South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. Like North Korea, South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of about 52 million, of which half live in the Seoul metropolitan area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world; other major cities include Busan, Daegu, and Incheon.
Republic of Korea | |
|---|---|
Flag Emblem | |
| Anthem: 애국가 Aegukga "The Patriotic Song" | |
| National seal: | |
Territory controlled Territory claimed but not controlled (North Korea) | |
| Capital and largest city | Seoul 37°33′N 126°58′E / 37.550°N 126.967°E |
| Official languages | Korean (Pyojuneo) Korean Sign Language |
| Official script | Hangul |
| Ethnic groups (2024) |
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| Demonyms | |
| Government | Unitary presidential republic |
• President | Lee Jae Myung |
• Prime Minister | Kim Min-seok |
• Speaker of the National Assembly | Woo Won-shik |
| Legislature | National Assembly |
| Establishment history | |
• Provisional Government in-exile | 11 April 1919 |
• American administration south of the 38th parallel | 8 September 1945 |
• Constitution adopted | 17 July 1948 |
• ROK established | 15 August 1948 |
| Area | |
• Excl. North Korea | 100,363 km2 (38,750 sq mi) (107th) |
• Water (%) | 0.3 |
| Population | |
• 2024 estimate | 52,081,799 (29th) |
• Density | 507/km2 (1,313.1/sq mi) (27th) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2025 estimate |
• Total | $3.363 trillion (14th) |
• Per capita | $65,080 (29th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2025 estimate |
• Total | $1.859 trillion (14th) |
• Per capita | $35,962 (33rd) |
| Gini (2021) | 33.3 medium inequality |
| HDI (2023) | 0.937 very high (20th) |
| Currency | Korean Republic won (₩) (KRW) |
| Time zone | UTC+9 (Korea Standard Time) |
| Calling code | +82 |
| ISO 3166 code | KR |
| Internet TLD |
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The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early seventh century BC. From the mid first century BC, various polities consolidated into the rival kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. The lattermost eventually unified most of the peninsula for the first time in the late seventh century AD, while Balhae succeeded Goguryeo in the north. The Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) achieved lasting unification and established the basis for the modern Korean identity. The subsequent Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) generated cultural, economic, and scientific achievements and also established isolationism starting from the mid-17th century. The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) sought modernization and reform but was annexed in 1910 into the Empire of Japan. Japanese rule ended following Japan's surrender in World War II, after which Korea was divided into two zones: the Soviet-occupied northern zone and the United States-occupied southern zone. After negotiations on reunification failed, the southern zone became the Republic of Korea in August 1948, while the northern zone became the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea the following month.
In 1950, a North Korean invasion triggered the Korean War, one of the first major proxy conflicts of the Cold War, which saw extensive fighting involving the American-led United Nations Command and the Soviet-backed People's Volunteer Army from China. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice and left three million Koreans dead and the economy in ruins; due to the lack of a peace treaty, the Korean conflict is still ongoing. South Korea endured a series of dictatorships punctuated by coups, revolutions, and violent uprisings, but also experienced a soaring economy and one of the fastest rises in average GDP per capita, leading to its emergence as one of the Four Asian Tigers. The June Democratic Struggle of 1987 ended authoritarian rule and led to the establishment of the current Sixth Republic.
South Korea is now considered among the most advanced democracies in continental and East Asia. Under the 1987 constitution, it maintains a unitary presidential republic with a popularly elected unicameral legislature, the National Assembly. South Korea is a major non-NATO ally of the United States and is regarded as a regional power in East Asia and an emerging power in global affairs; its conscription-based armed forces are ranked as one of the strongest in the world and have the second highest number of military and paramilitary personnel. A highly developed country, South Korea's economy is ranked 14th largest in the world by nominal GDP and PPP-adjusted GDP; it is the world's eleventh-largest exporter and seventh-largest importer.
South Korea performs well in metrics of education, human development, democratic governance, and innovation. It has one of the world's longest life expectances, though its population is aging rapidly and has the lowest fertility rate in the world. South Korea has some of the fastest Internet connection speeds and densest high-speed railway networks. Since the turn of the 21st century, the country has been renowned for its globally influential pop culture, particularly in music, TV dramas, and cinema, a phenomenon referred to as the Korean Wave. South Korea is a member of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, the G20, the IPEF, and the Paris Club.
Etymology
The name Korea is an exonym derived from the historical Korean kingdom name Goryeo (Korean: 고려; Hanja: 高麗; MR: Koryŏ). Goryeo was the shortened name officially adopted by Goguryeo in the 5th century and the name of its 10th-century successor state Goryeo. Visiting Arab and Persian merchants pronounced its name as "Korea". The modern name of Korea appears in the first Portuguese maps of 1568 by João vaz Dourado as Conrai and later in the late 16th century and early 17th century as Corea (Korea) in the maps of Teixeira Albernaz of 1630.
The Kingdom of Goryeo became first known to Westerners when Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca in 1511 and described the people who traded in this part of the world as the Gores. Despite the coexistence of the spellings Corea and Korea in 19th-century publications, some Koreans believe that Imperial Japan intentionally standardized the spelling of Korea in order to make Japan appear first alphabetically during occupation.
After Goryeo was replaced by the Kingdom of Joseon (조선; 朝鮮; Chosŏn) in 1392, Joseon became the official name for the entire territory, though it was not universally accepted. The new official name was derived from the ancient kingdom of Gojoseon. In 1897, King Gojong changed the country's official name from Joseon to the Korean Empire (대한제국; 大韓帝國; Daehan Jeguk; Taehan Cheguk; lit. Great Han Empire). The latter half of the Korean Empire's name Daehan (대한; 大韓; lit. Great Han) derives from Samhan (Three Han), referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula. However, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, even though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted.
Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the "Republic of Korea" was adopted as the legal English name for the new country. The Korean name Daehan Minguk (대한민국; 大韓民國; lit. Great Han Republic) is sometimes used by South Koreans as a metonym to refer to the Korean nation as a whole, rather than just the South Korean state.
History
Ancient Korea
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