Country Profile Geographically, Korea is a small country on the far eastern edge of Asia surrounded by China, Russia and Japan. South Korea is still under heavy military tension with North Korea. The area of South Korea is 100,210 square kilometers which is one fourth of California. The population is approximately 50 million. Its capital city is Seoul where approximately 10 million live. Its language is Hangeul (Korean). 29.2 percent of Koreans are Christians and 22.8 percent are Buddhists. 48 percent do not practice any religion. Although it is a small country, Korea is becoming a center of economic and cultural activities in Asia. Korea was colonized by Japan during 1909 to 1945, and later had to endure the painful Korean War during 1950 to 1953. However, since that time on, Korea has achieved amazingly splendid economic growth in a short period that was called as “the miracle of the Han River”. Today, Korea stands as one of the developed countries in the world. Now, Korea plays an important role in world economy as a member of G20 and hosted G20 Seoul Summit in 2010. Korea hosted the Seoul Summer Olympics in 1988, 2002 FIFA World Cup with Japan, and will host the Pyungchang Winter Olympics in 2018. Korea is famous for IT industries in global markets. Recently, Korean wave (Hanryu) for Korean dramas, movies, and music has been attracting worldwide audiences. (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, 2015)
Korean social structure is arranged vertically and based on
Korea’s geography greatly impacts how the people live. It affects where they live and how they live. In Korea, there are many mountains, such as Hallasan and Taebaeksan. These mountains came be home of terrace farming. This is where the crops are grown on the side of the mountain that has been partially flattened to where crops can grow on them. Not only does this affect the farming and food source, but it can also affect the population density. Where there are mountains, people can not build houses to live. The lack of space causes many people to live in cities such as Busan, Daegu, and Incheon, which all have over 2 million people living in each of the cities. This population density causes people to be very grouped up and live closer together,
Korea covers a land area of 99,392km (squared) and has a population of approximately 50 million people. Korea’s economy is listed as Asia’s fourth largest and the world’s 15th largest. It is the planet’s most densely populated country with 400 people per square km mainly due to the nearly 70% of uninhabitable mountainous regions. The largest cities are Busan (5.5 million inhabitants), Seoul (11.6 million), Daegu (4.0 million), Gwangju (2.9 million), Incheon (5.4 million) and Daejeon (2.9 million). Rapid urban growth has resulted in various problems for South Korea including housing. High-rise apartments were constructed in order to help alleviate housing shortages.
South Korea is one of the strongest economies in the Asia. Economic growth is mainly driven by manufacturing and exports. Exports include automobile, semiconductors, computers, steel and petrochemicals. Imports include heavy machinery, steel and oil. According to Economy Watch, South Korea is the world 's 5th largest importer of oil, with 3 million barrels per day (4).
An impoverished country of more than twenty five million people, North Korea, also known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) was founded by the revolutionary leader Kim IL Sung after the end of World War II. North Korea began as an independent kingdom for much of its long history. Both North and South Korea were under Japanese control in 1905 until the country was split after the end of World War II. Located in eastern Asia in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, North Korea sits in a strategic location bordering China, Russia, and South Korea. North Korea is slightly larger than the state of Virginia, but slightly smaller than the state of Mississippi and is mostly comprised of large mountains and steep hills separated
Korea was the Empire of Japan in 1910. In World War II, after the Japanese surrendered, the Unites States and the Soviet Union decided to break Korea into two countries. They are now known as North and South Korea. The North was occupied by the Soviet Union, and the South was occupied by the United States. North Korea, Democratic Peoples Republic Government, has a population of around 23 million people, who’s under control by one man, Kin-Jun-Un. Kin-Jun-Un, a dictator that has absolute power over his country, has guided his country to unfair treatment, violent actions, and a lot of conflicts with the Unites States.
The Korean peninsula extends about 1,100 km from the southern part of the Asian mainland and South Korea occupies the southern portion with a total area of about 99,000 square kilometers (Soh, n.d.). Although most of this area is mountainous and sparsely populated, approximately 30% of the total land area of South Korea is flat enough for agricultural and urban development. Located in the northwestern part of the country, Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is a metropolis home to more than ten million residents. Seoul is a city full of culture and history as Soh (n.d.) states “The palaces, shrines, and other vestiges of the Choson Dynasty are still prominent features of the city north of the Han River, serving as major tourist attractions”. There are four general regions in South Korea: the broad basin of the Nakdong River dominates the southeast; the southwest has mountains and valleys; the west has coastal plains, river basins, and rolling hills; and the east has high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains (Geography and climate, 2012). The Yellow Sea and the East China Sea border the western and southern coasts, respectively, and contain about three thousand islands which are mostly small and uninhabited. At the end of World War II, the United States of America and the Soviet Union established the border between South Korea and North Korea at the 38th Parallel (Soh, n.d.). The Military Demarcation Line replaced this boundary in 1953 to bring a cease-fire to the
The country of Korea was founded around the year of 2333 B.C with its first kingdom being gojoseon which stretched across the peninsula, by the third century B.C.E korea had fallen into many successor
Korea is a civilization and formerly unified nation currently divided into two states. Korean civilization is one of the oldest ancient civilizations in world history, and Korea has the oldest history in East Asia.
After World War II, the Soviet Union and the United States split the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel (38 degrees north latitude). This resulted of the official created on North Korea, officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in 1948. Tensions continued to rise between the two parts of the peninsula, as each side claimed to have the right to control the entire area of land. In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea under the leadership of Kim Il Sung, thus beginning the Korean War. The war resulted in over 2.5 million deaths. Ever since an armistice agreement was signed in 1953, North Korea has been blocked from the rest of the world. After the armistice agreement was signed, Kim Il Sung shaped North Korea to his
In February 2018, the world witnessed history as North and South Korea, for the first time, competed as “Korea.”
North Korea has a vast and growing culture. With a population of 24 million citizens living in this isolated area, most of them are ethnically Korean even with China being such a close neighbor. With such a dense population, the same believes and religion practiced throughout its nation. North Korea is located in eastern Asia with approximately 55% in the north. The Sea of Japan borders North Korea’s eastern shore and the Yellow sea boarders the western portion of the land. The boarder that separates North Korea from South Korea is approximately 148 Miles long. North Korea shares boarders with China being directly north and a small boarder is joint with Russia in the far northeastern corner of the country. (Encyclopaedia
South Korea is mainly made up of Korean Buddhism with Protestant Christianity a close second as listed in Religious Beliefs of South Korea. While South Korea and The U.S have multiple religions North Korea is two thirds irreligious as said in the world atlas. Irreligious is being indifferent or hostile to religion. Religion is a main factor that separates the three countries but also keeps them close
South Korea loves sport, sport is not only a popular physical activity but is a significant social practice. Sport operates as an important cultural resource and produces and disseminates nationalism. Indeed, in recent years, south korea has shown competence in hosting, playing, and managing sport. South Korean athletes have created notable results at major international sport events. For example, since 1984, the national Summer Olympic team has unfailingly been ranked in the top 10 nations on the medal table, with the only exception being the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The country has also produced a number of major world sporting events, including hosting
In South Korea, the Korean language is the most frequently used language and the Koreans use Hangul as the main writing system. Quoted from kwintessential.co.uk, “The Korean language is spoken by more than 65 million people living on the peninsula and its outlying islands as well as 5.5 million Koreans living in other parts of the world. The fact that all Koreans speak and write the same language has been a crucial factor in their strong national identity.” In the present time, Korea boasts many dialects, including the standard dialect used in Seoul and central areas. Even
South Korea is one of the most homogeneous countries in the world, in which it has its own culture, language, and customs that are different from other Asian countries. In South Korea, the citizens greatly value hard work, filial piety, and humility in their daily lives. South Koreans are very proud people in which they pride themselves in their traditional culture and their financial success.