An independent Korean state or collection of states has existed almost continuously for several millennia. Between its initial unification in the 7th century - from three predecessor Korean states - until the 20th century, Korea existed as a single country. It became a Chinese tributary state in 1392 with the formation of the Choson Dynasty. Korea became an independent country at the conclusion of the Sino-Japanese War in 1895 with the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Imperial Japan, following the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, forced Korea to sign the Protectorate Treaty. In 1910 Tokyo annexed the Peninsula. Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the United States in 1945. After World War II, a Republic of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north (the DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South Korea from DPRK attacks supported by China and the Soviet Union. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea under the PARK Chung-hee regime achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 17 times the level of North Korea. In 1993, KIM Young-sam became South Korea's first civilian president following 32 years of military rule. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. President LEE Myung-bak has pursued a policy of global engagement since taking office in February 2008, highlighted by Seoul's hosting of the G-20 summit in November 2010 and its scheduled hosting of the Nuclear Security Summit in March 2012. Serious tensions with North Korea have punctuated inter-Korean relations in recent years, including the North's sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March 2010 and its artillery attack on South Korean soldiers and citizens in November 2010.

Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea

37 00 N, 127 30 E

Asia

slightly larger than Indiana

2,413 km

temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter

mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south

coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential

8,320 sq km (2008)

69.7 cu km (1999)

occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest

air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing

strategic location on Korea Strait

homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)

Korean, English (widely taught in junior high and high school)

Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist 23.2%, other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3% (1995 census)

48,754,657 (July 2011 est.)

0.23% (2011 est.)

8.55 births/1,000 population (2011 est.)

6.26 deaths/1,000 population (July 2011 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2011 est.)

SEOUL (capital) 9.778 million; Busan (Pusan) 3.439 million; Incheon (Inch'on) 2.572 million; Daegu (Taegu) 2.458 million; Daejon (Taejon) 1.497 million (2009)

18 deaths/100,000 live births (2008)

1.23 children born/woman (2011 est.)

6.5% of GDP (2009)

1.967 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

12.28 beds/1,000 population (2008)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 88% of population

total: 98% of population

urban: 0% of population

rural: 12% of population

total: 2% of population (2008)

urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population (2008)

less than 0.1% (2009 est.)

9,500 (2009 est.)

fewer than 500 (2009 est.)

3.2% (2001)

4.2% of GDP (2007)

republic

9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular and plural)

15 August 1945 (from Japan)

Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)

17 July 1948; note - amended or rewritten many times; current constitution approved 29 October 1987

mixed legal system combining European civil law, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

19 years of age; universal

unicameral National Assembly or Gukhoe (299 seats; 245 members elected in single-seat constituencies, 54 elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms)

Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president with consent of National Assembly); Constitutional Court (justices appointed by the president based partly on nominations by National Assembly and Chief Justice of the court)

Democratic Party or DP [SONG Hak-kyu] (formerly the United Democratic Party or UDP); Democratic Labor Party or DLP [LEE Jung-hee]; Future Hope Alliance or FHA [ROH Cheoi-rae} (formerly Pro-Park Alliance); Grand National Party or GNP [PARK Geun-hye]; Liberty Forward Party or LFP [SHIM Dae-pyeong]; Renewal Korea Party or RKP [HAN Myeon-hee]

Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations

ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CICA, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field; the Korean national flag is called Taegukki; white is a traditional Korean color and represents peace and purity; the blue section represents the negative cosmic forces of the yin, while the red symbolizes the opposite positive forces of the yang; each trigram (kwae) denotes one of the four universal elements, which together express the principle of movement and harmony

taegeuk (yin yang symbol)

Since the 1960s, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth and global integration to become a high-tech industrialized economy. Four decades ago, GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies, and currently is among the world's 20 largest economies. Initially, a system of close government and business ties, including directed credit and import restrictions, made this success possible. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods, and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 exposed longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model including high debt/equity ratios and massive short-term foreign borrowing. GDP plunged by 6.9% in 1998, and then recovered by 9% in 1999-2000. Korea adopted numerous economic reforms following the crisis, including greater openness to foreign investment and imports. Growth moderated to about 4-5% annually between 2003 and 2007. With the global economic downturn in late 2008, South Korean GDP growth slowed to 0.2% in 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, the economy began to recover, in large part due to export growth, low interest rates, and an expansionary fiscal policy, and growth exceeded 6% in 2010. The South Korean economy's long term challenges include a rapidly aging population, inflexible labor market, and overdependence on manufacturing exports to drive economic growth.

$1.459 trillion (2010 est.)

$1.375 trillion (2009 est.)

$1.373 trillion (2008 est.)

$1.007 trillion (2010 est.)

6.1% (2010 est.)

0.2% (2009 est.)

2.3% (2008 est.)

$30,000 (2010 est.)

$28,300 (2009 est.)

$28,400 (2008 est.)

24.75 million (2010 est.)

3.7% (2010 est.)

3.7% (2009 est.)

15% (2006 est.)

31.4 (2009)

35.8 (2000)

28.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

23.3% of GDP (2010 est.)

1.3% of GDP (2010 est.)

22.6% of GDP (2010 est.)

23.5% of GDP (2009 est.)

3% (2010 est.)

2.8% (2009 est.)

1.25% (31 December 2009)

1.75% (31 December 2008)

5.508% (31 December 2010 est.)

5.65% (31 December 2009 est.)

$377 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$334.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.346 trillion (31 December 2009)

$1.132 trillion (31 December 2008)

$1.066 trillion (31 December 2010 est.)

$1 trillion (31 December 2009 est.)

$1.089 trillion (31 December 2010)

$836.5 billion (31 December 2009)

$494.6 billion (31 December 2008)

rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish

electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel

16.6% (2010 est.)

417.3 billion kWh (2009 est.)

402 billion kWh (2009 est.)

0 kWh (2010)

0 kWh (2010)

48,400 bbl/day (2010 est.)

2.251 million bbl/day (2010 est.)

907,100 bbl/day

3.074 million bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2011 est.)

542 million cu m (2010 est.)

42.69 billion cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2010 est.)

43.58 billion cu m (2010 est.)

50 billion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)

$36.35 billion (2010 est.)

$32.79 billion (2009 est.)

$464.3 billion (2010 est.)

$358.2 billion (2009 est.)

semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals

China 27.9%, US 10.2%, Japan 5.8% (2010)

$422.4 billion (2010 est.)

$320.4 billion (2009 est.)

machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics

China 17.9%, Japan 16.2%, US 10.1%, Saudi Arabia 5.2%, Australia 4.9% (2010)

$291.6 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$270 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$398 billion (30 June 2011 est.)

$380.9 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$127 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$117.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.)

$115.6 billion (31 December 2009)

$74.6 billion (30 June 2008)

South Korean won (KRW) per US dollar -

1,153.77 (2010)

1,276.93 (2009)

1,101.7 (2008)

929.2 (2007)

954.8 (2006)

28.543 million (2010)

50.767 million (2010)

multiple national television networks with 2 of the 3 largest networks publicly operated; the largest privately-owned network, Seoul Broadcasting Service (SBS), has ties with other commercial TV networks; cable and satellite TV subscription services are available; publicly-operated radio broadcast networks and a large number of privately-owned radio broadcasting networks, each with multiple affiliates, and independent local stations (2010)

.kr

291,329 (2010)

39.4 million (2009)

116 (2010)

510 (2010)

gas 2,139 km; refined products 864 km (2010)

1,608 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2010)

Incheon (Inch'on), Pohang (P'ohang), Busan (Pusan), Ulsan, Yeosu (Yosu)

Republic of Korea Army, Navy (includes Marine Corps), Air Force (2011)

20-30 years of age for compulsory military service, with middle school education required; conscript service obligation - 21 months (Army, Marines), 23 months (Navy), 24 months (Air Force); 18-26 years of age for voluntary military service; women, in service since 1950, admitted to 7 service branches, including infantry, but excluded from artillery, armor, anti-air, and chaplaincy corps; HIV-positive individuals are exempt from military service (2011)

2.7% of GDP (2006)

Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents with North Korea in the Yellow Sea over the Northern Limit Line, which South Korea claims as a maritime boundary; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954