Korea

Korea, called Chosŏn (Korean: 조선; Hanja: 朝鮮) in North Korea and Hanguk (Korean: 한국; Hanja: 韓國) or Daehanminkuk (Korean: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國) in South Korea, is an East Asian territory that is divided into two distinct sovereign states: North Korea, formally the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and South Korea, formally the Republic of Korea (ROK). Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast. It is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan .

Korea emerged as a singular political entity after centuries of conflict among the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which were unified as Silla (57 BC – AD 935) and Balhae (AD 698 – 926). The united Silla was eventually succeeded by Goryeo in 935 at the end of the Later Three Kingdoms period. Goryeo, which gave name to the modern exonym "Korea", was a highly cultured state and created the Jikji in the 14th century. The invasions by the Mongol Empire in the 13th century, however, greatly weakened the nation, which forced it into vassalage. After the Yuan dynasty's collapse, severe political strife followed. Goryeo eventually fell to an uprising led by General Yi Seong-gye, who established Joseon in 1388.

SK Telecom

SK Telecom Co., Ltd. (Hangul: SK텔레콤 or 에스케이텔레콤) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator, it is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols.

SK Telecom is South Korea's largest wireless carrier, it leads the local market with 50.5 percent share as of 2008. Since its creation in 1984, the company has evolved from a first generation analog cellular system, to second generation CDMA, then to the world's first third-generation synchronized IMT-2000 cellular system. SK Telecom also became the world’s first carrier to commercialize HSDPA in May 2006. SK expanded into the landline market by acquiring second-rated fixed-line operator Hanaro Telecom in February 2008.

The company’s online brands include "Nate," a web portal; "June," a mobile multimedia service; "Moneta," an e-banking mobile app; "Nate Drive," a telematics service and "Digital Home," an online interface to remote-control household appliances.

Online services are offered through tech subsidiary SK Communications, which also dominates the social networks market in South Korea. "Cyworld" is the largest social media site by membership and "NateOn" is the number one instant messaging client.

KT Corporation

KT Corporation (Hangul: 케이티 주식회사), formerly Korea Telecom, is South Korea's largest telephone company.

The formerly state-owned firm is South Korea's first telephone company and as such it dominates the local landline and broadband Internet market, serving about 90 percent of the country's fixed-line subscribers and 45 percent of high-speed Internet users. After selling its wireless affiliate Korea Mobile Telecom in 1994, KT returned to the wireless market with the creation of PCS carrier KTF in 1996.

The company's 2009 merger with KTF, its wireless subsidiary, made it the country's ninth largest chaebol (conglomerate) with nearly 24 trillion won ($20 billion) in assets.

In late 2015 former KT president Suk-Jae Lee was charged of breach of trust and embezzlement. An allegation he denies.

Company overview

KT Rolster

KT Rolster is a South Korean multi-gaming organization founded in 1999 with Korean Telecom as the head sponsor. A member of the Korean e-Sports Association, KT Rolster holds one of the richest and most successful StarCraft teams in the world, as well as the most successful League of Legends teams in Korea. The StarCraft team has fielded several legendary players throughout the pro-gaming scenes of StarCraft: Brood War and StarCraft II, such as Flash, Nal rA, YellOw, NaDa, NesTea, Reach, Life, TY and Zest.

History

When the organization was created in 1999 it consisted solely of a StarCraft team which was named KTF n016 Progame Team after the head sponsor, Korean Telecom Freetel. In 2001 the team was renamed KTF MagicNs. When the sponsor merged with Korean Telecom the gaming-organization subsequently went through several name changes and eventually ended up as KT Rolster (short for "Roller Coaster") in August 2009. The team transitioned to Starcraft II during the hybrid 2011-2012 Proleague Season 2.

South Korea

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

South Korea ( listen), officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: 대한민국; hanja: 大韓民國; RR: Daehanminguk,  listen) and commonly referred to as Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name Korea is derived from the ancient Kingdom of Goguryeo, also known as Koryŏ. Highly urbanized at 92%, Koreans lead a distinctive urban lifestyle with half of them living in the Seoul Capital Area, the world's second largest city with over 25 million residents and a leading global city with the fourth largest economy, rated in 2016 as the world's most livable megacity and safest city to live in. Highly mountainous, Korea is a popular winter sport destination in Asia, hosting the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing at 1st century BC. One of them, Goguryeo, ruled Northeast China, parts of Russia and Mongolia under Gwanggaeto the Great. Since their unification into Silla and Balhae in the 7th century, Korea enjoyed over a millennium of relative tranquility under long lasting dynasties with innovations like Hangul, the unique alphabet created by Sejong the Great in 1446, enabling anyone to easily learn to read and write. Its rich and vibrant culture left 17 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Korea was annexed by Imperial Japan in 1910 due to its strategic and central location, after whose surrender in 1945, it was divided into North and South Korea. A North Korean invasion lead to the Korean War (1950–53). Peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the world's 10th largest defence budget and strong global alliances. In 2016, Korea was rated as the world's safest country to live in, with the lowest crime rate.