies from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and South Korea is still one of the fastest-growing developed countries in the 2000s, along with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan, the other three Asian Tigers.^[77] South Koreans refer to this growth as the Miracle on the Han River.^[78] The South Korean economy is heavily dependent on international trade, and in 2010 South Korea was the sixth largest exporter and tenth largest importer in the world.

Graphical depiction of Korea's product exports in 28 color coded categories.

Korea hosted the fifth G20 summit in its capital city, Seoul, in November 2010. The two-day summit was expected to boost Korea's economy by 31 trillion won, or 4% of Korea's 2010 GDP, in economic effects, and create over 160,000 jobs in Korea. It may also help improve the country's sovereign credit rating.^[79]

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 due to the belligerence of North Korea in times of deep military crises, which has an adverse effect on South Korean financial markets.^[80][81] 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.^[82] South Korea was one of the few developed countries that were able to avoid a recession during the global financial crisis,^[83] and 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),^[84] a sharp recovery from economic growth rates of 2.3% in 2008 and 0.2% in 2009 when the global financial crisis hit. The unemployment rate in South Korea also remained low in 2009 at 3.6%^[85]

Transportation and energy[link]

The KTX-II high-speed train can travel at 350 km/h (220 mph).

South Korea has a market-oriented economy with a technically advanced transport network consisting of high-speed railways, highways, bus routes, ferry services, and air routes that criss-cross 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.^[86] Express bus terminals are available in most cities.^[87]

South Korea's largest airport, Incheon International Airport, was completed in 2001. By 2007, it was serving 30 million passengers a year.^[88] Other international airports include Gimpo, Busan and Jeju. There are also seven domestic airports, and a large number of heliports.^[89]

Banpo Bridge connects the southern and northern parts of Seoul that are separated by the Han River.

Korean Air, founded in 1962, served 21,640,000 passengers, including 12,490,000 international passengers in 2008.^[90] A second carrier, Asiana Airlines, established in 1988, also serves domestic and international traffic. Combined, South Korean airlines serve 297 international routes.^[91] Smaller airlines, such as Jeju Air, provide domestic service with lower fares.^[92]

South Korea is the world's fifth-largest nuclear power producer and the second-largest in Asia as of 2010.^[93] 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.^[94]

Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea.

South Korea is an emerging exporter of nuclear reactors, having concluded agreements with the UAE to build and maintain four advanced nuclear reactors,^[95] with Jordan for a research nuclear reactor,^[96][97] and with Argentina for construction and repair of heavy-water nuclear reactors.^[98][99] As of 2010, South Korea and Turkey are in negotiations regarding construction of two nuclear reactors.^[100] South Korea is also preparing to bid on construction of a light-water nuclear reactor for Argentina.^[99]

South Korea is not allowed to enrich uranium or develop traditional uranium enrichment technology on its own, due to US political pressure,^[101] 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.^[102] The US has recently been wary of South Korea's burgeoning nuclear program, which South Korea insists will be for civilian use only.^[93]

Science and technology[link]

Aerospace research[link]

South Korea has sent up 10 satellites from 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.^[103] Arirang-1 was lost in space in 2008, after nine years in service.^[104]

In April 2008, Yi So-yeon became the first Korean to fly in space, aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-12.^[105]

In June 2009, the first spaceport of South Korea, Naro Space Center, was completed at Goheung, Jeollanam-do.^[106] The launch of Naro-1 in August 2009 resulted in a failure.^[107] The second attempt in June 2010 was also unsuccessful.^[108] The government plans to investigate the problems and develop Naro-2 by 2018.^[109]

South Korea's efforts to build an indigenous space launch vehicle is marred due to persistent political pressure of the United States, who had for many decades hindered South Korea's indigenous rocket and missile development programs^[110] 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.^[111] 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[link]

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.^[112] In 2009, the government announced plans to build robot-themed parks in Incheon and Masan with a mix of public and private funding.^[113]

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.^[114] EveR-1 has been succeeded by more complex models with improved movement and vision.^[115] Next models are scheduled to be completed by 2010.

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.^[116] 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.^[117]

Biotechnology[link]

Since the 1980s, the Korean government has actively invested in the development of a domestic biotechnology industry, and the sector is projected to grow to $6.5 billion by 2010.^[118] 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, and the cloning of two females of an endangered species of wolves^[which?] by the Seoul National University in 2007.^[119]

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.^[120]

Education[link]

Kyung Hee University

Education in South Korea is regarded as crucial to financial and social success, and competition is consequently fierce, with many participating in intense outside tutoring to supplement classes. In the 2006 results of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, South Korea came first in problem solving, third in mathematics and seventh in science.^[121] South Korea's education system is technologically advanced and it is the world's first country to bring high-speed fibre-optic broadband internet access to every primary and secondary school nation-wide. Using this infrastructure, the country has developed the first Digital Textbooks in the world, which will be distributed for free to every primary and secondary school nation-wide by 2013.^[122]

A centralised administration in South Korea oversees the process for the education of children from kindergarten to the third and final year of high school. South Korea has adopted a new educational program to increase the number of their foreign students through 2010. According to Ministry of Education, Science and Technology estimate, by that time, the number of scholarships for foreign students in South Korea will be doubled, and the number of foreign students will reach 100,000.^[123] The school year is divided into two semesters, the first of which begins in 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 consists of trousers and white shirts, and girls wear skirts and white shirts (this only applies in middle schools and high schools).

Demographics[link]

South Korea is noted for its population density, which is 487 per square kilometer, more than 10 times the global average. Most South Koreans live in urban areas, due to rapid migration from the countryside during the country's quick economic expansion in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.^[124] 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 9.8 million inhabitants. The Seoul National Capital Area has 24.5 million inhabitants making it the world's second largest metropolitan area and easily the most densely populated city in the OECD. Other major cities include Busan (3.5 million), Incheon (2.5 million), Daegu (2.5 million), Daejeon (1.4 million), Gwangju (1.4 million) and Ulsan (1.1 million).^[125]

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 due to emigration, especially to the United States and Canada. South Korea's total population in 1955 was 21.5 million,^[126] and today it is roughly 50,062,000.^[127]

South Korea is one of the most ethnically homogeneous societies in the world, with more than 99% of inhabitants having Korean ethnicity.^[128] Koreans call their society 단일민족국가, Dan-il minjok guk ga, "the single race society".

The percentage of foreign nationals is small but has been growing.^[129] As of 2009^[update], South Korea had 1,106,884 foreign residents, 2% of the population; however, more than half of them are ethnic Koreans with a foreign citizenship. For example, migrants from China (PRC) make up 56.5% of foreign nationals, but approximately 70% of the Chinese citizens in Korea are Joseonjok (조선족 in Korean), PRC citizens of Korean ethnicity.^[130] Regardless of the ethnicity, there are 28,500 US military personnel serving in South Korea for one year of unaccompanied tour, according to the Korea National Statistical Office.^[131][132] In addition, about 43,000 English teachers from English-speaking countries reside temporarily in Korea.^[133]

South Korea's birthrate was the world's lowest in 2009.^[134] If this continues, its population is expected to decrease by 13% to 42.3 million in 2050.^[135] South Korea's annual birthrate is approximately 9 births per 1000 people.^[136] However, the birthrate has increased by 5.7% in 2010 and Korea no longer has the world's lowest birthrate.^[137] According to a 2011 report from Chosun Ilbo, South Korea's total fertility rate (1.23 children born per woman) is higher than those of Taiwan (1.15) and Japan (1.21).^[138] The average life expectancy in 2008 was 79.10 years,^[139] which is 34th in the world.^[140]

Cities[link]

The table below lists the twenty largest cities within administrative city limits.

v t e Largest cities or towns of South Korea 2010 Population and Housing Census of Korea[141]
	Rank	City name	Province	Pop.	Rank	City name	Province	Pop.
Seoul Busan	1	Seoul	Seoul	9,794,304	11	Goyang	Gyeonggi-do	897,174	Incheon Daegu
	2	Busan	Busan	3,403,105	12	Yongin	Gyeonggi-do	852,505
	3	Incheon	Incheon	2,637,652	13	Bucheon	Gyeonggi-do	847,841
	4	Daegu	Daegu	2,444,085	14	Ansan	Gyeonggi-do	722,598
	5	Daejeon	Daejeon	1,495,453	15	Cheongju	Chungcheongbuk-do	667,726
	6	Gwangju	Gwangju	1,469,293	16	Jeonju	Jeollabuk-do	643,079
	7	Ulsan	Ulsan	1,081,985	17	Anyang	Gyeonggi-do	603,184
	8	Suwon	Gyeonggi-do	1,064,951	18	Cheonan	Chungcheongnam-do	574,022
	9	Changwon	Gyeongsangnam-do	1,062,731	19	Namyangju	Gyeonggi-do	523,301
	10	Seongnam	Gyeonggi-do	951,424	20	Pohang	Gyeongsangbuk-do	510,079

Religion[link]