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| South Korea | Plants and Animal | Back to Top |
Rice was the most valuable crop and yields were impressive. As famous by Donald S. Macdonald, rising wage levels and land values have made it expensive to produce. Rice described about 90% of total grain production and over 40% of farm income; the 1988 rice crop was 6.5 million tons. Rice was imported in the 1980s, but the amount depended on the success of domestic harvests. The government's rice support program reached a record US$1.9 billion in 1986, as compared with US$890 million in 1985. By raising procurement prices by 14% over the 1986 level, Seoul achieved a rice price structure that was about five times that of the world market in 1987.Barley was the second most valuable crop. Its production declined from about 1.5 million tons in 1970 to about 561,500 tons in 1988. Other crops included such grains as millet, corn, sorghum, buckwheat, soybeans, and potatoes. Fruits and vegetables included pears, grapes, mandarin oranges, apples, peaches, Welsh onions, Chinese cabbage, red peppers, peaches, and radishes. Other valuable cash crops included cotton, hemp, sesame, tobacco, and ginseng. In 1988, farm animal heads included native Korean cattle ,hogs and poultry.
Large mammals, such as tigers, leopards, bears, and lynx, used to be common throughout the Korea Peninsula, but these animals have virtually disappeared from South Korea due to deforestation and poaching.
| South Korea | Communications | Back to Top |
general assessment: excellent domestic and international services
domestic: NA
international: 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)
| South Korea | Culture | Back to Top |
South Korea's homogeneous population shares a common ethnic, cultural, and linguistic heritage. National self-image is, on one level, unambiguously defined by the convergence of territorial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural identities. Yet intense feelings of nationalism, so noticeable in athletic events like the 1986 Asian Games and the 1988 Olympic Games held in Seoul, revealed anxiety as well as pride concerning South Korea's place in the world. More than Western peoples and even more than the Japanese, South Korean individuals are inclined to view themselves as a tightly knit national community with a common destiny. In a rapidly changing world, it is often difficult for them to define exactly what being a South Korean is. To outsiders, the intense concern with identity is perhaps difficult to understand; it reflects a history of subordinate relations to powerful foreign states and the tragedy of national division after World War II.
Problems of cultural identity are closely connected to the tragedy of Korea's division into two hostile states. Many members of the younger generation of South Koreans born after the Korean War fervently embrace the cause of t'ongil, or reunification, and believe that it is the superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union, who are to blame for Korea's national division. The South Korean government's dependence on the United States has been cited as one of the principal reasons for the deficiency of improvement in north-south ties. While a majority of South Koreans remains suspicious of the North Koreans, many South Koreans also share the sentiments expressed by Kim Chi-ha: "our name is division, and this soiled name, like an immovable destiny, oppresses all of us." When parts of the wall dividing East Berlin and West Berlin were knocked down in November 1989, Koreans reflected sadly that breaching the DMZ would not be such a simple task.
| South Korea | Defence | Back to Top |
Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 14,148,552 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 8,979,778 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 394,397 (2001 est.)
| South Korea | International Disputes | Back to Top |
Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with Japan
| South Korea | Economy | Back to Top |
South Korea’s economy, traditionally based on agriculture, has, since the early 1960s, undergone an extraordinarily rapid industrialization. With the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanding by more than 9 % yearly between the mid-1960s and the mid-1990s, economic observers often called South Korea one of Asia’s “Four Tigers” (joining Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan). A series of five-year economic plans begun in 1962 have concentrated on the development of manufacturing, much of it oriented toward exports. Economic aid, particularly from the United States and Japan, was valuable to the economic growth of the nation, which in the span of a generation grew from one of the world’s poorest to an industrial power. In 1997 annual national budget figures showed revenues of $95.4 billion and expenditures of $83 billion. The GDP in 1999 stood at $406.9 billion.
The South Korean economy has grown remarkably since the early 1960s. In that time, South Korea transformed itself from a poor, agrarian society to one of the world's most highly industrialized nations. This growth was driven primarily by the development of export-oriented industries, fostered by strong government support. Government and business leaders together fashioned a strategy of targeting specific industries for development, and beginning in 1962 this strategy was implemented in a series of economic development plans. The first targeted industries were textiles and light manufacturing, followed in the 1970s by such heavy industries as iron and steel and chemicals. Still later, the focus shifted to such enterprises as automobiles and electronics.
As one of the Four Dragons of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth. Three decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is seven times India's, 16 times North Korea's, and comparable 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 promoted savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed certain longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. By 1999 GDP growth had recovered, reversing the substantial decline of 1998. Seoul has pressed the nation's largest business groups to restructure and to strengthen their financial base. Growth in 2001 likely will be a more sustainable rate of 5%.
| South Korea | Education | Back to Top |
Like other East Asian countries with a Confucian heritage, South Korea has had a long history of providing formal education. Although there was no state-supported system of primary education, the central government accomplished a system of secondary schools in Seoul and the provinces during the Choson Dynasty. State schools suffered a decline in quality, and came to be supplanted in importance by the sowon, private academies that were the centers of a neo-Confucian revival in the 16th century. Students at both private and state-supported secondary schools were exempt from military service and had much the same social prestige as university students enjoy today in South Korea. Like modern students, they were often involved in politics. Higher education was provided by the Confucian national university in the capital, the Songgyungwan. Its enrollment was limited to 200 students who had passed the lower civil service examinations and were preparing for the higher examinations.
Primary education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 15. Secondary education consists of three years of middle school and three years of high school. In the 1997-1998 school year some 3.8 million pupils were listed annually in kindergarten and elementary schools and 4.7 million in middle and high schools, including vocational high schools. Private schools play an valuable role, particularly above the primary level. The nation has 297 institutions of higher education, with a total annual enrollment of 2.5 million students. The principal universities are Korea University ,Seoul National University,Ewha Women’s University, and Yonsei University ,all in Seoul; Chosun University,in Kwangju; and Pusan National University .An around 100% of the adult population of South Korea is literate—99.8 % of the men and 99.8% of the women.
| South Korea | Government | Back to Top |
System of Government: Constitution of Sixth Republic approved October 1987; effective February 1988. Strong presidency; president elected for one five-year-term by direct popular vote. 224 members of 299-member National Assembly elected by popular vote for four-year-term in April 1988; rest appointed by political parties according to proportional formula.
Justice: Administration of justice as function of courts accomplished under Constitution and amended Court Organization Law of 1949. Supreme Court highest organ of court system; appellate courts and district courts. Constitution Court decides constitutionality of a law, dissolution of a political party, impeachment, petitions relating to Constitution, disputes between state agencies, or between state agencies and local governments. Family Court adjudicates domestic affairs and juvenile delinquency. Courts-martial have jurisdiction over offenses committed by armed forces personnel and civilian military employees.
Administrative Divisions: Nine provinces and six provincial-level cities. Provinces separated into counties and ordinary cities; counties into townships and towns; townships into villages. Mostly part of central government; increasing self-government.
Politics: Multiparty system, but political parties with contrary aims or activities may be broken by Constitution Court.
Foreign Affairs: Member of most international organizations but no formal membership in United Nations in mid1990 . Mutual defense treaty with United States, which along with Japan, one of two most valuable foreign policy partners. Relations with Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) treated as "internal" rather than "foreign"; public and private contacts increasing.
| South Korea | History | Back to Top |
A small nation, around the size of Britain, Korea is located on a peninsula that protrudes southward from the northeastern corner of the Asian continent. It is an old nation, whose people evolved as one nation from the seventh century until 1945, when the nation was separated by the United States and the Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The ensuing cold war created two Korean governments, one in the north known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and another in the south known as the Republic of Korea.The two Koreas engaged in a bitter war between 1950 and 1953 and remained separated as of 1990, even though the two governments began talk to each other in 1971. South Korea and North Korea took distinctly different paths of development after they were separated. By 1990 North Korea had emerged as a staunch communist society, while South Korea was evolving into a liberal democracy after many years of military dictatorship. The two societies, shared a common tradition and culture.
Meanwhile, much of what consequently came to constitute China proper had been unified for the first time under Qin Shi Huangdi. consequently, Yen fell to the Qin state; the Qin Dynasty was in turn replaced by a new dynasty, the Han .In 195 B.C. a former officer of Yen took over the throne of Choson by trickery, after which he and his descendants governed the kingdom for eighty years; but in 109-108 B.C. China attacked Choson and destroyed it as a political entity. The Han Chinese then governed the territory north of the Han River as the 4 Eastern Districts; the original territory of Choson became Lolang.Until the Han time the Korean Peninsula had been a veritable Chinese colony. During some 400 years, Lolang, the core of the colony, had become a great center of Chinese art, philosophy, industry, and commerce. Many Chinese immigrated into the area; the determine of China extended beyond the territory it administered. The tribal states south of the Han River paid tribute to the Chinese and patterned much of their civilization and government after Chinese models.
| South Korea | Introduction | Back to Top |
South Korea, officially Republic of Korea, nation in north-eastern Asia that occupies the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. South Korea is bounded on the north by North Korea; on the east by the Sea of Japan (known in Korea as the East Sea); on the south-east and south by the Korea Strait, which separates it from Japan; and on the west by the Yellow Sea. In Korean the nation's name is Dachan ("Great Han"), "Han" being another orthodox name for Korea. It has a total area of 99,390 sq km (38,375 sq mi), including numerous offshore islands in the south and west, the largest of which is Cheju (with an area of 1,829 sq km/706 sq mi). The state of South Korea was accomplished in 1948 following the post-World War II partitioning of the peninsula between the occupying forces of the United States in the south and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in the north. The capital and largest city of South Korea is Seoul.
Population 45,545,280 (1996 estimate) Population Density 459 people/sq km (1,189 people/sq mi) (1996 estimate) Urban/Rural Breakdown 84%Urban 16%Rural Largest Cities Seoul10,229,260 Pusan3,813,800 Taegu2,449,100 (1995 census) Ethnic Groups 99.9%Korean 0.1%Other mostly Chinese Language Official Language Korean Religions 50%Atheist 24%Mahayana Buddhism 23%Protestantism 3%Other including Confucianism, Daoism, and Ch'ondogyo
| South Korea | Land | Back to Top |
The Korean Peninsula extends for about 1,000 kilometers southward from the northeast part of the Asian continental landmass. The Japanese islands of Honshu and Kyushu are located some 200 kilometers to the southeast across the Korea Strait; the Shandong Peninsula of China lies 190 kilometers to the west. The west coast of the peninsula is bordered by the Korea Bay to the north and the Yellow Sea to the south; the east coast is bordered by the Sea of Japan -known in Korea as the East Sea. The 8,640- kilometer coastline is highly indented. Some 3,579 islands lie adjacent to the peninsula. Most of them are found along the south and west coasts.
Deficiencying formidable land or sea barriers along its borders and occupying a central position among East Asian nations, the Korean Peninsula has served as a cultural bridge between the mainland and the Japanese archipelago. Korea contributed greatly to the development of Japan by transmitting both Indian Buddhist and Chinese Confucian culture, art, and religion. At the same time, Korea's exposed geographical position left it vulnerable to invasion by its stronger neighbors. When, in the late nineteenth century, British statesman Lord George Curzon described Korea as a "sort of political Tom Tiddler's ground between China, Russia, and Japan," he was describing a situation that had prevailed for several millennia, as would be tragically apparent during the 20th century.
| South Korea | Languages | Back to Top |
South Korea’s national language is Korean, which is written in a phonetic script known as Han'gul (called Choson'gu in North Korea).
| South Korea | Legal | Back to Top |
Legal system: combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought vote: 20 years of age; universal administrator branch: chief of state: President KIM Dae-jung (since 25 February 1998) head of government: Prime Minister YI Han-tong (since 23 May 2000) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections: president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by 18 December 2002); prime minister appointed by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation election results: KIM Dae-jung elected president; % of vote - KIM Dae-jung (NCNP) 40.3% (with ULD partnership), YI Hoe-chang (GNP) 38.7%, YI In-che (NPP) 19.2% Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227 elected by direct, popular vote; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 13 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2004) election results: % of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNP 133, MDP 115, ULD 17, other 8 Judicial branch: Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly)
| South Korea | Life | Back to Top |
Contemporary urban family and social life in South Korea at the start of the 1990s exhibits a number of departures from orthodox family and kinship institutions. One example is the tendency for complex kinship and family structures to weaken or break down and be replaced by structurally simpler twogeneration , nuclear families. Another closely related trend is the movement toward equality in family relations and the resulting improvement in the status of women. Thirdly, there is a movement away from lineage- and neighborhood-based social relations toward functionally based relations.Finally, there is an increasing tendency for an individual's location and personal associations to be transitory and temporary rather than permanent and lifelong, although the importance of school ties is pivotal. There is greater physical mobility as improved transportation facilities, superhighways, and rapid express trains make it possible to travel between cities in a few hours.Subsidiary transportation networks have broken down barriers between onceisolated villages and the urban areas. Mobility in human relations also is becoming more apparent as people change their residences more often, often because of employment, and an increasing proportion of the urban population lives in large, impersonal apartment complexes.
Outside the nuclear family, blood relationships still are valuable, particularly among close relatives, such as members of the same tangnae, or mourning group. Relations with more distant relatives, such as members of the same lineage, tend to be weak, particularly if the lineage has its roots in a distant rural village, as most do. Ancestor rites are practiced in urban homes, although for fewer generations than formerly: the majority of urban dwellers seem to conduct rites only in honor of the father and mother of the family head. As a result, there are many fewer ancestors to venerate and far fewer occasions to hold the household ceremonies. In some ways, increased geographical mobility has helped to preserve family solidarity. During New Year's, Hansik (Cold Food Day in mid-April), and Ch'usok (the Autumn Harvest Festival in mid-September), the airplanes, trains, and highways in the late 1980s were jammed with people traveling to visit both living relatives and grave sites in their ancestral communities.
| South Korea | organization | Back to Top |
AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
| South Korea | People | Back to Top |
Although a mixture of different Asian peoples had migrated to the Korean Peninsula in past centuries, very few have remained permanently, so by 1990 both South Korea and North Korea were among the world's most ethnically homogeneous nations. The number of indigenous minorities was negligible. In South Korea, people of foreign origin, including Westerners, Chinese, and Japanese, were a small %age of the population whose residence was generally temporary. Like their Japanese neighbors, Koreans tend to equate nationality or citizenship with membership in a single, homogeneous ethnic group or "race" -minjok, in Korean. A common language and culture also are viewed as valuable elements in Korean identity. The idea of multiracial or multiethnic nations, like India or the United States, strikes many Koreans as odd or even contradictory. Consciousness of homogeneity is a major reason why Koreans on both sides of the DMZ viewed their nation's division as an unnatural and unnecessary tragedy.
All Koreans speak the Korean language, which is often classified as one of the Altaic languages, has affinities to Japanese, and contains many Chinese loanwords. The Korean script, known in South Korea as Hangul and in North Korea as Choson muntcha, is composed of phonetic symbols for the 10 vowels and 14 consonants. Korean often is written as a combination of Chinese ideograms and Hangul in South Korea, although the trend there is toward using less Chinese. A number of English words and phrases have crept into the language as a result of the American presence in the nation since 1950.
| South Korea | Politics | Back to Top |
Grand National Party or GNP [YI Hoe-chang, president]; Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [KIM Dae-jung, president]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, honorary chairman, KIM Chong-ho, acting president] note: on 20 January 2000, the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP was renamed the Millennium Democratic Party or MDP 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
| South Korea | Provinces | Back to Top |
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi*
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| South Korea | Time | Back to Top |
| South Korea | Currency and General Information | Back to Top |
| Countries Currency Unit | KRW/Unit | Units/KRW | |
| DZD | Algeria Dinars | 17.0618 | 0.0586105 |
| USD | United States Dollars | 1,320.81 | 0.000757114 |
| ARS | Argentina Pesos | 448.491 | 0.00222970 |
| AUD | Australia Dollars | 704.669 | 0.00141911 |
| ATS | Austria Schillings ** | 83.6053 | 0.0119610 |
| BSD | Bahamas Dollars | 1,320.81 | 0.000757114 |
| BBD | Barbados Dollars | 663.721 | 0.00150666 |
| BEF | Belgium Francs ** | 28.5185 | 0.0350649 |
| BMD | Bermuda Dollars | 1,320.81 | 0.000757114 |
| BRL | Brazil Reals | 568.088 | 0.00176029 |
| GBP | United Kingdom Pounds | 1,883.29 | 0.000530987 |
| BGL | Bulgaria Leva | 590.787 | 0.00169266 |
| CAD | Canada Dollars | 828.006 | 0.00120772 |
| CLP | Chile Pesos | 2.01204 | 0.497007 |
| CNY | China Yuan Renminbi | 159.568 | 0.00626693 |
| CYP | Cyprus Pounds | 2,010.36 | 0.000497424 |
| CZK | Czech Republic Koruny | 37.2594 | 0.0268389 |
| DKK | Denmark Kroner | 154.859 | 0.00645747 |
| XCD | East Caribbean Dollars | 489.187 | 0.00204421 |
| EGP | Egypt Pounds | 285.117 | 0.00350733 |
| EUR | Euro | 1,150.43 | 0.000869237 |
| FJD | Fiji Dollars | 590.964 | 0.00169215 |
| FIM | Finland Markkaa ** | 193.489 | 0.00516825 |
| FRF | France Francs ** | 175.383 | 0.00570182 |
| DEM | Germany Deutsche Marks ** | 588.208 | 0.00170008 |
| XAU | Gold Ounces | 399,207.47 | 0.00000250496 |
| GRD | Greece Drachmae ** | 3.37618 | 0.296192 |
| HKD | Hong Kong Dollars | 169.343 | 0.00590519 |
| HUF | Hungary Forint | 4.73109 | 0.211368 |
| ISK | Iceland Kronur | 13.2089 | 0.0757067 |
| INR | India Rupees | 27.0635 | 0.0369502 |
| IDR | Indonesia Rupiahs | 0.134441 | 7.43821 |
| IEP | Ireland Pounds ** | 1,460.75 | 0.000684580 |
| ILS | Israel New Shekels | 278.478 | 0.00359095 |
| ITL | Italy Lire ** | 0.594150 | 1.68308 |
| JMD | Jamaica Dollars | 27.7422 | 0.0360462 |
| JPY | Japan Yen | 9.95707 | 0.100431 |
| JOD | Jordan Dinars | 1,862.91 | 0.000536794 |
| LBP | Lebanon Pounds | 0.872394 | 1.14627 |
| LUF | Luxembourg Francs ** | 28.5185 | 0.0350649 |
| MYR | Malaysia Ringgits | 347.672 | 0.00287628 |
| MXN | Mexico Pesos | 146.588 | 0.00682184 |
| NZD | New Zealand Dollars | 581.793 | 0.00171883 |
| NOK | Norway Kroner | 149.182 | 0.00670323 |
| NLG | Netherlands Guilders ** | 522.044 | 0.00191555 |
| PKR | Pakistan Rupees | 21.9951 | 0.0454647 |
| PHP | Philippines Pesos | 25.8880 | 0.0386280 |
| XPT | Platinum Ounces | 685,468.65 | 0.00000145886 |
| PLN | Poland Zlotych | 321.226 | 0.00311307 |
| PTE | Portugal Escudos ** | 5.73834 | 0.174266 |
| ROL | Romania Lei | 0.0401034 | 24.9355 |
| RUR | Russia Rubles | 42.4423 | 0.0235614 |
| SAR | Saudi Arabia Riyals | 352.209 | 0.00283922 |
| XAG | Silver Ounces | 6,115.12 | 0.000163529 |
| SGD | Singapore Dollars | 716.971 | 0.00139476 |
| SKK | Slovakia Koruny | 27.5454 | 0.0363037 |
| ZAR | South Africa Rand | 116.291 | 0.00859912 |
| KRW | South Korea Won | 1.00000 | 1.00000 |
| ESP | Spain Pesetas ** | 6.91425 | 0.144629 |
| XDR | IMF Special Drawing Rights | 1,646.80 | 0.000607238 |
| SDD | Sudan Dinars | 5.08002 | 0.196850 |
| SEK | Sweden Kronor | 127.479 | 0.00784440 |
| CHF | Switzerland Francs | 785.601 | 0.00127291 |
| TWD | Taiwan New Dollars | 37.7913 | 0.0264611 |
| THB | Thailand Baht | 30.3273 | 0.0329736 |
| TTD | Trinidad and Tobago Dollars | 215.818 | 0.00463354 |
| TRL | Turkey Liras | 0.000982671 | 1,017.64 |
| VEB | Venezuela Bolivares | 1.43443 | 0.697143 |
| ZMK | Zambia Kwacha | 0.295482 | 3.38430 |
| South Korea : Geographic coordinates | 37 00 N, 127 30 E |
| South Korea : Population growth rate | 0.89% |
| South Korea : Birth rate | 14.85 births/1,000 population |
| South Korea : Death rate | 5.93 deaths/1,000 population |
| South Korea : People living with HIV/AIDS | 3,800 |
| South Korea : Independence | 15 August 1945 |
| South Korea : National holiday | NLiberation Day, 15 August |
| South Korea : Constitution | 25 February 1988 |
| South Korea : GDP | purchasing power parity - $764.6 billion |
| South Korea : GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,100 |
| South Korea : Electricity - consumption | 232.767 billion kWh |
| South Korea : Exports | $172.6 billion electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish |
| South Korea : Imports | $160.5 billion machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains |
| South Korea : Telephones | 24 million |
| South Korea : Mobile cellular | 27 million |
| South Korea : Radio broadcast stations | AM 106, FM 97, shortwave 6 |
| South Korea : Radios | 47.5 million |
| South Korea : Television broadcast stations | 121 |
| South Korea : Televisions | 15.9 million |
| South Korea : Internet country code | .kr |
| South Korea : Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 |
| South Korea : Internet users | 15.3 million |
| South Korea : Railways | 3,124 km |
| South Korea : Highways | 87,534 km |
| South Korea : Waterways | 1,609 km |
| South Korea : Pipelines | petroleum products 455 km |
| South Korea : Ports and harbors | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu |
| South Korea : Merchant marine | 496 ships |
| South Korea : Airports | 102 |
| South Korea : Heliports | 203 |
| South Korea : Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police |
| South Korea : Military expenditures | $12 billion |