| Introduction |
Korea,
South |
|
Background:
|
Following
its victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japan
occupied Korea; five years later it formally annexed
the entire peninsula. After World War II, a republic
was set up in the southern half of the Korean
Peninsula while a Communist-style government was
installed in the north. During the Korean War
(1950-1953), US and other UN forces intervened to
defend South Korea from North Korean attacks
supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in
1953, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized
zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South
Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita
income rising to roughly 18 times the level of North
Korea. South Korea has maintained its commitment to
democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a
historic first North-South summit took place between
the South's President KIM Dae-jung and the North's
leader KIM Chong-il. |
|
Location:
|
Eastern
Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula
bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea |
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
37 00
N, 127 30 E |
|
Map references:
|
Asia |
|
Area:
|
total:
98,480 sq km
land: 98,190 sq km
water: 290 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly
larger than Indiana |
|
Land boundaries:
|
total:
238 km
border countries: North Korea 238 km |
|
Coastline:
|
2,413
km |
|
Maritime claims:
|
territorial
sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the Korea
Strait
continental shelf: not specified
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
|
Climate:
|
temperate,
with rainfall heavier in summer than winter |
|
Terrain:
|
mostly
hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and
south |
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest
point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
|
Natural resources:
|
coal,
tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower
potential |
|
Land use:
|
arable
land: 17.18%
permanent crops: 1.95%
other: 80.87% (2001) |
|
Irrigated land:
|
11,590
sq km (1998 est.) |
|
Natural hazards:
|
occasional
typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level
seismic activity common in southwest |
|
Environment - current issues:
|
air
pollution in large cities; acid rain; water
pollution from the discharge of sewage and
industrial effluents; drift net fishing |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party
to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber
94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the
selected agreements |
|
Geography - note:
|
strategic
location on Korea Strait
|
|
Population:
|
48,598,175
(July 2004 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14
years: 20.4% (male 5,223,344; female 4,681,594)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 17,625,302; female
17,072,029)
65 years and over: 8.2% (male 1,597,085;
female 2,398,821) (2004 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total:
33.7 years
male: 32.8 years
female: 34.7 years (2004 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.62%
(2004 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
12.33
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
6.13
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
0
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at
birth: 1.09 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.12 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004
est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total:
7.18 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 6.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2004
est.)
male: 7.64 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total
population: 75.58 years
male: 71.96 years
female: 79.54 years (2004 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.56
children born/woman (2004 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
less
than 0.1% (2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
8,300
(2003 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
200
(2003 est.) |
|
Nationality:
|
noun:
Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
homogeneous
(except for about 20,000 Chinese) |
|
Religions:
|
no
affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%,
Confucianist 1%, other 1% |
|
Languages:
|
Korean,
English widely taught in junior high and high school |
|
Literacy:
|
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.9%
male: 99.2%
female: 96.6% (2002)
|
|
Country name:
|
conventional
long form: Republic of Korea
conventional short form: South Korea
local long form: Taehan-min'guk
abbreviation: ROK
note: the South Koreans generally use the
term "Han'guk" to refer to their country
local short form: none |
|
Government type:
|
republic |
|
Capital:
|
Seoul |
|
Administrative divisions:
|
9
provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7
metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular and
plural)
: provinces: Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto,
Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo,
Kangwon-do, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto,
Kyongsang-namdo
: metropolitan cities: Inch'on-gwangyoksi,
Kwangju-gwangyoksi, Pusan-gwangyoksi, Soul-t'ukpyolsi,
Taegu-gwangyoksi, Taejon-gwangyoksi,
Ulsan-gwangyoksi |
|
Independence:
|
15
August 1945 (from Japan) |
|
National holiday:
|
Liberation
Day, 15 August (1945) |
|
Constitution:
|
17 July
1948 |
|
Legal system:
|
combines
elements of continental European civil law systems,
Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought |
|
Suffrage:
|
20
years of age; universal |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief
of state: President ROH Moo-hyun (since 25
February 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister LEE
Hae-chan (since 25 May 2004); Deputy Prime Ministers
LEE Hun-jai (since 10 February 2004) and AHN Byung-young
(since 23 December 2003)
elections: president elected by popular vote
for a single five-year term; election last held 19
December 2002 (next to be held in December 2007);
prime minister appointed by the president; deputy
prime ministers appointed by the president on the
prime minister's recommendation
election results: results of the 19 December
2002 election - ROH Mu-hyun elected president;
percent of vote - ROH Mu-hyun (MDP) 48.9%; YI Hoe-ch'ang
(GNP) 46.6%; other 4.5%
cabinet: State Council appointed by the
president on the prime minister's recommendation |
|
Legislative branch:
|
unicameral
National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats -- members
elected for four-year terms; 243 in single-seat
constituencies, 56 by proportional representation
election results: percent of vote by party -
Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, MDP 3%, others 2%; seats
by party - Uri 152, GNP 121, DLP 10, MDP 9, others 7
(2004)
elections: last held 15 April 2004 (next to
be held in April 2008) |
|
Judicial branch:
|
Supreme
Court (justices are appointed by the president with
the consent of the National Assembly) |
|
Political parties and leaders:
|
Democratic
Labor Party or DLP [KIM Hye-kyung, chairman]; Grand
National Party or GNP [PARK Geun Hye, chairman];
Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [HAHN Hwa-kap,
chairman]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Hak-won,
chairman]; Uri Party [LEE Bu-yeong, chairman] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
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 |
|
International organization participation:
|
AfDB,
APEC, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia
Group, BIS, CP, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO,
NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW,
OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP,
UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL,
WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador HAN Sung-chu (HAN Sung-joo)
chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008
consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston,
Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York,
San Francisco, and Seattle
consulate(s): New York, Tamuning (Guam)
FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205
telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief
of mission: Ambassador Christopher R. HILL
embassy: 82 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul
110-710
mailing address: American Embassy, Unit
15550, APO AP 96205-5550
telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114
FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 |
|
Flag description:
|
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
|
|
Economy - overview:
|
Since
the early 1960s, South Korea has achieved an
incredible record of growth and integration into the
high-tech modern world economy. Four decades ago GDP
per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer
countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per
capita is 18 times North Korea's and equal to the
lesser economies of the European Union. This success
through the late 1980s was achieved by a system of
close government/business ties, including directed
credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific
industries, and a strong labor effort. 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 1997-99 exposed
longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development
model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive
foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial
sector. Growth plunged to a negative 6.6% in 1998,
then strongly recovered to 10.8% in 1999 and 9.2% in
2000. Growth fell back to 3.3% in 2001 because of
the slowing global economy, falling exports, and the
perception that much-needed corporate and financial
reforms had stalled. Led by consumer spending and
exports, growth in 2002 was an impressive 6.2%,
despite anemic global growth, followed by moderate
2.8% growth in 2003. In 2003 the National Assembly
approved legislation reducing the six-day work week
to five days. |
|
GDP:
|
purchasing
power parity - $857.8 billion (2003 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
3.1%
(2003 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing
power parity - $17,800 (2003 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture:
3.6%
industry: 36.4%
services: 60% (2003 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
29.6%
of GDP (2003) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
4%
(2001 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share:
|
lowest
10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 22.5% (1999 est.) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
31.6
(1993) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
3.6%
(2003 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
22.92
million (2003) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture
8.8%, industry 19.1%, services 72.1% (2001) |
|
Unemployment rate:
|
3.4%
(2003 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues:
$135.5 billion
expenditures: $128.7 billion, including
capital expenditures of $23.5 billion (2003) |
|
Public debt:
|
13.8%
of GDP (2003) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
rice,
root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs,
chickens, milk, eggs; fish |
|
Industries:
|
electronics,
telecommunications, automobile production,
chemicals, shipbuilding, steel |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
5.1%
(2003 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
290.7
billion kWh (2001) |
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil
fuel: 62.4%
hydro: 0.8%
other: 0.2% (2001)
nuclear: 36.6% |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
270.3
billion kWh (2001) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh
(2001) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
0 kWh
(2001) |
|
Oil - production:
|
0
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
2.14
million bbl/day (2001 est.) |
|
Oil - exports:
|
804,700
bbl/day (2001) |
|
Oil - imports:
|
2.965
million bbl/day (2001) |
|
Natural gas - production:
|
0 cu m
(2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
20.92
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m
(2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
21.11
billion cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Current account balance:
|
$12.32
billion (2003) |
|
Exports:
|
$201.3
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities:
|
Semiconductors,
wireless telecommunications equipment, motor
vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals |
|
Exports - partners:
|
China
20.1%, US 17.9%, Japan 8.4%, Hong Kong 5.2%, Taiwan
4.3% (2003 est.) |
|
Imports:
|
$175.6
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
machinery,
electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel,
transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics |
|
Imports - partners:
|
Japan
20.5%, US 14.2%, China 11.8%, Saudi Arabia 5.1%
(2003 est.) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
|
$155.4
billion (2003) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$130.3
billion (2003 est.) |
|
Economic aid - donor:
|
ODA
$200 million |
|
Currency:
|
South
Korean won (KRW) |
|
Currency code:
|
KRW |
|
Exchange rates:
|
South
Korean won per US dollar - 1,191.61 (2003), 1,251.09
(2002), 1,290.99 (2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82
(1999) |
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar
year
|
| Communications |
Korea,
South |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
22.877
million (2003) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
33,591,800
(2003) |
|
Telephone system:
|
general
assessment: excellent domestic and international
services
domestic: NA
international: country code - 82; fiber-optic
submarine cable to China; the Russia-Korea-Japan
submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3
Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1
Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region) |
|
Radio broadcast stations:
|
AM 104,
FM 136, shortwave 5 (2001) |
|
Radios:
|
47.5
million (2000) |
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
121
(plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel
American Forces Korea Network) (1999) |
|
Televisions:
|
15.9
million (1997) |
|
Internet country code:
|
.kr |
|
Internet hosts:
|
694,206
(2001) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
|
11
(2000) |
|
Internet users:
|
29.22
million (2003)
|
| Transportation |
Korea,
South |
|
Railways:
|
total:
3,125 km
standard gauge: 3,125 km 1.435-m gauge (661
km electrified) (2003) |
|
Highways:
|
total:
86,990 km
paved: 64,808 km (including 1,996 km of
expressways)
unpaved: 22,182 km (1999 est.) |
|
Waterways:
|
1,609
km
note: restricted to small native craft |
|
Pipelines:
|
gas
1,433 km; refined products 827 km (2003) |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Chinhae,
Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan,
Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total:
535 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,978,949 GRT/9,761,699
DWT
registered in other countries: 442 (2003
est.)
foreign-owned: Bahrain 1, China 1, Gibraltar
1, Honduras 1, Indonesia 1, Japan 3, Malaysia 1,
Panama 1, Philippines 1, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines 1, United Kingdom 1, United States 1
by type: bulk 97, cargo 174, chemical tanker
61, combination bulk 10, container 60, liquefied gas
19, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 73, refrigerated
cargo 20, roll on/roll off 7, short-sea/passenger 2,
specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 3 |
|
Airports:
|
102
(2003 est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total:
69
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 20
914 to 1,523 m: 11
under 914 m: 21 (2003 est.)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total:
33
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 30 (2003 est.) |
|
Heliports:
|
206
(2003 est.)
|
|
Military branches:
|
Army,
Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime
Police (Coast Guard) |
|
Military manpower - military age:
|
18
years of age (24-28 months mandatory service
required, depending on the military baranch
involved) (2004 est.) |
|
Military manpower - availability:
|
males
age 15-49: 14,233,895 (2004 est.) |
|
Military manpower - fit for military service:
|
males
age 15-49: 8,966,241 (2004 est.) |
|
Military manpower - reaching military age
annually:
|
males:
341,697 (2004 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
|
$14.522
billion (FY03) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
2.7%
(FY03)
|
| Transnational
Issues |
Korea,
South |
|
Disputes - international:
|
Military
Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized
Zone has separated North from South Korea since
1953; periodic maritime disputes with North Korea;
intensified media coverage and protests highlight
dispute over Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) in
rich fishing grounds also claimed by Japan
|
|
