
– Inhabitants: 48.2 million (UN, 2005)
– Capital: Seoul
– Region: 99,313 sq km (38,345 sq miles)
– Key language: Korean
– Big religions: Buddhism, Christianity
– Daily life expectancy: 73 yrs (gentlemen), 80 decades (ladies) (UN)
– Financial unit: received
This southern 50 percent of the Korean peninsula is the world’s window to Korea having preserved affable diplomatic relations with 170 nations in the world. South Korea has been setting up up a tourism profile that is slowly but outstandingly attaining international fame with the slogan “Glowing Korea”. A certainly dazzling tradition, the new “Korea Wave” that flooded Asia is now opening alone to a even bigger intercontinental viewers sharing with the globe its trendy and chic pop film and songs cultures and slicing edge technological innovation. With a high-tech industrialized economic climate, South Korea is the dwelling of top rated electronic and automobile manufacturers like Samsung, LG, Hyundai and Kia earning its spot as the 12th most significant economy in the earth.
GEOGRAPHY
South Korea lies at 37 00 127 30 E with a full place of 100,032.00 km2 (38,622.57 mi2). The larger component of South Korea’s topography is mountainous, with an ecologically sound 65% of the land place nonetheless comprised of forests and woodlands many thanks to its afforestation systems. Only a meagre 30% are arable lowlands. The highest level of the region is Halla-san, an extinct volcano in Jeju, at 1,950 metres (6,398 ft), whilst the Sea of Japan is the least expensive position at metres elevation. Seoul is the infamous capital of South Korea. The area at this time addresses ecological fears involving air top quality and acid rains, as nicely as deforestation brought about by rampant industrialization.
Weather
The climate in South Korea can be described as possibly humid continental climate or humid subtropical local climate. Just as it is the North, South Korea activities harshly cold winters and very hot and humid summers. Summers are madly wet with the full year’s concentration of rainfall on the months of June by means of September. The typical Seoul temperature in January is -2.5°C, and goes a substantial 29.5°C in August.
People today
As of March 19, 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Intercontinental Info Base (IDB) estimates a populace of 48,636,000 in South Korea. South Korea is also regarded as an ethnically homogenous inhabitants where by 99.9% are Koreans and the rest are a tiny Chinese minority.
Lifestyle
The North and South Korea are grounded on the very same traditional cultures with significant Chinese and Japanese influences. The differences arose from how they separately designed aside upon its division in 1945. South Korea’s cultural endeavours are to admit and embrace international influences as part of their contemporary identification, though North Korea, on the other hand, aims at undoing them.
LANGUAGE
KOREAN (Han-guk) is also the formal language of the location, very similar to the Korean spoken in the north, with dialect versions so delicate that the language is mutually intelligible. South Korea is also a single of the most linguistically homogenous international locations in the environment with more than 48 million speakers. Code-mixing or overseas phrases sandwiched in Korean sentences are broadly common and use of the Hanja or Chinese producing characters is occasional. South Korea’s writing method is also very similar to the North’s and is termed as Hangul. JAPANESE is also widely utilized in the location.
ENGLISH is the proposed second language taught from preschool to university-amount education and learning, but South Korea continue to feels a require to strengthen English skills by way of education and other English packages to increase national competitiveness.
Faith
South Korea procedures multi-religiosity but 50% of the inhabitants are undefined religiously, making it an atheist condition as the North. Christianity is the most dominant faith with 49% of the aforementioned 50 percent working towards it, while Buddhism falls at a not-so-distant 2nd with 47%. Other minimal religions are Shamanism, Confucianism, and the traditional Chondogyo (Heavenly Way).
Points of interest
The tourism sector of South Korea holds so substantially to boast with 8 UNESCO Cultural Heritage Web sites, 20 countrywide parks, eco-parks such as the Bosong Tea Discipline and Suncheon Bay Eco Park inSouth Jeolla, many cities of exclusive interest and aspect like bustling Busan or ancient Gyeongju, and normal wonders and treasures that operate a great number of. The UNESCO Globe Heritage Web pages lists as:
In 1995
1. Seokguram Grotto
2. Bulguksa Temple
3. Haeinsa Janggyeong Panjeon4. Jongmyo Shrine
In 1997
5. Changdeokgung Palace Complicated
6. Suwon Hwaseong Fortess
In 2000
7. Gyeongju Historic Areas
8. Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen Sites
Amid all this, South Korea certain has a handle for backpackers with its interesting countryside on the highway significantly less travelled that is a lot more than particular shy of vacationer crowds. If there be a mighty recommendation, be the initially to discover what has not been, since there certainly is one thing to uncover. Of training course, the Ecorium Venture by the Countrywide Ecological Institute is no key, but is a Need to Seem OUT FOR…
Food stuff
The entire delight of a typical South Korean food or pekpan can be accomplished with rice (a staple), soup, meat, vegetables, and a wide variety of aspect dishes, of which, you’d certainly expect kimchi. The aspect dishes on each and every meal is described by the very simple basic principle of “harmony and balance,” ingesting and spicing up as is personally essential to obtain in general gratification. The Cholla-do location is renowned for a variety of dishes, even though the crowd most loved stays to be BULGOGI.
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