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The World Factbook 2002
| Korea, South |

Introduction | Korea, South

Background:

After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north. The Korean War (1950-53) had US and other UN forces intervene to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. 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 far outstripping the level of North Korea. In 1997, the nation suffered a severe financial crisis from which it continues to make a solid recovery. South Korea has also maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a historic first south-north summit took place between the south's President KIM Dae-jung and the north's leader KIM Chong-il. In December 2000, President KIM Dae-jung won the Noble Peace Prize for his lifelong commitment to democracy and human rights in Asia. He is the first Korean to win a Nobel Prize.

Geography | Korea, South

Location: | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
Geographic coordinates: | 37 00 N, 127 30 E
Map references: | Asia
Area: | total: 98,480 sq km land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly larger than Indiana
Land boundaries: | total: 238 km border countries: North Korea 238 km
Coastline: | 2,413 km
Maritime claims: | contiguous zone: 24 NM territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM and 12 NM in the Korea Strait continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Climate: | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
Terrain: | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m
Natural resources: | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential
Land use: | arable land: 17% permanent crops: 2% other: 81% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | 11,590 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest
Environment - current issues: | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: | strategic location on Korea Strait

People | Korea, South

Population: | 48.324 million (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 21.4% (male 5,488,808; female 4,875,379) 15-64 years: 71% (male 17,404,645; female 16,894,361) 65 years and over: 7.6% (male 1,434,873; female 2,225,934) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: | 0.85% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: | 14.55 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: | 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | 7.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 74.88 years female: 78.95 years (2002 est.) male: 71.2 years
Total fertility rate: | 1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 3,800 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 180 (1999 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean
Ethnic groups: | homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
Religions: | Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1%
Languages: | Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 99.3% female: 96.7% (1995 est.)

Government | Korea, South

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local short form: none note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han'guk" to refer to their country local long form: Taehan-min'guk abbreviation: ROK
Government type: | republic
Capital: | Seoul
Administrative divisions: | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi*
Independence: | 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
National holiday: | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)
Constitution: | 25 February 1988
Legal system: | combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought
Suffrage: | 20 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

chief of state: President KIM Dae-jung (since 25 February 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister YI Han-tong (since 23 May 2000)
cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation
elections: president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held 19 December 2002); prime minister appointed by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation
election results: KIM Dae-jung elected president; percent of vote - KIM Dae-jung (MDP) 40.3% (with ULD partnership), YI Hoe-chang (GNP) 38.7%, YI In-che (NPP) 19.2%

Legislative branch:

unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227 elected by direct, popular vote; members serve four-year terms); note - beginning in 2004, all members will be directly elected; possible redistricting before 2004 may affect the number of seats in the National Assembly
elections: last held 13 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GNP 133, MDP 115, ULD 17, other 8; note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: GNP 136, MDP 118, ULD 15, DPP 2, independents 2

Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly)

Political parties and leaders:

Democratic People's Party or DPP [CHO Sun, chairman]; Grand National Party or GNP [YI Hoe-chang, president]; Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [leader NA]; United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, honorary chairman, KIM Chong-ho, acting president]
note: on 20 January 2000, the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP was renamed the Millennium Democratic Party or MDP

Political pressure groups and leaders:

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

International organization participation:

AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador YANG Song-chol chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Tamuning (Guam) FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas C. HUBBARD embassy: 82 Sejong-ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-0001 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845
Flag description: | 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

Economy | Korea, South

Economy - overview:

As one of the Four Tigers of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth. Three decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is seven times India's, 17 times North Korea's, and comparable to the lesser economies of the European Union. This success through the late 1980s 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 certain longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. Growth plunged by 6.6% in 1998, then strongly recovered to plus 10% in 1999 and 9% 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 have stalled.

GDP: | purchasing power parity - $865 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 3.3% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $18,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 5% industry: 44% services: 51% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 4% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2.6% highest 10%: 24.8% (1998 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 31.6 (1993)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 4.3% (2001 est.)
Labor force: | 22 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation: | services 69%, industry 21.5%, agriculture 9.5% (2001)
Unemployment rate: | 3.9% (2001)
Budget: | revenues: $118.1 billion expenditures: $95.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $22.6 billion (2000)
Industries: | electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing
Industrial production growth rate: | 1.8% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: | 273.204 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 60.63% hydro: 1.45% other: 0.03% (2000) nuclear: 37.89%
Electricity - consumption: | 254.08 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: | rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs; fish
Exports: | $168.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: | electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships; textiles, clothing, footwear; fish
Exports - partners: | US 21.8%, Japan 11.9%, China 10.7%, Hong Kong 6.2%, Taiwan 4.7% (2000)
Imports: | $152.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: | machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains
Imports - partners: | Japan 19.8%, US 18.2%, China 8%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Australia 3.7% (2000)
Debt - external: | $120.5 billion (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: | $NA
Currency: | South Korean won (KRW)
Currency code: | KRW
Exchange rates: | South Korean won per US dollar - 1,317.01 (January 2002), 1,290.99 (2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82 (1999), 1,401.44 (1998), 951.29 (1997)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Korea, South

Telephones - main lines in use: | 24 million (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 28 million (September 2000)
Telephone system: | general assessment: excellent domestic and international services domestic: NA international: fiber-optic submarine cable to China; the Russia-Korea-Japan submarine cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region)
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 104, FM 136, shortwave 5 (2001)
Radios: | 47.5 million (2000)
Television broadcast stations: | 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999)
Televisions: | 15.9 million (1997)
Internet country code: | .kr
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 11 (2000)
Internet users: | 22.23 million (2001)

Transportation | Korea, South

Railways: | total: 3,124 km standard gauge: 3,124 km 1.435-m gauge (661 km electrified) (2000)
Highways: | total: 87,534 km paved: 65,388 km (including 1,996 km of expressways) unpaved: 22,146 km (1999)
Waterways: | 1,609 km note: restricted to small native craft
Pipelines: | petroleum products 455 km
Ports and harbors: | Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan, Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-hang, Ulsan, Yosu

Merchant marine:

total: 501 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,679,171 GRT/9,172,403 DWT
ships by type: bulk 104, cargo 160, chemical tanker 47, combination bulk 6, container 52, liquefied gas 16, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 73, refrigerated cargo 25, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 5, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bulgaria 1, China 1, Greece 1, Japan 1, Malaysia 1, Norway 1, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.)

Airports: | 102 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 68 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 20 (2001) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 34 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 32 (2001)
Heliports: | 203 (2001)

Military | Korea, South

Military branches: | Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard)
Military manpower - military age: | 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 14,194,960 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 8,990,488 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 394,397 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $12.8 billion (FY00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.8% (FY00)

Transnational Issues | Korea, South

Disputes - international: | Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo) disputed with Japan

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002