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Korea, South

Facts & Figures

Map of Korea, South

President: Lee Myung-bak (2008)

Prime Minister: Han Seung Soo (2008)

Land area: 37,911 sq mi (98,189 sq km)

Population (2009 est.): 48,508,972 (growth rate: 0.2%); birth rate: 8.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 4.2/1000; life expectancy: 78.7; density per sq km: 501

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Seoul, 10,287,847 (city proper)

Other large cities: Pusan, 3,504,900; Inchon, 2,479,600 (part of Seoul metro. area); Taegu, 2,369,800

Monetary unit: won

More Facts & Figures

Index

Geography

Slightly larger than Indiana, South Korea lies below the 38th parallel on the Korean peninsula. It is mountainous in the east; in the west and south are many harbors on the mainland and offshore islands.

Government

Republic.

History

South Korea came into being after World War II, the result of a 1945 agreement reached by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference, making the 38th parallel the boundary between a northern zone of the Korean peninsula to be occupied by the USSR and southern zone to be controlled by U.S. forces. (For details, see Korea, North. )

Elections were held in the U.S. zone in 1948 for a national assembly, which adopted a republican constitution and elected Syngman Rhee as the nation's president. The new republic was proclaimed on Aug. 15 and was recognized as the legal government of Korea by the UN on Dec. 12, 1948.

Next: U.S., UN Troops Support South Korea
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Korea, North

Countries

Kosovo

Premium Partner Content

Related content from HighBeam Research on: Korea, South

Korea's Economic Miracle: The Crucial Role of Japan (Journal of Third World Studies)

North Korea: a literary view. (Contemporary Review)

North Korea Nuclear Talks: If at First You Don't Succeed, Meet Again (Arms Control Today)

Korea's Broadband REVOLUTION (Chief Executive)

Korea in the New Asia: East Asian Integration and the China Factor.(Book review) (Journal of East Asian Studies)

North Korea will pose the next problem. (Insight on the News)

Korea's Twentieth-Century Odyssey: A Short History.(Book review) (Korean Studies)

North Korea comes clean: Soeya Yoshihide analyzes the historic diplomatic breakthrough made by Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro in Pyongyang in September. (Viewpoints). (Look Japan)

North Korea takes the money. (relations with the United States) (The Economist (US))

North Korea Increasing Weapons Capabilities (Arms Control Today)

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