South Korea/Catalogs/Facts and figures

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Based on the Facts and figures provided by Korea.net, accessed on 2008-11-07.

(PD) Image: CIA
Taegeukgi, the national flag of South Korea.

Country

(PD) Image: NASA
The Korean peninsula.
  • Country name: Republic of Korea
    • Official Korean title: 대한민국 (Dae-han Min-guk), meaning 'Great Han people's nation'
    • Informal references: 한국 (Han-guk), literally meaning 'Han nation'; an equivalent of 'Korea' & 남한 (Nam-han), literally meaning the 'southern Han,' an equivalent of 'South Korea'
  • Capital city: Seoul
  • National flag: Taegeukgi
  • National flower: Mugunhwa (Rose of Sharon)
  • Currency: Won (₩)

Geography

  • Territory: 99,678 km2
  • Climate: Temperate
  • Highest mountain: Hallasan (1950 m)
  • Longest rivers: Han River or Han-gang (481.7 km)
© Photo: Justin Adams
A Buddhist festival celebrating the birth of Buddha, in the city of Busan.

People

  • Language: Korean, written in alphabet Hangeul
  • Population: 48.46 million (2007)
    • Foreign residents: 1.1 million
    • Median age: 36.1 yrs
    • Population increase rate: 0.33%
    • Life expectancy: males - 75.7 yrs & females - 82.4 yrs (2006)
    • Religion: approximately 50% of the population practices religion: Buddhism (43.0%) ; Protestantism (34.5%) ; Catholicism (20.6%)

Government

  • Political system: a democratic republic; division of power among the executive, legislative, and the judiciary
  • President: Park Geun-hye
  • Suffrage: universal at age 19 (western equivalent of 18)
  • Elections:
    • Presidential: every 5 yrs
    • National assembly: every 4 yrs
    • Local councils: every 4 yrs
    • Political parties: Grand National Party; United Democratic Party; Liberal Forward Party; Democratic Labor Party; Pro-Park Geun-hye Alliance; Renewal of Korea Party
  • AID: in 2006, $455 million in Official Developmental Aid (ODA)

Economy

Miscellaneous

  • Time zone: UTC + 9 (Korea Standard Time); summer daylight saving time is not observed.
  • Internet TLD: .kr
  • Calling code: +82