South Korea Location:
Physical. South Korea is located in Eastern Asia, bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It covers an area slightly larger than Indiana. The climate there is temperate with heavier rainfall in the summer than the winter. The terrain is mostly hilly and mountainous with wide coastal plains in the west and south. Natural resources include coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead and hydropower.
South Korea Geography:
Geography
Area: 38,013
Capital: Seoul (pop 9,862,000)
Environmental concerns: air and water pollution; acid rain; drift net fishing
Geographical features: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
South Korea People:
People. South Korea is home to almost 48.6 million people. Korean is the official language, while English is widely taught in junior high and high school. The people of South Korea are almost entirely Korean with only about 20,000 Chinese inhabitants. The religions practiced are: Christianity (26%), Buddhism (26%) and Confucianism (1%).
48,598,175 people; racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community
Annual growth rate: 0.62%
Major language: Korean (English is widely taught in school)
Religions: Christian (26%); Buddhist (26%); Confucianist (1%)
South Korea Government:
Government. Reacting to governments that were so centralized as to practically constitute dictatorships, the people elected Kim Dae Jung, a former political prisoner, in 1998 and Roh Moo-hyun, a former human rights lawyer, in 2003. Roh has promised to continue Kim’s sunshine policy toward the North while establishing a more equal relationship with the US.
In 2000 a summit in North Korea had the effect of unthawing the relations between the two countries. Borders were opened for family visits and propaganda was halted. The first installment on reunification took place in 2002 when South Korea gave North Korea $25 million dollars to help rebuild rail and road links between the two countries. However, reunification is not expected to occur for many years.
Suppression of dissent has been a feature of almost every South Korean government since independence. The US presence in South Korea is assumed to have played a part in the violent suppression of anti-government sentiment. Strong feelings against US involvement in Korean affairs have precipitated hundreds of violent demonstrations. The US refusal to withdraw forces from South Korea leaves the impression that Americans are hard-liners.
South Korea is a republic that gained its independence from Japan on August 15, 1945 and formed the Republic of Korea on July 17, 1948
President Roh Moo-hyun is the head of state and Prime Minister LEE Hae-chan is the head of government
3 major political parties
Suffrage: universal at 20
South Korea Communication:
Communication and transportation
22,877,000 main telephone lines (2003)
29,220 Internet users (2003)
53,940 miles of highway
1,874 miles of railroads
103 airfields
10,420,000 motor vehicles
South Korea Economy:
Economy. The South Korea economy was so strong in the 1980's and the early 1990's that many people thought that South Korea would be the next Japan of Asia. (The standard of living increased phenomenally.) But the 1997-98 slowdown has modified those predictions. Manufacturing accounts for 30% of the GDP. Economic success has slowed the rate of outward migration and even brought some Koreans back home.
Currency: won
Per capita GDP: $17,800
GDP: $857.8 billion
GDP growth rate: 3.1%
Inflation rate: 3.6%
Labor force: agriculture (8.8%); industry (19.1%); services (72.1%)
South Korea Information:
www.dmoz.org
www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook | 
