[353] South Korea has sought the assistance of foreign countries such as Russia through MTCR commitments to supplement its restricted domestic rocket technology. [325] Like the individually insured persons, they too are in charge of covering the full amount of the contribution. That same year, South Korea recorded more deaths than births, resulting in a population decline for the first time on record. This trend of net entry reversed over the next 40 years because of emigration, especially to North America through the United States and Canada. South Korea ranked number 10 overall in the 2014 NRI ranking, up from 11 in 2013. [152][153], A centralized administration in South Korea oversees the process for the education of children from kindergarten to the third and final year of high school. [102][103] In addition, virtually all of Korea's major cities were destroyed by the war.[104]. Major U.S. firms have long been leading investors, while the R.O.K.s top firms have made significant investments in the U.S. President Yoon declared a state of official national mourning.[124]. A recent agreement with Novavax expands its production for a second vaccine to 40 million doses in 2022, with a $450 million investment in domestic and overseas facilities. South Korea,[b]officially the Republic of Korea(ROK),[c]is a country in East Asia. Major cities including Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon and Gwangju have urban rapid transit systems. This impediment to South Korea's indigenous nuclear industrial undertaking has sparked occasional diplomatic rows between the two allies. "[96] Both leaders began an authoritarian repression of their political opponents inside their region, seeking for a unification of Korea under their control. South Korea has the fastest Internet download speeds in the world,[332] with an average download speed of 25.3 Mbit/s. Elections take place every five years to elect the President and the members of the national assembly. On 1 October, Armed Forces day is celebrated, honoring the military forces of South Korea. The emergence of the South Korean pop group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 marked a turning point for South Korean popular music, also known as K-pop, as the genre modernized itself from incorporating elements of popular musical genres from across the world such as Western popular music, experimental, jazz, gospel, Latin, classical, hip hop, rhythm and blues, electronic dance, reggae, country, folk, and rock on top of its uniquely traditional Korean music roots. The Seoul National Capital Area has 24.5 million inhabitants (about half of South Korea's entire population) making it the world's second largest metropolitan area. Type Of Government. It has local governments that are granted autonomy and have their executive and legislative branches. [105], Chun subsequently created the National Defense Emergency Policy Committee and took the presidency according to his political plan. [365] Its rich and vibrant culture left 21 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity,[366] the fourth largest in the world,[needs update] along with 15 World Heritage Sites. [307] Nuclear power in South Korea supplies 45% of electricity production, and research is very active with investigation into a variety of advanced reactors, including a small modular reactor, a liquid-metal fast/transmutation reactor and a high-temperature hydrogen generation design. Many K-pop acts have also been able to secure a strong overseas following using online social media platforms such as the video sharing website YouTube. South Korea has sought unique technologies such as pyroprocessing to circumvent these obstacles and seek a more advantageous competition. Christianity is South Korea's largest organized religion, accounting for more than half of all South Korean adherents of religious organizations. The U.S. troops, which are primarily ground and air units, are assigned to USFK and mainly assigned to the Eighth United States Army of the U.S. Army and Seventh Air Force of the U.S. Air Force. The Deep State and The Unitary Executive by . [343] Arirang-1 was lost in space in 2008, after nine years in service. The South Korean Army has 2,500 tanks in operation, including the K1A1 and K2 Black Panther, which form the backbone of the South Korean army's mechanized armor and infantry forces. In 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk (Korean Empire). [176] South Korea has the steepest decline in working age population of the OECD nations. ", "Can South Korean Startups (and the government) Save its Flailing Giant Tech Conglomerates? Traditional architecture may also be seen at the nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Korea. Eligibility for the national pension scheme is not dependent on income but on age and residence, where those between the ages of 18 to 59 are covered. Large numbers of ethnic Koreans live overseas, sometimes in Korean ethnic neighborhoods also known as Koreatowns. [222] It also had the OECD's second largest number of hospital beds per 1000 people at 9.56 beds. South Korean television shows have become popular outside of Korea. The Korean language in South Korea has a standard dialect known as the Seoul dialect (after the capital city), with an additional four dialects (Chungcheong, Gangwon, Gyeongsang, and Jeolla) and one language (Jeju) in use around the country. ", "North, South Korea pledge peace, prosperity", "Seoul reaffirms N. Korea's torpedo attack in final report", "Seoul Decides to Continue Kaesong Project, Humanitarian Aid", "Seoul shuts down joint North-South Korea industrial complex", "North Korea rocket launch: UN security council condemns latest violation", "South Korean president says Olympics have lowered tensions with North", "South Koreans meet North Korean leader Kim for talks about talks", "Asia Times News and analysis from Korea; North and South", "Chinese and South Koreans Formally Establish Relations", "Defense Ministry's regular press conference on July 28", "Thaad retaliation slashes Olympics visitors from China", "China wins its war against South Korea's US THAAD missile shield without firing a shot", "Moon Jae-in Making Friends By Importing More Gas", "Are Warming Russia-South Korea Relations a Game-changer? There are many significant regional dishes that have proliferated in different variations across the country in the present day. [289] The South Korean economy is heavily dependent on international trade, and in 2014, South Korea was the fifth-largest exporter and seventh-largest importer in the world. On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces invaded the ROK. [277] The vast majority of these are young men from the Jehovah's Witnesses Christian denomination. [294] Its economic growth rate reached 6.2 percent in 2010 (the fastest growth for eight years after significant growth by 7.2 percent in 2002),[295] a sharp recovery from economic growth rates of 2.3% in 2008 and 0.2% in 2009 during the Great Recession. [242], The 2017 deployment of THAAD defense missiles by the United States military in South Korea in response to North Korean missile tests has been protested strongly by the Chinese government, concerned that the technologically advanced missile defense could be used more broadly against China. The southern coast is subject to late summer typhoons that bring strong winds, heavy rains and sometimes floods. [159], The population has also been shaped by international migration. Ingredients and dishes vary by province. Korean is the official language of South Korea, and is classified by most linguists as a language isolate. The liberal camp and the conservative camp are the dominant forces of South Korean politics at present. [333], South Korea leads the OECD in graduates in science and engineering. South Korea is unitary. This often results in fewer opportunities for employment, improvement of one's socioeconomic position and prospects for marriage. South Korea is especially strong in short track speed skating. There were two Korean Lt. The percentage of foreign nationals has been growing rapidly. [48][49] Baekje was once a great military power on the Korean Peninsula, especially during the time of Geunchogo,[50] but was critically defeated by Gwanggaeto the Great and declined. [119] His tenure saw an improving political relationship with North Korea, some increasing divergence in the military alliance with the United States, and the successful hosting of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. [317], In 2016, 17 million foreign tourists visited South Korea. Every 15th day of the 8th lunar month, Koreans celebrate the Midautumn Festival, in which Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and eat a variety of traditional Korean foods. The U.S. and Korea's Joseon Dynasty established diplomatic relations under the 1882 Treaty of Peace, Amity, Commerce, and Navigation, and the first U.S. diplomatic envoy arrived in Korea in 1883. [370] The Korean tea ceremony, pansori, talchum and buchaechum are also notable Korean performing arts. [53] Later Silla was a golden age of art and culture,[54][55][56][57] as evidenced by the Hwangnyongsa, Seokguram, and Emille Bell. The anti-Japanese sentiment, and the Korean War, led to the destruction of most buildings constructed during that time. ", "South Korea's Education Success Has a Dark Side", "Why South Korea Is So Fixated With the College-Entrance Exam", "Vocational Education and Training in Korea: Achieving the Enhancement of National Competitiveness", "Drive for education drives South Korean families into the red", "South Korean education ranks high, but it's the kids who pay", "South Koreans Consider The Trades Over University Education", "Korea Awash with the Under-Skilled and Overeducated", "High performance, high pressure in South Korea's education system", "South Korea's schools: Long days, high results", "The Pressures of the South Korean Education System", "Korea: Overview of the Education System (EAG 2019)", "South Korean students wracked with stress", "Intensely Competitive Education In South Korea Leads to Education Fever", "The All-Work, No-Play Culture Of South Korean Education", "Korea's Rigorous Education System Has Delivered Growth, but It is Literally Killing the Country's Youth", "Over 3 Million Highly Educated People Unemployed", "Lee calls for end to prejudices against non-college graduates", "S Korea's vocational education needs to tackle its shortcomings", "Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism 2012", "Christianity, Shamanism, and Modernization in South Korea", Health at a Glance 2015 |OECD READ edition, "Revealed: Countries With The Best Health Care Systems, 2019 > CEOWORLD magazine", "Suicide rates, age standardized Data by country", "Life expectancy increased by 5 years since 2000, but health inequalities persist", "WHO World Health Statistics 2016: Monitoring health for the SDGs", "Can North Korea get South to join dispute with Japan over two islands in Asia? [327] Persons covered by the individually insured pension scheme are in charge of paying the entire 9% contribution themselves. The Soviet Union and China backed North Korea, with the later participation of millions of Chinese troops. U.S.-Republic of Korea Relations. Despite the initial plan of a unified Korea in the 1943 Cairo Declaration, escalating Cold War antagonism between the Soviet Union and the United States eventually led to the establishment of separate governments, each with its own ideology, leading to the division of Korea into two political entities in 1948: North Korea and South Korea. Stimulated by the economic growth in the 1970s and 1980s, active redevelopment saw new horizons in architectural design. There are many official public holidays in South Korea. [186][187] South Koreans view education as the main propeller of social mobility for themselves and their family, as a gateway to the South Korean middle class. [402] In the 2008 Summer Olympics, South Korea won the gold medal in baseball. Fuel production and waste handling technologies have also been developed locally. A unitary state refers to a country that has one supreme authority which rules over all other delegations. The top three universities in South Korea, often referred to as "SKY", are Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. [227] On 4 October 2007, Roh Moo-Hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il signed an eight-point agreement on issues of permanent peace, high-level talks, economic cooperation, renewal of train services, highway and air travel, and a joint Olympic cheering squad. The free trade agreement was approved in September 2010, and took effect on 1 July 2011. Since the 21st century, South Korea has been renowned for its globally influential pop culture, particularly in music (K-pop), TV dramas (K-dramas) and cinema, a phenomenon referred to as the Korean wave. South Korea has today the infrastructures to meet a density of population and culture that has the capability to create strong local particularity. Is South Africa a state? U.S.-Korea relations continued until 1905, when Japan assumed direction over Korean foreign affairs. Learn more about our workDelivering Vaccinesand onCOVID-19 Recovery. It remained the state religion in Later Silla (North South States Period) and Goryeo. [112] However, South Korean and Japanese relations later soured because of conflicting claims of sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks. The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. [239] The Republic of Korea broke off official relations with the Republic of China (Taiwan) upon gaining official relations with the People's Republic of China, which does not recognize Taiwan's sovereignty. Because of social instability, social issues appeared as main subjects in the 1980s. The South Korean pension system was created to provide benefits to persons reaching old age, families and persons stricken with death of their primary breadwinner, and for the purposes of stabilizing its nation's welfare state. [123], On 29 October 2022, at least 153 people were crushed to death when a crowd surged in an alleyway during Halloween festivities in Seoul's Itaewon district. [387][388] The survival drama Squid Game, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, received critical acclaim and widespread international attention upon its release, becoming Netflix's most-watched series at launch and garnering a viewership of more than 142 million households during its first four weeks from launch.[389][390][391][392]. [334] From 2014 to 2019, the country ranked first among the most innovative countries in the Bloomberg Innovation Index. The United States is working with other governments, global initiatives including COVAX and the African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), and other partners to get COVID-19 vaccines to where they are needed most. Recently, research and development in genetics and cloning has received increasing attention, with the first successful cloning of a dog, Snuppy (in 2005), and the cloning of two females of an endangered species of gray wolves by the Seoul National University in 2007. About three thousand islands, mostly small and uninhabited, lie off the western and southern coasts of South Korea. Exercise normal precautions in South Korea. [156] The country is noted for its population density, which was an estimated 505 per square kilometer in 2015,[152] more than 10 times the global average. South Korea National Statistical Office's 19th Population and Housing Census (2015): A Brief History of the US-Korea Relations Prior to 1945. A unitary state is the opposite of a federation where powers are dispersed. Today, the CIA World Factbook describes South Korea's democracy as a "fully functioning modern democracy". Seoul hosted the 1967 and 1995 Asian Basketball Championship. Jeju is also the site of South Korea's highest point: Hallasan, an extinct volcano, reaches 1,950 meters (6,400 feet) above sea level. Generals in the Japanese Army: a Chosun prince, whose rank was honorary and who commanded no troops; and Lt. Gen. Bang, Ha-Nam, Study of Korean Corporations Retirement Allowance Schemes, Korea Labor Institute, 1998. [327] Excluding the workplace-based insured persons, all the other insured persons personally cover their own 9% contribution. [237], Historically, Korea had close relations with the dynasties in China, and some Korean kingdoms were members of the Imperial Chinese tributary system. The Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) entered into force on March 15, 2012, underscoring the depth of bilateral trade ties. [25][26] However, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. According to the 2005 census, Seoul had a population of 10 million inhabitants. The country has also been a member of the United Nations since 1991, when it became a member state at the same time as North Korea. Other major cities include Incheon, Busan, and Daegu. Negotiation groups can be formed by 20 or more members. The United States has stationed a substantial contingent of troops to defend South Korea. Innovation is Everywhere", "South Korean war on 'fake news' raises concern of censorship", "Is South Korea Sliding Toward Digital Dictatorship? [195], International opinion regarding the South Korean education system has been divided. [327] Around 60% of all Korean elders, age 65 and over are entitled to a 5% benefit of their past average income at an average of 90,000 Korean Won (KRW). There has been long-term agreement between the United States and South Korea that South Korea should eventually assume the lead for its own defense. One-party state: Head of state is executive or ceremonial; power constitutionally linked to a single political movement Countries in which constitutional provisions for government have been suspended (e.g. The aim of a communist state is to achieve communism or a sense of common ownership of the means of production and do away with social classes. [91][92] In the 19th century, the royal in-law families gained control of the government, leading to mass corruption and weakening of the state, and severe poverty and peasant rebellions throughout the country. Precise numbers are difficult since statistics do not record ethnicity and given many immigrants are ethnically Korean themselves, and some South Korean citizens are not ethnically Korean.[162]. [350] The government plans to develop Naro-2 by 2018.[351]. The Korean kingdoms also ruled over some Chinese kingdoms including the Khitan people and the Manchurians before the Qing dynasty and received tributes from them. Winters can be extremely cold with the minimum temperature dropping below 20C (4F) in the inland region of the country: in Seoul, the average January temperature range is 7 to 1C (19 to 34F), and the average August temperature range is 22 to 30C (72 to 86F). TOURIST VISA REQUIRED: Yes - visa or Korean Electronic Travel Authorization (K-ETA) as of September 1, 2021. Following China's entry into the war on behalf of North Korea later that year, a stalemate ensued for the . However, the polling did not indicate the extent to which respondents follow both sports. [99][100], On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, sparking the Korean War, the Cold War's first major conflict, which continued until 1953. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes, banchan (), which accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the constitution, and there is no state religion. Thus,its force was diminished andit only served as a trade center until it was conquered by Goguryeo in 313. [146] Under its current constitution the state is sometimes referred to as the Sixth Republic of South Korea. South Korean brands such as LG Electronics and Samsung are internationally famous and garnered South Korea's reputation for its quality electronics and other manufactured goods.[285]. Following the Armistice, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to a "Mutual Defense Treaty", under which an attack on either party in the Pacific area would summon a response from both. The average annual precipitation varies from 1,370 millimeters (54in) in Seoul to 1,470 millimeters (58in) in Busan. However, in 1392, General Yi Seong-gye, who had been ordered to attack China, turned his army around and staged a coup. [34] Gojoseon expanded until it controlled the northern Korean Peninsula and parts of Manchuria. Graduating from a top university is the ultimate marker of prestige, high socioeconomic status, promising marriage prospects, and a respectable career path. South Korean corporations Samsung and LG were ranked first and third largest mobile phone companies in the world in the first quarter of 2012, respectively. Until the 1990s, trot and traditional Korean folk based ballads dominated South Korean popular music. It is a unitary state, containing forty-seven administrative divisions, with the Emperor as its Head of State. President Biden committed the United States to be the worlds arsenal for vaccines, leading an international and coordinated vaccination effort, and announced that the United States will provide 1.2 billion doses of safe, effective vaccines free of cost to meet global needs and save lives now. South Korea has a presidential system governed by a directly-elected president and a unicameral legislature, the National Assembly, in which various political parties Cabinet members are accountable only to the president. Football has traditionally been regarded as the most popular sport in Korea, with Baseball as the second. It was not until the 1960s under the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee where South Korea's economy rapidly grew from industrialization and the Chaebol corporations such as Samsung and LG. In the North, however, a former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist, Kim Il-sung, was appointed premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in September. 3 October is National Foundation Day. However, it has retained many broad characteristics and with the exception of the short-lived Second Republic of South Korea, the country has always had a presidential system with an independent chief executive. Buddhism was introduced to Korea in the 4th century. Robotics has been included in the list of main national R&D projects in Korea since 2003. [138][139], Seoul's tap water recently became safe to drink, with city officials branding it "Arisu" in a bid to convince the public. There is heavy anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea because of a number of unsettled Japanese-Korean disputes, many of which stem from the period of Japanese occupation after the Japanese annexation of Korea. [300], South Korea's main gateway and largest airport is Incheon International Airport, serving 58 million passengers in 2016. . Dean Rusk and Charles H. Bonesteel III suggested the 38th parallel as the dividing line, as it placed Seoul under U.S. control. They are stationed in installations at Osan, Kunsan, Yongsan, Dongducheon, Sungbuk, Camp Humphreys, and Daegu, as well as at Camp Bonifas in the DMZ Joint Security Area. [286] South Korea's economy was one of the world's fastest-growing from the early 1960s to the late 1990s, and was still one of the fastest-growing developed countries in the 2000s, along with Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, the other three Asian Tigers. [362], The rapid growth of the industry has resulted in significant voids in regulation of ethics, as was highlighted by the scientific misconduct case involving Hwang Woo-Suk. [142], South Korea is a member of the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity Treaty, Kyoto Protocol (forming the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG), regarding UNFCCC,[143] with Mexico and Switzerland), Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (not into force), Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, and Whaling.[144]. [180][181] The country is well known for its highly feverish outlook on education, where its national obsession with education has been called "education fever". [22] Despite the coexistence of the spellings Corea and Korea in 19th century publications, some Koreans believe that Imperial Japan, around the time of the Japanese occupation, intentionally standardized the spelling on Korea, making Japan appear first alphabetically.[23][24]. [125], South Korea can be divided into four general regions: an eastern region of high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains; a western region of broad coastal plains, river basins, and rolling hills; a southwestern region of mountains and valleys; and a southeastern region dominated by the broad basin of the Nakdong River. [209] In a 2012 survey, 52% declared themselves "religious", 31% said they were "not religious" and 15% identified themselves as "convinced atheists". There are approximately 28,500 U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea,[275] most of them serving one year unaccompanied tours. [240], China has become South Korea's largest trading partner by far, sending 26% of South Korean exports in 2016 worth $124 billion, as well as an additional $32 billion worth of exports to Hong Kong. South Korea has a universal healthcare system. [209] Christianity, unlike in other East Asian countries, found fertile ground in Korea in the 18th century, and by the end of the 18th century it persuaded a large part of the population, as the declining monarchy supported it and opened the country to widespread proselytism as part of a project of Westernization. , with the later participation of millions of Chinese troops ] officially the Republic of South Korea amount of national. A population of 10 million inhabitants average annual precipitation varies from 1,370 millimeters 58in... The northern Korean Peninsula and parts of Manchuria ranking, up from 11 in 2013 number overall. Stationed in South Korea has sought unique technologies such is south korea a unitary state pyroprocessing to circumvent obstacles! Notable Korean performing arts it placed Seoul Under U.S. control as its Head of state North Korea, with as! 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