A Look at South Korea
The Republic of Korea

BACKGROUND
At one time, like China and Japan, Korea was ruled by a king that respected China’s imperial ruling over them. This is also known throughout Asia as the Mandate of Heaven, which states that only one emperor exists, which a divine position is given by the gods. Following this belief were centuries of peace with the Gojoseon Dynasty in 2333 BCE, the establishment of the unification of the Three Kingdoms in 668 AD, and ending with the Joseong Dynasty in 1910. After a long period of Korea’s strong lineage of dynasty rule, Japan invaded Korea in 1894 as a result of the Russo/ Japanese and Sino/Japanese Wars. Japan later claimed occupancy over all of Korea from 1910 to 1945. With a roughly 60 year rule over Korea, Japan forced the Korean people to adapt to Japanese rule by reading, writing, and speaking Japanese whenever in public. They were not to practice Korean language in society, at work, and in school. However, it was not until particular events, such as the Cold War and the Korean War, that caused the separation of Korea. The dividing line is called the KDZ, the Korean Demilitarized Zone, also known as the 38th parallel. The north is controlled by communist government and the south, a capitalist government. This separation still exists, not only separating the people based on political beliefs but also separating people’s family ties.

GOVERNMENT
The government of South Korea is a constitutional democracy. They have strong relations to the United States and have maintained a seat in the United Nations since 1991. The government has three branches, legislative, judicial, and executive, similar to the U.S. government. The branches operate at a national level, but also fulfill local duties. The Constitution of the republic of Korea was created in 1948. Although it has been revised throughout the years, it gave structure to the South Korean government. The first presidential election was held in 1987. However, the first leader of South Korea since the end of the Korean War was Syngman Rhee in 1943. There were revolts against Rhee for his corruption and dictatorship, which led to his resignation in 1960. After his resignation came a few years of political instability. The next leader was the former general, Park Chung-hee. He rescued the South Korean government from their political instability as well as increased the country’s economy. In 1979, he was assassinated. South Korea had numerous leaders succeeding Park, such as Roh Tae-woo in 1988, Kim Young Sam in 1993, Kim Dae-Jung in 1998, Roh Moo Hyun in 2003, and Lee Myung Bak, the current leader of South Korea.

DEMOGRAPHICS
The current population of South Korea is 48,850,000. Its most populated city is the capital, Seoul. Many of the people live in urban settings since the 1970s. This was due to a rapid economic expansion, causing migration from the countryside to the cities. Even after the separation of the Koreas, about four million people migrated from North to South Korea. The country is not only home to Koreans, but foreigners as well, roughly one million based on the 2007 census. Among the farmers, many of them, 41% as of 2006, were married to foreign women because not many Korean women desire to live in the country. Additionally, a U.S. presence exists in South Korea in their 31,000 U.S. military personnel. As of 2005, the majority of South Koreans, 46%, claim to be non-religious. The next biggest group is Christianity with 29.3% and Buddhism in third with 22.8% of the population. Curiously, South Korea has the lowest teen pregnancy rate. The climate is usually subtropical in summer months, but bitterly cold in the winter. South Korea has many competitive colleges and universities.

CULTURE
Since the separation from the North Korea in 1945, contemporary culture was emphasized and the Southern Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism encouraged people to embrace the traditional arts, as well as the modern through funding and education. Industrialization and urbanization has successfully increased the economy and enhanced their land. In major cities like Seoul, homes usually consist of a multi-generational family setting. Apart of South Korea’s culture is its style of mainstream music. Their music is known internationally as K-pop, Korean pop, which emulates American pop music, featuring talented young entertainers. This Korean Wave became known among many Asian communities. Additionally, both Koreas are the home of the international sport of Tae Kwon Do, a popular form of martial arts. Not only was this sport recognized in the 2000 Olympics, but is also an integral part of South Korean military standards. Other popular sports are baseball, soccer, and the soon to come 2010 Formula One race. Korean cuisine is similar to Chinese cuisine, but usually features some heavily seasoned entrees with sesame oil, soy salt, and other Korean ingredients. Like most Asian countries, Korean culture is full of high tech objects, such as cell phone, online games, and board games. Popular South Korean products are Samsung and LG.

LANGUAGE
The Korean population, both of North and South Korea, speaks Korean. There are some dialect differences but there is no linguistic barrier between the North and South Koreas. The phonetic writing system for South Korea is called Hangul.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
For over four decades, South Korea has risen to become the second fastest growing economy in the world. The country’s progression into a wealthy developed country has often been called the Miracle on the Han River. In the international community, South Korea has been nicknamed the Asian Tiger. With respectful honors and recognitions, the world views South Korea’s economy as a role model for many developing countries. South Korea is recognized as a highly competitive economic country with their one trillion dollar economy. The country keeps up with the times, developing an increasing influence in technology, such as robotics, energy, transportation, and biotechnology. Since the 1960s, rapid growth in industrialization has increased their worth. Although not many natural resources are produced in the country, industrialization has allowed South Korea to become one of the top ten exporters around the world. It is the world’s largest ship building country as of 2008. It is also the home of Korean manufactured automobiles, KIA and Hyundai, which is one of the top five’s automobile produced in the world. South Korea’s successful economic growth has been predicted to become the second richest economic country by 2050 with a GDP of $4 trillion.