South Korea

South Korea

South Korea is a sovereign state located in the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is also called the Republic of Korea , and is described in a 1948 U.N. resolution as the only lawful government in Korea. The English name Korea came from old dynasty Goryeo in the period of which many western people noticed the existence of the dynasty in Korean Peninsula. The Korean name Daehan Minguk can be translated as Republic of Great Han. Han is the name of the peoples distributed in Korean peninsula and some parts of Manchuria. This name of the peoples came from the name of the ancient only...
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quick facts
Capital:Seoul
Population:48,747,000
Official language:Korean Language
Currency:South Korean won ₩, South Korean hwan, South Korean won
Area:38,622.6 sq. mi.
GDP:$857,500,000,000
Form of government:Republic, Presidential system, Semi-presidential system
Also known as:Republic of Korea

Capital city of South Korea

Seoul
Seoul
Population:10,421,782

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world. The Seoul National Capital Area is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25 million inhabitants, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province. Over half of South Korea's population live in the...
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Major cities in South Korea

CityPopulation
Seoul 10,464,051
Busan 3,635,389
Daegu 2,752,670
Incheon 2,628,000
Gwangju 1,454,784
Daejeon 1,442,857
Ulsan 1,087,958
Suwon 1,086,904
Goyang 1,073,069
Seongnam 1,073,009
Bucheon 850,731
Yongin 846,048
Ansan 686,873
Jeonju 645,312
Chungju 643,930
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Population history of South Korea

YearEstimated Population
2010 48,875,000
2009 48,747,000
2008 48,607,000
2007 48,456,000
2006 48,297,000
2005 48,138,000
2004 48,039,000
2003 47,859,000
2002 47,622,000
2001 47,357,000
2000 47,008,000
1999 46,617,000
1998 46,287,000
1997 45,954,000
1996 45,525,000
1995 45,093,000
1994 44,453,000
1993 44,056,000
1992 43,663,000
1991 43,268,000
1990 42,869,000
1989 42,380,000
1988 41,975,000
1987 41,575,000
1986 41,184,000
1985 40,806,000
1984 40,406,000
1983 39,910,000
1982 39,326,000
1981 38,723,000
1980 38,124,000
1979 37,534,000
1978 36,969,000
1977 36,412,000
1976 35,849,000
1975 35,281,000
1974 34,605,864
1973 33,934,872
1972 33,265,648
1971 32,595,816
1970 31,923,000
1969 31,248,784
1968 30,574,752
1967 29,898,528
1966 29,217,736
1965 28,530,000
1964 27,836,904
1963 27,140,032
1962 26,437,008
1961 25,725,456
1960 25,074,152
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Olympic medals won by South Korea

OlympicsEventAthleteMedal
2010 Winter Olympics Men's 1500 m Lee Jung-Su Gold medal
2010 Winter Olympics Speed skating - Men's 5000m Seung-Hoon Lee Silver medal
2010 Winter Olympics Men's 500m Tae-Bum Mo Gold medal
2010 Winter Olympics Women's 500 m Lee Sang-Hwa Gold medal
2010 Winter Olympics Men's 1000m Tae-Bum Mo Silver medal
2010 Winter Olympics Men's 10000m Seung-Hoon Lee Gold medal
2010 Winter Olympics Women's 1500m Lee Eun-Byul Silver medal
2010 Winter Olympics Women's 1500m Park Seung-Hi Bronze medal
2010 Winter Olympics Men's 1000m Lee Jung-Su Gold medal
2010 Winter Olympics Men's 1000m Lee Ho-Suk Silver medal
2010 Winter Olympics Women's Singles Yu-Na Kim Gold medal
2010 Winter Olympics Men's 500m Sung Si-Bak Silver medal
2010 Winter Olympics Women's 1000m Park Seung-Hi Bronze medal
2010 Winter Olympics Men's 5000m Relay Kwak Yoon-Gy Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Archery, team Yun Ok-hee Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Judo, - 60 kg Men (extra lightweight) Choi Min-Ho Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's 400m freestyle Park Tae Hwan Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Weightlifting, Middleweight 69-77 kg Sa Jae-Hyouk Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Archery, team Park Kyung-mo Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Archery, individual Park Sung Hyun Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Archery, individual Yun Ok-hee Bronze medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Archery, individual Park Kyung-mo Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Badminton, doubles Lee Kyung-won Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Foil individual Nam Hyun-Hee Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Judo, 70 - 78kg (half-heavyweight) Jeong Gyeongmi Bronze medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Judo, 66 - 73kg (lightweight) Wang Ki-Chun Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's 50m pistol Jin Jong-Oh Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's 10m air pistol Jin Jong-Oh Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's 200m Freestyle Park Tae Hwan Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Weightlifting, 53kg Yoon Jin-Hee Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Judo, 73 - 81kg (half-middleweight) Kim Jae-Bum Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Badminton, doubles Hwang Ji-man Bronze medal
2008 Summer Olympics Badminton, mixed doubles Lee Hyo-jung Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Parallel bars Yoo Won-Chul Silver medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Taekwondo, Lightweight 49 - 57 kg Lim Su-Jeong Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Taekwondo, Middleweight 57 - 67 kg Hwang Kyung-Sun Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Taekwondo, Heavyweight + 80 kg Cha Dong-Min Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Taekwondo, Lightweight 58 - 68 kg Son Tae-Jin Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Women's Weightlifting, + 75kg Jang Mi-Ran Gold medal
2008 Summer Olympics Men's Boxing, Welterweight 64-69 kg Kim Jung-Joo Bronze medal
2006 Winter Olympics Men's 1000m Lee Ho-Suk Silver medal
2006 Winter Olympics Men's 1500 m Lee Ho-Suk Silver medal
2006 Winter Olympics Men's 1000m Ahn Hyun Soo Gold medal
2006 Winter Olympics Women's 1000m Jin Sun-Yu Gold medal
2006 Winter Olympics Men's 1500 m Ahn Hyun Soo Gold medal
2006 Winter Olympics Women's 1500m Jin Sun-Yu Gold medal
2006 Winter Olympics Women's 1500m Choi Eun-Kyung Silver medal
2006 Winter Olympics Men's 500m Ahn Hyun Soo Bronze medal
2006 Winter Olympics Men's 500m Lee Kang-Seok Bronze medal
2004 Summer Olympics Women's Volleyball Kang Hye-Mi
2004 Summer Olympics Women's Archery, individual Sung Hyun Park Gold medal
2004 Summer Olympics Women's Archery, individual Sung Jin Lee Silver medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Badminton, singles Shon Seung-mo Silver medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Boxing, Featherweight 54 - 57 kg Seok Hwan Jo Bronze medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Boxing, Welterweight 64-69 kg Jung Joo Kim Bronze medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Gymnastics, individual all-round Kim Dae-Eun Silver medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Gymnastics, individual all-round Yang Tae Young Bronze medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Judo, - 60 kg Men (extra lightweight) Choi Min-Ho Bronze medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Judo, 66 - 73kg (lightweight) Won Hee Lee Gold medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Judo, 90 - 100kg (half-heavyweight) Sung Ho Jang Silver medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's 50m pistol Jin Jong-Oh Silver medal
2004 Summer Olympics Women's Double Trap Lee Bo-Na Silver medal
2004 Summer Olympics Women's Trap Lee Bo-Na Bronze medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Table Tennis, Singles Ryu Seung Min Gold medal
2004 Summer Olympics Women's TableTennis, Singles Kim Kyung-Ah Bronze medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Taekwondo, Lightweight 58 - 68 kg Myeong Seob Song Bronze medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Taekwondo, Heavyweight + 80 kg Dae Sung Moon Gold medal
2004 Summer Olympics Women's Taekwondo, Lightweight 49 - 57 kg Ji Won Jang Gold medal
2004 Summer Olympics Women's Taekwondo, Middleweight 57 - 67 kg Kyung Sun Hwang Bronze medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Weightlifting, Lightweight 62-69 kg Bae Young Lee Silver medal
2004 Summer Olympics Women's Weightlifting, + 75kg Jang Mi-Ran Silver medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling, Featherweight 55 - 60kg Ji-Hyun Jung Gold medal
2004 Summer Olympics Men's Freestyle Wrestling, Middleweight 74-84kg Moon Eui-Jae Silver medal
2002 Winter Olympics Women's 1000m Ko Gi-Hyun Silver medal
2002 Winter Olympics Women's 1500m Ko Gi-Hyun Gold medal
2002 Winter Olympics Women's 1500m Choi Eun-Kyung Silver medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Volleyball Bang Ji-Sub
2000 Summer Olympics Women's Volleyball Chang So-Yun
2000 Summer Olympics Women's Archery, individual Yun Mi-Jin Gold medal
2000 Summer Olympics Women's Archery, individual Kim Nam-Soon Silver medal
2000 Summer Olympics Women's Archery, individual Kim Soo-Nyung Bronze medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Foil individual Kim Young-Ho Gold medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Épée individual Lee Sang-Ki Bronze medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Horizontal bar Joo Hyung Lee Bronze medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Parallel bars Joo Hyung Lee Silver medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Judo, - 60 kg Men (extra lightweight) Jung Bu-Kyung Silver medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Judo, 73 - 81kg (half-middleweight) Cho In-Chul Silver medal
2000 Summer Olympics Women's Judo, 57 - 63kg (Half-Middleweight) Jung Sung-Sook Bronze medal
2000 Summer Olympics Women's Judo, 63-70kg (Middleweight) Cho Min-Sun Bronze medal
2000 Summer Olympics Women's Judo, + 78kg (heavyweight) Seon-Young Kim Bronze medal
2000 Summer Olympics Women's 10m air rifle Cho-Hyun Kang Silver medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Taekwondo, Lightweight 58 - 68 kg Sin Joon-Sik Silver medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Taekwondo, Heavyweight + 80 kg Kim Kyong-Hun Gold medal
2000 Summer Olympics Women's Taekwondo, Lightweight 49 - 57 kg Jung Jae-Eun Gold medal
2000 Summer Olympics Women's Taekwondo, Middleweight 57 - 67 kg Lee Sun-Hee Gold medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling, Flyweight -54kg Sim Kwon-Ho Gold medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Greco-Roman Wrestling, Bantamweight 54-58 kg Kim In-Sub Silver medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Freestyle Wrestling, Featherweight 58-63 kg Jae-Sung Jang Bronze medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Freestyle Wrestling, Welterweight 69-76 kg Moon Eui-Jae Silver medal
2000 Summer Olympics Men's Mountain Biking, Cross-Country Woo Kang-Dong
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Major importers from South Korea

Countries that import goods from South Korea
CountryValue of Imported GoodsYear
United States of America $11,800,000,000 2008
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Major exporters to South Korea

Countries that export goods to South Korea
CountryValue of Exported GoodsYear
United States of America $16,100,000,000 2008
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Wars and battles involving South Korea

Operation Phantom Linebacker
Operation Phantom Linebacker
(August 2004 - August 2004)

Operation Phantom Linebacker was a coalition military operation in Iraq designed to interdict anti-government fighters from entering Iraq from Syria....
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Second Battle of Yeonpyeong
Second Battle of Yeonpyeong
(June 29, 2002 - June 29, 2002)

The Second Battle of Yeonpyeong was a confrontation at sea between North Korean and South Korean patrol boats along a disputed maritime boundary near...
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First Battle of Yeonpyeong
First Battle of Yeonpyeong
(June 15, 1999 - June 15, 1999)

The First Battle of Yeonpyeong took place between the navies of North Korea and South Korea on 15 June 1999, off the island of Yeonpyeong. The...
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Action of 17 December 1998
Action of 17 December 1998
(December 17, 1998 - December 18, 1998)

The Battle of Yosu, in December 1998, was a naval skirmish that began when the South Korean military intercepted a North Korean semi-submersible...
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Vietnam War
Vietnam War
(1959 - 1975)

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30...
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International Memberships

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries that seeks to promote free trade and economic cooperation throughout the...
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African Development Bank
African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in...
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Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia. The...
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Zangger Committee
Zangger Committee

The Zangger Committee, also known as the Nuclear Exporters Committee, sprang from Article III.2 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear...
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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to...
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Colleges and universities in South Korea

Korea National Open University
Korea National Open University

Korea National Open University is a national university of South Korea, which provides distance learning programs in Korean for more than 180,000...
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Baekseok University
Baekseok University

Baekseok University is a private Christian institution of higher education, located in Cheonan City, in northern South Chungcheong province, South...
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Sahmyook University
Sahmyook University

Sahmyook University is a private, Christian, coeducational university located in Metropolitan Seoul, South Korea. Sahmyook University is part of a...
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Yeungnam University
Yeungnam University

Yeungnam University is one of the largest universities in South Korea outside of Seoul. The university's predecessors, Taegu College and Chunggu...
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Books about South Korea

Reflect
Reflect
Author:Barry Bergdoll

Famous residents of South Korea

Lee Eun-ju
Lee Eun-ju
Film Actor, Musical Artist, TV Actor

Lee Eun-ju was a South Korean actress. She died by suicide at the age of 24. Born in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea, Lee moved to Seoul after...
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Ahn Sung-ki
Ahn Sung-ki
Film Actor

Ahn Sung-ki is a Korean actor. A Roman Catholic, he was born in Daegu and grew up as a child actor - graduating Kyundong junior high school, from...
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Son Ye-jin
Son Ye-jin
Film Actor, Musical Artist, TV Actor

Son Ye-jin is a South Korean actress. Son Ye-jin has taken on a variety of roles in her career to date, propelling her to fame both in Korea and in...
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Oh Dal-su
Oh Dal-su
Musical Artist, Film Actor

Oh Dal-su is a South Korean actor. He has played many crime-related roles, such as Mr.Park the owner of the organized crime funded private jail in...
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Lee Jung-hyun
Lee Jung-hyun
Musical Artist, TV Actor, Film Actor

Lee Jung Hyun is a Korean pop singer and actress. She is widely known as "The Techno Warrior" or "The Techno Queen", but due to other singers singing...
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Frequently Asked Questions

  • Q:
    What is the calling code used to dial numbers in South Korea?
  • A:
    The calling code prefix is 82.
  • Q:
    Which city is the capital of South Korea?
  • A:
    Seoul is the capital.
  • Q:
    Who are some notable people that were born in South Korea?
  • A:
    Famous people born in South Korea include:
    - Sonia Lee Kahn
    - Melinda Duckett
    - Mok Jin-seok
    - Ji Sung
    - Park Sol-mi
    - Park Seunghyun
    - Kim Dong Wan
  • Q:
    What are the common languages spoken in South Korea?
  • A:
    The people living in this country traditionally speak Korean.
  • Q:
    What form of government is found in South Korea?
  • A:
    The government regime is a Republic.
  • Q:
    Which currency is used in South Korea?
  • A:
    The official currencies include the South Korean won ₩, South Korean hwan and South Korean won.
  • Q:
    What is the national anthem for the country of South Korea?
  • A:
    The anthem is called, "Aegukga."
  • Q:
    What did South Korea use as their currency in the past?
  • A:
    The country's former currency includes the South Korean hwan and South Korean won.
South Korea Photo Gallery

Lists

Map of South Korea

KR
South Korea
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