Korea, South

South Korea, whose official name is the Republic of Korea (ROK), is economically the fourth-largest in Asia, following Japan, China, and India, and 13th-larg-est in the world based on 2007 data. It is now an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) member, defined as a High Income Nation by the World Bank and an Advanced Economy by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and CIA.

South Korea's rapid modernization is evident in this view of the 14th-century Sungnyemun gate surrounded by development.

South Korea is located at the crossroads of northeast Asia. It lies between Japan to the east, the Russian Far East to the north, China to the west, and North Korea at the borders. Its total population is 48.5 million (2007) and it uses won (KRW) as a currency. Its capital and the largest city is Seoul (10.1 million population), the second-largest metropolitan city in the world. There are several other big cities in South Korea—Busan (3.5 million), Inchon (2.6 million), Daegu (2.5 million), Dajeon (1.5 million), Gwangju (1.4 million), and Ulsan (1.1 million).

The country's total area is 38,462.49 sq. mi. (99,617.39 sq. km) but only 19 percent is arable because of the mountainous and rocky terrain. Its official language is Korean (written form: Hangeul) and it has four distinct seasons a year, representing a humid continental climate. In Seoul, the average January temperature range is 19 degrees F to 33 degrees F, and the average July temperature range is 71 degrees F to 83 degrees F. As of 2005 approximately 46.5 percent of the South Korean population expresses no religious preference. Of the religious people, 29.3 percent are Christian (8.3 percent Protestants and 10.9 percent Catholics), 22.8 percent are Buddhist, and the rest adhere to various new religious groups.

South Korea was established in 1948 after World War II. With the Cold War, the Korean War began in 1950 and was expanded through the involvement of the [Page 975]United States and the Soviet Union. South and North Korea were finally divided along the 38th parallel after the armistice signed on July 27, 1953. South Korea has since developed a successful democracy as well as a booming economy. Starting as one of the world's poorest agrarian societies in the 1950s and 1960s, Korea developed rapidly, fueled by high savings and investment rates, and a strong emphasis on education. From 1962 to 2007, Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) increased from US$2.3 billion to US$969.9 billion, with its per capita gross national income (GNI) soaring from $87 to about $20,045. Today, its success story is known as the “Miracle on the Han River,” a role model for many developing countries.

The direction of Korea's industrial policy changed significantly every decade. From the 1960s, Korea started to promote exports by enacting relevant laws and regulations and establishing export-oriented development plans. The chemical industry was the center of the nation's industrial policy in the 1970s and there was industrial restructuring in the 1980s, aiming at promoting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In the 1990s South Korea was known as one of the four Asian Tigers with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan because they were relatively poor during the 1960s, but maintained high growth rates and rapid industrialization between the early 1960s and 1990s. They were evaluated as successful with the help of educational reform and with a cheap, yet productive workforce.

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