Korea is a peninsular region of East Asia, between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan, connected to the mainland by the border with China and separated from Japan by the Korea Strait. Their official language is Korean and the dominant religions are Buddhism and Confucianism. It is politically divided into two states: North Korea or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; and South Korea, or Republic of South Korea.
South Korea covers an area of 98 824 km 2 and had a population of 19 185 000 residents in 1983, with a population density much higher than that of North Korea. Also divided into nine provinces and two districts, it has the capital in Seoul. The majority of the population is engaged in agriculture, in the cultivation of potatoes, tobacco, soybeans, barley and rice. Fishing is also an important activity, as well as the exploitation of iron and silver. The industry is underdeveloped and linked to the textile, canned fish and tobacco sectors. Foreign trade is done with the USA and Japan. The currency unit is the won.
Korea was first populated by the Tungus tribes, whose cultural identity would deeply mark the territory. Between century II and century I a. C., the region was under Chinese dominion, that gave rise to the formation of three kingdoms: the one of Kokuryo , the one of Paikche and the one of Silla . The kingdom of Silla becomes dominant and ends up assimilating the other two. The Silla dynasty was succeeded in 935 by the Koryo dynasty which, in the medium term, was weakened in its political power by the rise of the Buddhist clergy and later by the Mongol invasions (1260). The new Yi dynasty installs the capital in Seoul for the first time. In the 16th century, Korea managed to avoid a Japanese invasion, but in the 17th century it once again fell under Chinese domination. It eventually became a Japanese colony between 1910 and 1945, after having been involved in the Sino-Japanese wars of 1894-95 and the Russo-Japanese wars of 1904-05.
Countryaah: provides country profile of South Korea, including its state flag, official language, population rankings, land area, history overview, summary of economy and culture as well as map of South Korea.
Abbreviationfinder: Comprehensive list of all abbreviations associated with South Korea. Sorted by popularity. Also offers the 2-letter and 3-letter acronyms for what is the abbreviation for South Korea.
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