South Korea

"Republic of Korea" redirects here. For the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, see North Korea. For other uses, see Korea.

Not to be confused with Southerners (Korean political faction).

Coordinates: 36°N 128°E

Republic of Korea 대한민국  (Korean)
Flag Emblem
Motto:  "홍익인간" ("弘益人間") "Benefit broadly in the human world / Devotion to the Welfare of Humanity"[1]
Anthem:  "애국가" ("愛國歌") "Aegukga" "Patriotic Song" MENU 0:00
Land controlled by South Korea shown in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled land shown in light green
Capital and largest city	Seoul 37°33′N 126°58′E
Official languages	Korean Korean Sign Language[2]
Official script	Korean
Ethnic groups	Predominantly Korean. No official statistics[a]
Religion	56.9% Unaffiliated 27.6% Christianity[4] —19.7% Protestant —7.9% Catholic[5] 15.5% Korean Buddhism[4]
Demonym(s)	South Korean Korean
Government	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
• President	Moon Jae-in
• Prime Minister	Lee Nak-yeon
• Speaker of the National Assembly	Moon Hee-sang
• Chief Justice	Kim Myeong-soo
• President of the Constitutional Court	Yoo Nam-seok
Legislature	National Assembly
Establishment history
• First Kingdom	October 3, 2333 BC[b]
• Wiman Joseon	194 BC
• Three Kingdoms	18 BC
• North-South Kingdoms	698
• Unification by Goryeo dynasty	936
• Joseon dynasty	July 17, 1392
• Korean Empire	October 12, 1897
• Japan-Korea Treaty	August 29, 1910
• March 1st Movement	March 1, 1919
• Provisional Government	September 11, 1919
• Liberation from Japan	August 15, 1945
• U.S. administration of Korea south of the 38th parallel	September 8, 1945
• First Republic	August 15, 1948
• Current constitution	February 25, 1988
• Admitted to the United Nations	September 17, 1991
Area
• Total	100,363 km2(38,750 sq mi) (107th)
• Water (%)	0.3 (301 km2 / 116 mi2)
Population
• 2017 estimate	51,446,201[6][7] (27th)
• Density	507/km2 (1,313.1/sq mi) (23rd)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$2.241 trillion[8] (14th)
• Per capita	$43,212[8] (29th)
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$1.699 trillion[8] (11th)
• Per capita	$32,766[8] (28th)
Gini (2016)	35.7[9] medium · 93rd
HDI (2017)	0.903[10] very high · 22nd
Currency	Korean Republic won (₩) (KRW)
Time zone	UTC+9 (Korea Standard Time)
Date format	yyyy년 m월 d일 yyyy. m. d. (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+82
ISO 3166 code	KR
Internet TLD	.kr .한국

South Korea
South Korean name
Hangul	남한
showTranscriptions
North Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	남조선
showTranscriptions

Korea
South Korean name
Hangul	한국
showTranscriptions
North Korean name
Chosŏn'gŭl	조선
showTranscriptions

Republic of Korea
South Korean name
Hangul	대한민국
Hanja	大韓民國
showTranscriptions

South Korea (Korean: 한국; RR: Hanguk or literally 남한; RR: Namhan; officially the Republic of Korea 대한민국; RR: Daehan Minguk) is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula^[11]and sharing a land border with North Korea. The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo which was one of the great powers in East Asia during its time,^{[12][13][14][15]} ruling most of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, parts of the Russian Far East^[16] and Inner Mongolia^[17] under Gwanggaeto the Great.^[18] Its capital, Seoul, is a major global city^[19] and half of South Korea's over 51 million people live in the Seoul Capital Area, the fourth largestmetropolitan economy in the world.^[20]

The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period.^[21][22] Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century BC.^[23] Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Koreainto Silla and Balhae in the late 7th century, Korea was ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). The succeeding Korean Empire was annexed into the Empire of Japan in 1910. After World War II, Korea was divided into Soviet and U.S.-administered zones, with the latter becoming the Republic of Korea in August 1948. In 1950, a North Korean invasion began the Korean War and after its end in 1953, the country's economy began to soar, recording the fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world between 1980 and 1990.^[24] Authoritarian rule ended in 1987 and the country is now the most advanced democracywith the highest level of press freedom in Asia.^[25][26] South Korea is a member of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, the G20 and the Paris Club.

South Korea is a highly developed country and the world's 11th largest economy by nominal GDP.^[27] Its citizens enjoy the world's fastest Internet connection speeds^[28] and the longest years of tertiary education in the world,^[29] along with the world's second best healthcare system^[30] and most equal access to quality healthcare,^[29] resulting in the third highest health adjusted life expectancy in the world.^[31] The world's 5th largest exporterand 8th largest importer, South Korea is a global leader in many technology and innovation driven fields. Since 2014, South Korea has been named the world's most innovative country by the Bloomberg Innovation Index for 6 consecutive years.^[32][33] Since the 21st century, South Korea has been renowned for its globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and TV dramas, a phenomenon referred to as the Korean Wave.^{[34][35][36][37][38]}