]! ^! An independent Korean state or collection of states has existed almost continuously for several millennia. Between its initial unification in the 7th century - from three predecessor Korean states - until the 20th century, Korea existed as a single independent country. In 1905, following the Russo-Japanese War, Korea became a protectorate of imperial Japan, and in 1910 it was annexed as a colony. Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the United States in 1945. After World War II, a Republic of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north (the DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South Korea from DPRK attacks supported by China and the Soviet Union. 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 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1993, KIM Young-sam became South Korea's first civilian president following 32 years of military rule. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. 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 Jong Il. 
]" ^" Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea ^# 37 00 N, 127 30 E ^$ Asia ^% `! 98,480 sq km `" 98,190 sq km `# 290 sq km ^& slightly larger than Indiana ^' `! 238 km `Y North Korea 238 km ^( 2,413 km ^) `$ 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the Korea Strait `M 24 nm `N 200 nm `O not specified ^* temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter ^+ mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south ^, `% Sea of Japan 0 m `& Halla-san 1,950 m ^- coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential ^. `' 16.58% `( 2.01% `) 81.41% (2005) ^/ 8,780 sq km (2003) ^0 occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest ^1 air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing _P `P 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 `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 strategic location on Korea Strait 
]# ^3 49,044,790 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 18.3% (male 4,714,103/female 4,262,873) `, 72.1% (male 18,004,719/female 17,346,594) `- 9.6% (male 1,921,803/female 2,794,698) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 35.8 years `. 34.8 years `/ 36.8 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.394% (2007 est.) ^7 9.93 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 5.99 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.08 male(s)/female `1 1.106 male(s)/female `, 1.038 male(s)/female `- 0.688 male(s)/female `2 1.01 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 6.05 deaths/1,000 live births `. 6.43 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 5.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 77.23 years `. 73.81 years `/ 80.93 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.28 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> less than 0.1% (2003 est.) ^? 8,300 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 200 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Korean(s) `4 Korean ^B homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese) ^C Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, no affiliation 46%, other 1% ^D Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 97.9% `. 99.2% `/ 96.6% (2002) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Korea `7 South Korea `Z Taehan-min'guk `[ Han'guk `] ROK ^H republic ^I `8 Seoul `9 37 34 N, 127 00 E `: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular and plural) provinces: Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto (North Cholla), Cholla-namdo (South Cholla), Ch'ungch'ong-bukto (North Ch'ungch'ong), Ch'ungch'ong-namdo (South Ch'ungch'ong), Kangwon-do, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto (North Kyongsang), Kyongsang-namdo (South Kyongsang) metropolitan cities: Inch'on-gwangyoksi (Inch'on), Kwangju-gwangyoksi (Kwangju), Pusan-gwangyoksi (Pusan), Soul-t'ukpyolsi (Seoul), Taegu-gwangyoksi (Taegu), Taejon-gwangyoksi (Taejon), Ulsan-gwangyoksi (Ulsan) ^K 15 August 1945 (from Japan) ^L Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) ^M 29 October 1987 ^N combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought ^O 19 years of age; universal ^P `; President ROH Moo-hyun (since 25 February 2003) `< Prime Minister HAN Duck-soo (since 2 April 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers KIM Woo-sik (since 10 February 2006); KWON O-kyu (since 18 July 2006); KIM Shin-il (since 20 September 2006) `= State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation `> president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 19 December 2002 (next to be held on 19 December 2007); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by president on prime minister's recommendation `? ROH Moo-hyun elected president; percent of vote - ROH Moo-hyun (MDP) 48.9%; LEE Hoi-chang (GNP) 46.6%; other 4.5% ^Q unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats - members elected for four-year terms; 243 in single-seat constituencies, 56 by proportional representation) `> last held 15 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2008) `? percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, DP 3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 141, GNP 127, DP 12, DLP 9, PFP 5, independents 5 `* percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party reflect results of 2005 and 2006 by-elections; MDP became DP in May 2005; United Liberal Democrats (ULD) merged with GNP in February 2006 ^R Supreme Court (justices appointed by president with consent of National Assembly); Constitutional Court (justices appointed by president based partly on nominations by National Assembly and Chief Justice of the court) ^S Democratic Labor Party or DLP [MOON Seong-hyun]; Democratic Party or DP [HAHN Hwa-kap]; Grand National Party or GNP [KANG Jae-sup]; People-First Party or PFP [SHIN Kook-hwan and SIM Dae-pyung]; Uri Party [Chung Sye-kyun] ^T 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 ^U AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC ^V `R Ambassador LEE Tae-sik `S 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 939-5600 `U [1] (202) 387-0205 `V Agana (Guam), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle ^W `R Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW `_ 32 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710 `` US Embassy Seoul, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-5550 `T [82] (2) 397-4114 `U [82] (2) 738-8845 ^X 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 
]% ^Y Since the 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. In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies. Today its GDP per capita is equal to the lesser economies of the EU. This success 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. GDP plunged by 6.9% in 1998, then recovered by 9.5% in 1999 and 8.5% 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 7%, despite anemic global growth. Between 2003 and 2006, growth moderated to about 4-5%. A downturn in consumer spending was offset by rapid export growth. Moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income characterize this solid economy. ^Z $1.18 trillion (2006 est.) ^[ $897.4 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 4.8% (2006 est.) ^] $24,200 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 3% `A 45% `B 52% (2006 est.) ^_ 23.77 million (31 December 2006 est.) ^` `@ 6.4% `A 26.4% `B 67.2% (2006 est.) ^a 3.3% (December 2006 est.) _! 15% (2003 est.) _" `C 2.9% `D 25% (2005 est.) _d 35.8 (2000) _# 2.2% (2006 est.) _V 28.4% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $200 billion `F $201 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _% 31.9% of GDP (2006 est.) _& rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish _' electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel _( 8% (2006 est.) _) 345.2 billion kWh (2004) _* 321 billion kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 7,378 bbl/day (2004) _. 2.149 million bbl/day (2004) _/ 645,200 bbl/day (2004) _0 2.263 million bbl/day (2004) _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 27.84 billion cu m (2004 est.) _X 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Y 28.93 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Q $2 billion (2006 est.) _3 $326 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles, computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals _5 China 21.8%, US 14.6%, Japan 8.5%, Hong Kong 5.5% (2005) _6 $309.3 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, organic chemicals, plastics _8 Japan 18.5%, China 14.8%, US 11.8%, Saudi Arabia 6.2% (2005) _[ $239 billion (2006 est.) _9 $249.4 billion (30 September 2006 est.) _\ ODA, $744 million (2005) _; South Korean won (KRW) _< South Korean won per US dollar - 955.3 (2006), 1,024.1 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004), 1,191.6 (2003), 1,251.1 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 23.745 million (2005) _? 38.342 million (2005) _@ `G excellent domestic and international services `H NA `I country code - 82; fiber-optic submarine cables - 1 Korea-Russia-Japan, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong, 3 Korea-Japan-China, 1 Korea-Japan-China-Europe, 1 Korea-Japan-China-US-Taiwan, 1 Korea-Japan-China, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong-Taiwan, 1 Korea-Japan; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) and 3 Inmarsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean) _A AM 61, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2005) _B 43 (plus 59 cable operators and 190 relay cable operators) (2005) _C .kr _D 5.434 million (2005) _E 33.9 million (2005) 
]' _F 107 (2006) _G `! 69 `a 3 `J 21 `b 14 `c 11 `W 20 (2006) _R `! 38 `c 3 `W 35 (2006) _] 540 (2006) _^ gas 1,482 km; refined products 827 km (2006) _e `! 3,472 km `m 3,472 km 1.435-m gauge (1,361 km electrified) (2005) _H `! 100,279 km `K 87,032 km (includes 3,060 km of expressways) `L 13,247 km (2004) _b 1,608 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2006) _S `! 669 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,634,188 GRT/13,733,624 DWT by type: bulk carrier 157, cargo 193, chemical tanker 98, container 81, liquefied gas 22, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 24, petroleum tanker 57, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 6, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 6 `X 22 (France 12, Japan 1, UK 2, US 7) `d 365 (Belize 4, Cambodia 23, China 2, Cyprus 1, Georgia 1, Honduras 6, Hong Kong 6, Indonesia 1, Liberia 3, Malaysia 1, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 291, Singapore 17, unknown 2) (2006) _I Inch'on, Masan, P'ohang, Pusan, Ulsan 
]( _J Army, Navy, Republic of Korea Air Force (Han-guk Kong Goon), Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (coast guard) (2006) _T 20-30 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service obligation - 24-28 months, depending on the military branch involved; 18 years of age for voluntary military service; some 4,000 women serve as commissioned and noncommissioned officers, approx. 2.3% of all officers; women, in service since 1950, are admitted to 7 service branches, including infantry, but excluded from artillery, armor, anti-air, and chaplaincy corps (2005) _K males age 20-49: 12,483,677 females age 20-49: 12,014,462 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 20-49: 10,115,817 females age 20-49: 9,721,914 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 344,943 females age 20-49: 312,720 (2005 est.) _U 3% (2006 est.) 
]) _N Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents with North Korea in the Yellow Sea over the Northern Limiting Line, which South Korea claims as a maritime boundary; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954 