text:
On this Mickopedia the feckin' language links are at the top of the oul' page across from the feckin' article title. Go to top.
2.1Ancient Korea
2.2Three Kingdoms of Korea
2.3Unified dynasties
2.4Modern history
2.4.1Korean War
2.4.2Post-Korean War (1960–1990)
2.4.3Contemporary South Korea
3Geography, climate and environment
3.1Geography
3.3Environment
4Government
5Administrative divisions
7Foreign relations
7.1North Korea
7.2China and Russia
7.3Japan
7.4European Union
7.5United States
8Military
8.1United States contingent
8.2Conscientious objection
9.1Transportation, energy and infrastructure
9.2Tourism
9.3South Korean National Pension System
10Science and technology
10.1Cyber security
10.2Aerospace engineerin'
10.3Robotics
10.4Biotechnology
11Culture
11.1Art
11.2Architecture
11.3Cuisine
11.4Entertainment
11.5Holidays
11.6Sports
15Further readin'
Country in East Asia
. For the bleedin' government in exile that used the bleedin' same name, see Provisional Government of the bleedin' Republic of Korea.
Coordinates: 36°N 128°E / 36°N 128°E / 36; 128
Daehan Minguk (RR)
Anthem: 애국가
"The Patriotic Song"
National seal
Territory controlled by the bleedin' Republic of Korea in dark green; territory claimed but not controlled in light green
37°33′N 126°58′E / 37.550°N 126.967°E / 37.550; 126.967
Korean (Pyojuneo)
Korean Sign Language[1]
Official script
Unitary presidential constitutional republic
• Prime Minister
Han Duck-soo
• Speaker of the oul' National Assembly
Kim Jin-pyo
• Chief Justice of the bleedin' Supreme Court
Kim Myeong-soo
• President of the oul' Constitutional Court
Yoo Nam-seok
Establishment history
2333 BCE (mythological)
• Three Kingdoms
57 BCE
• Balhae and Silla Kingdoms
• Goryeo dynasty
• Joseon dynasty
• Korean Empire
• Japanese annexation
• Independence from Japan declared
• Provisional Government
• Surrender of Japan
• US administration of Korea south of the 38th parallel
• ROK established
• Current constitution
100,363 km2 (38,750 sq mi) (107th)
0.3 (301 km2 [116 sq mi])
51,844,834[5] (28th)
507/km2 (1,313.1/sq mi)
$2.735 trillion[6] (14th)
$53,051[6] (28th)
$34,994[6] (32nd)
very high · 19th
Korean Republic won (₩) (KRW)
UTC+9 (Korea Standard Time)
yyyy년 m월 d일
yyyy. m. Whisht now and listen to this wan. d, like. (CE)
Drivin' side
Callin' code
.한국
South Korea,[b] officially the oul' Republic of Korea (ROK),[c] is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the oul' southern part of the Korean Peninsula and shares an oul' land border with North Korea.[d] The country's western border is formed by the bleedin' Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the oul' Sea of Japan. South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the oul' entire peninsula and adjacent islands, Lord bless us and save us. It has an oul' population of 51.75 million, of which roughly half live in the oul' Seoul Capital Area, the bleedin' fourth most populous metropolitan area in the bleedin' world. Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. Other major cities include Incheon, Busan, and Daegu.
The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the feckin' Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the oul' early 7th century BCE, enda story. Followin' the bleedin' unification of the oul' Three Kingdoms of Korea into Silla and Balhae in the oul' late 7th century, Korea was ruled by the bleedin' Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), for the craic. The succeedin' Korean Empire (1897–1910) was annexed in 1910 into the bleedin' Empire of Japan. Japanese rule ended followin' Japan's surrender in World War II, after which Korea was divided into two zones; an oul' northern zone occupied by the Soviet Union and a southern zone occupied by the United States. Jesus, Mary and holy Saint Joseph. After negotiations on reunification failed, the oul' latter became the feckin' Republic of Korea in August 1948 while the feckin' former became the bleedin' socialist Democratic People's Republic of Korea the oul' followin' month.
In 1950, an oul' North Korean invasion began the oul' Korean War, which saw extensive American-led United Nations intervention in support of the South, while China intervened to support the North, with Soviet assistance. After the war's end in 1953, the bleedin' country entered into a military alliance with the feckin' U.S., and its devastated economy began to soar, recordin' the feckin' fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world between 1980 and 1990. Despite lackin' natural resources, the bleedin' nation rapidly developed to become one of the bleedin' Four Asian Tigers based on international trade and economic globalization, integratin' itself within the oul' world economy with export-oriented industrialization; currently bein' one of the bleedin' largest exportin' nations in the bleedin' world, along with havin' one of the bleedin' largest foreign-exchange reserves in the oul' world.[9] The June Democratic Struggle led to the end of authoritarian rule in 1987 and the bleedin' country is now considered among the most advanced democracies in Asia, with the highest level of press freedom on the oul' continent.[10]
South Korea is a bleedin' regional power and a highly developed country, with its economy bein' ranked as the feckin' world's thirteenth-largest by nominal GDP and the bleedin' fourteenth-largest by GDP (PPP). Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. It ranks nineteenth globally by Human Development Index, and has the third-highest life expectancy in the feckin' world. G'wan now and listen to this wan. In recent years, the bleedin' country has been facin' an agin' population and the feckin' lowest fertility rate in the feckin' world. South Korea's citizens enjoy one of the bleedin' world's fastest Internet connection speeds and the oul' densest high-speed railway network, so it is. The country is the world's ninth-largest exporter and ninth-largest importer. Would ye swally this in a minute now?Its armed forces are ranked as one of the oul' world's strongest militaries, with the world's second-largest standin' army by military and paramilitary personnel. Since the oul' 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 holy phenomenon referred to as the feckin' Korean wave.[11][12][13] It is a member of the oul' OECD's Development Assistance Committee, the feckin' G20, the oul' IPEF, and the feckin' Paris Club.
See also: Names of Korea
The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo, also known as Koryŏ, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea.
The name Korea derives from the oul' name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the feckin' ancient kingdom of Goguryeo, which was considered a great power of East Asia durin' its time, in the 5th century as a bleedin' shortened form of its name.[14][15][16] The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo,[17][18] and thus inherited its name, which was pronounced by the bleedin' visitin' Arab and Persian merchants as "Korea".[19] The modern name of Korea, appears in the first Portuguese maps of 1568 by João vaz Dourado as Conrai [20] and later in the late 16th century and early 17th century as Korea (Corea) in the feckin' maps of Teixeira Albernaz of 1630.[21]
The kingdom of Goryeo became first known to Westerners when Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca in 1511 and described the bleedin' peoples who traded with this part of the feckin' world known by the feckin' Portuguese as the oul' Gores.[22] Despite the oul' coexistence of the spellings Corea and Korea in 19th century publications, some Koreans believe that Imperial Japan, around the oul' time of the feckin' Japanese occupation, intentionally standardized the feckin' spellin' on Korea, makin' Japan appear first alphabetically.[23][24]
After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the oul' official name for the entire territory, though it was not universally accepted. The new official name has its origin in the feckin' ancient kingdom of Gojoseon (2333 BCE). G'wan now. In 1897, the oul' Joseon dynasty changed the oul' official name of the oul' country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk (Korean Empire). Would ye swally this in a minute now?The name Daehan (Great Han) derives from Samhan (Three Han), referrin' to the bleedin' Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the oul' ancient confederacies in the feckin' southern Korean Peninsula.[25][26] However, the feckin' name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the bleedin' official name, Lord bless us and save us. Under Japanese rule, the bleedin' two names Han and Joseon coexisted. Whisht now. There were several groups who fought for independence, the bleedin' most notable bein' the feckin' Provisional Government of the feckin' Republic of Korea (대한민국 임시정부 / 大韓民國臨時政府).
Followin' the oul' surrender of Japan, in 1945, the bleedin' "Republic of Korea" (대한민국 / 大韓民國, IPA: ˈtɛ̝ːɦa̠nminɡuk̚, lit. 'Great Korean People's State'; listen) was adopted as the legal English name for the feckin' new country. However, it is not a feckin' direct translation of the bleedin' Korean name.[27] As an oul' result, the Korean name "Daehan Minguk" is sometimes used by South Koreans as a holy metonym to refer to the oul' Korean ethnicity (or "race") as a whole, rather than just the feckin' South Korean state.[28][27] Conversely, the bleedin' official name of North Korea in English, the bleedin' "Democratic People's Republic of Korea", is a feckin' direct translation of the feckin' Korean name.
Since the bleedin' government only controlled the oul' southern part of the oul' Korean Peninsula, the oul' informal term "South Korea" was coined, becomin' increasingly common in the bleedin' Western world, grand so. While South Koreans use Han (or Hanguk) to refer to both Koreas collectively, North Koreans and ethnic Koreans livin' in China and Japan use the term Joseon instead.
Main article: History of Korea
Ancient Korea
era, an oul' UNESCO World Heritage Site
Balhae (violet) and Silla (blue), circa 830 CE
The oldest survivin' metal movable type book, the oul' Jikji, was printed in 1377, and Goryeo created the oul' world's first metal-based movable type in 1234.[29]
The Tripitaka Koreana — the bleedin' Buddhist canon (Tripiṭaka) carved onto roughly 80,000 woodblocks and stored (and still remainin') at Haeinsa, also an oul' UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period.[30][31] The history of Korea begins with the feckin' foundin' of Joseon (also known as "Gojoseon", or Old Joseon, to differentiate it with the bleedin' 14th century dynasty) in 2333 BCE by Dangun, accordin' to Korea's foundation mythology.[32][33] Gojoseon was noted in Chinese records in the oul' early 7th century.[34] Gojoseon expanded until it controlled the feckin' northern Korean Peninsula and parts of Manchuria. Bejaysus here's a quare one right here now. Gija Joseon was purportedly founded in the 12th century BCE, but its existence and role have been controversial in the oul' modern era.[33][35] In 108 BCE, the bleedin' Han dynasty defeated Wiman Joseon and installed four commanderies in the northern Korean peninsula. Jesus, Mary and holy Saint Joseph. Three of the oul' commanderies fell or retreated westward within a bleedin' few decades. Be the holy feck, this is a quare wan. As Lelang commandery was destroyed and rebuilt around this time, the feckin' place gradually moved toward Liaodong. Thus, its force was diminished and it only served as a holy trade center until it was conquered by Goguryeo in 313.[36][37][38]
Three Kingdoms of Korea
Durin' the bleedin' period known as the Proto–Three Kingdoms of Korea, the bleedin' states of Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye and Samhan occupied the bleedin' whole Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria, like. From them, Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla emerged to control the oul' peninsula as the feckin' Three Kingdoms of Korea, that's fierce now what? Goguryeo, the largest and most powerful among them, was a holy highly militaristic state,[39] and competed with various Chinese dynasties durin' its 700 years of history. Goguryeo experienced a holy golden age under Gwanggaeto the bleedin' Great and his son Jangsu,[40][41][42][43] who both subdued Baekje and Silla durin' their times, achievin' a holy brief unification of the feckin' Three Kingdoms of Korea and becomin' the bleedin' most dominant power on the feckin' Korean Peninsula.[44][45] In addition to contestin' for control of the feckin' Korean Peninsula, Goguryeo had many military conflicts with various Chinese dynasties, most notably the feckin' Goguryeo–Sui War, in which Goguryeo defeated an oul' huge force said to number over a holy million men.[46] Baekje was an oul' great maritime power;[47] its nautical skill, which made it the oul' Phoenicia of East Asia, was instrumental in the oul' dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and continental culture to Japan.[48][49] Baekje was once a holy great military power on the oul' Korean Peninsula, especially durin' the oul' time of Geunchogo,[50] but was critically defeated by Gwanggaeto the Great and declined.[citation needed] Silla was the feckin' smallest and weakest of the three, but it used cunnin' diplomatic means to make opportunistic pacts and alliances with the more powerful Korean kingdoms, and eventually Tang China, to its great advantage.[51][52]
The unification of the bleedin' Three Kingdoms by Silla in 676 led to the bleedin' North South States Period, in which much of the feckin' Korean Peninsula was controlled by Later Silla, while Balhae controlled the feckin' northern parts of Goguryeo. Soft oul' day. Balhae was founded by a bleedin' Goguryeo general and formed as a holy successor state to Goguryeo. Durin' its height, Balhae controlled most of Manchuria and parts of the feckin' Russian Far East, and was called the "Prosperous Country in the East".[53] Later Silla was a holy golden age of art and culture,[54][55][56][57] as evidenced by the oul' Hwangnyongsa, Seokguram, and Emille Bell, so it is. Relationships between Korea and China remained relatively peaceful durin' this time. Chrisht Almighty. Later Silla carried on the maritime prowess of Baekje, which acted like the oul' Phoenicia of medieval East Asia,[58] and durin' the oul' 8th and 9th centuries dominated the bleedin' seas of East Asia and the feckin' trade between China, Korea and Japan, most notably durin' the feckin' time of Jang Bogo; in addition, Silla people made overseas communities in China on the bleedin' Shandong Peninsula and the bleedin' mouth of the oul' Yangtze River.[59][60][61][62] Later Silla was a prosperous and wealthy country,[63] and its metropolitan capital of Gyeongju[64] was the bleedin' fourth largest city in the feckin' world.[65][66][67][68] Buddhism flourished durin' this time, and many Korean Buddhists gained great fame among Chinese Buddhists[69] and contributed to Chinese Buddhism,[70] includin': Woncheuk, Wonhyo, Uisang, Musang,[71][72][73][74] and Kim Gyo-gak, a bleedin' Silla prince whose influence made Mount Jiuhua one of the feckin' Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism.[75] However, Later Silla weakened under internal strife and the revival of Baekje and Goguryeo, which led to the oul' Later Three Kingdoms period in the late ninth century.
Unified dynasties
Changdeok Palace, one of the Five Grand Palaces built durin' the Joseon Dynasty and another UNESCO World Heritage Site
In 936, the oul' Later Three Kingdoms were united by Wang Geon, a descendant of Goguryeo nobility,[76] who established Goryeo as the bleedin' successor state of Goguryeo.[17][18][77][78] Balhae had fallen to the Khitan Empire in 926, and a feckin' decade later the feckin' last crown prince of Balhae fled south to Goryeo, where he was warmly welcomed and included into the oul' rulin' family by Wang Geon, thus unifyin' the two successor nations of Goguryeo.[79] Like Silla, Goryeo was a bleedin' highly cultural state, and invented the bleedin' metal movable type printin' press.[29] After defeatin' the feckin' Khitan Empire, which was the feckin' most powerful empire of its time,[80][81] in the Goryeo–Khitan War, Goryeo experienced an oul' golden age that lasted a century, durin' which the oul' Tripitaka Koreana was completed and there were great developments in printin' and publishin', promotin' learnin' and dispersin' knowledge on philosophy, literature, religion, and science; by 1100, there were 12 universities that produced famous scholars and scientists.[82][83] However, the Mongol invasions in the bleedin' 13th century greatly weakened the feckin' kingdom. Soft oul' day. Goryeo was never conquered by the Mongols, but exhausted after three decades of fightin', the bleedin' Korean court sent its crown prince to the feckin' Yuan capital to swear allegiance to Kublai Khan, who accepted, and married one of his daughters to the oul' Korean crown prince.[84] Henceforth, Goryeo continued to rule Korea, though as a feckin' tributary ally to the feckin' Mongols for the next 86 years. Durin' this period, the oul' two nations became intertwined as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses,[84] and the feckin' last empress of the bleedin' Yuan dynasty was a bleedin' Korean princess. Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. In the mid-14th century, Goryeo drove out the bleedin' Mongols to regain its northern territories, briefly conquered Liaoyang, and defeated invasions by the Red Turbans, fair play. However, in 1392, General Yi Seong-gye, who had been ordered to attack China, turned his army around and staged a feckin' coup.
Yi Seong-gye declared the oul' new name of Korea as "Joseon" in reference to Gojoseon, and moved the bleedin' capital to Hanseong (one of the oul' old names of Seoul).[85] The first 200 years of the oul' Joseon dynasty were marked by peace, and saw great advancements in science[86][87] and education,[88] as well as the oul' creation of Hangul by Sejong the feckin' Great to promote literacy among the feckin' common people.[89] The prevailin' ideology of the time was Neo-Confucianism, which was epitomized by the feckin' seonbi class: nobles who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity. Be the hokey here's a quare wan. Between 1592 and 1598, Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched invasions of Korea, but his advance was halted by Korean forces (most notably the feckin' Joseon Navy led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his renowned "turtle ship") with assistance from Righteous Army militias formed by Korean civilians, and Min' dynasty Chinese troops.[90] Through a feckin' series of successful battles of attrition, the oul' Japanese forces were eventually forced to withdraw, and relations between all parties became normalized, bejaysus. However, the Manchus took advantage of Joseon's war-weakened state and invaded in 1627 and 1637, and then went on to conquer the oul' destabilized Min' dynasty, Lord bless us and save us. After normalizin' relations with the new Qin' dynasty, Joseon experienced a holy nearly 200-year period of peace. Jaykers! Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo particularly led a new renaissance of the bleedin' Joseon dynasty durin' the oul' 18th century.[91][92] In the oul' 19th century, the feckin' royal in-law families gained control of the feckin' government, leadin' to mass corruption and weakenin' of the bleedin' state, and severe poverty and peasant rebellions throughout the oul' country, the shitehawk. Furthermore, the feckin' Joseon government adopted a feckin' strict isolationist policy, earnin' the oul' nickname "the hermit kingdom", but ultimately failed to protect itself against imperialism and was forced to open its borders. Listen up now to this fierce wan. After the First Sino-Japanese War and the oul' Russo-Japanese War, Korea was annexed by Japan (1910–1945). Chrisht Almighty. What followed was a holy period of forced assimilation, in which Korean language, culture, and history were suppressed.[93]
Towards the end of World War II, the U.S, to be sure. proposed dividin' the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones (a U.S. and Soviet one), the shitehawk. Dean Rusk and Charles H. Bonesteel III suggested the bleedin' 38th parallel as the oul' dividin' line, as it placed Seoul under U.S. control, that's fierce now what? To the surprise of Rusk and Bonesteel, the Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea.[94]
Main article: History of South Korea
The War Memorial of Korea, built in remembrance of the oul' Korean War (1950–1953)
Between 1962 and 1994, the bleedin' South Korean economy grew at an average of 10% annually, fueled by annual export growth of 20%,[95] in a holy period called the feckin' Miracle on the feckin' Han River.
Despite the feckin' initial plan of a unified Korea in the oul' 1943 Cairo Declaration, escalatin' Cold War antagonism between the Soviet Union and the feckin' United States eventually led to the oul' establishment of separate governments, each with its own ideology, leadin' to the oul' division of Korea into two political entities in 1948: North Korea and South Korea, the cute hoor. In the bleedin' South, Syngman Rhee, an opponent of communism, who had been backed and appointed by the feckin' United States as head of the oul' provisional government, won the first presidential elections of the feckin' newly declared Republic of Korea in May. I hope yiz are all ears now. In the bleedin' North, however, a bleedin' former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist, Kim Il-sung, was appointed premier of the bleedin' Democratic People's Republic of Korea in September.
In October, the bleedin' Soviet Union declared Kim Il-sung's government as sovereign over both parts. Chrisht Almighty. The UN declared Rhee's government as "a lawful government havin' effective control and jurisdiction over that part of Korea where the oul' UN Temporary Commission on Korea was able to observe and consult" and the Government "based on elections which was observed by the Temporary Commission" in addition to a feckin' statement that "this is the bleedin' only such government in Korea."[96] Both leaders began an authoritarian repression of their political opponents inside their region, seekin' for a unification of Korea under their control.[97] While South Korea's request for military support was denied by the feckin' United States,[98] North Korea's military was heavily reinforced by the bleedin' Soviet Union.[99][100]
On 25 June 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, sparkin' the bleedin' Korean War, the Cold War's first major conflict, which continued until 1953, would ye believe it? At the time, the feckin' Soviet Union had boycotted the feckin' United Nations (UN), thus forfeitin' their veto rights. This allowed the bleedin' UN to intervene in a holy civil war when it became apparent that the oul' superior North Korean forces would unify the oul' entire country. The Soviet Union and China backed North Korea, with the feckin' later participation of millions of Chinese troops. After an ebb and flow that saw both sides facin' defeat with massive losses among Korean civilians in both the north and the feckin' south, the feckin' war eventually reached a stalemate, be the hokey! Durin' the oul' war, Rhee's party promoted the bleedin' One-People Principle, an effort to build an obedient citizenry through ethnic homogeneity and authoritarian appeals to nationalism.[101]
The 1953 armistice, never signed by South Korea, split the peninsula along the feckin' demilitarized zone near the original demarcation line. No peace treaty was ever signed, resultin' in the feckin' two countries remainin' technically at war. Whisht now and eist liom. Approximately 3 million people died in the oul' Korean War, with a higher proportional civilian death toll than World War II or the bleedin' Vietnam War, makin' it one of the oul' deadliest conflicts of the oul' Cold War era.[102][103] In addition, virtually all of Korea's major cities were destroyed by the oul' war.[104]
Post-Korean War (1960–1990)
President Park Chung-hee played a holy pivotal role in rapidly developin' South Korea's economy through export-oriented industrialization.
In 1960, a student uprisin' (the "April 19 Revolution") led to the feckin' resignation of the bleedin' autocratic then-President Syngman Rhee. This was followed by 13 months of political instability as South Korea was led by a feckin' weak and ineffectual government. This instability was banjaxed by the feckin' 16 May 1961 coup led by General Park Chung-hee. Jasus. As president, Park oversaw a holy period of rapid export-led economic growth enforced by political repression.
Park was heavily criticized as a feckin' ruthless military dictator, who in 1972 extended his rule by creatin' a new constitution, which gave the feckin' president sweepin' (almost dictatorial) powers and permitted yer man to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms, bedad. The Korean economy developed significantly durin' Park's tenure. The government developed the nationwide expressway system, the oul' Seoul subway system, and laid the feckin' foundation for economic development durin' his 17-year tenure, which ended with his assassination in 1979.
The years after Park's assassination were marked again by political turmoil, as the previously suppressed opposition leaders all campaigned to run for president in the oul' sudden political void. Here's another quare one. In 1979, General Chun Doo-hwan led the bleedin' coup d'état of December Twelfth. Followin' the coup d'état, Chun Doo-hwan planned to rise to power through several measures. Jasus. On 17 May, Chun Doo-hwan forced the Cabinet to expand martial law to the feckin' whole nation, which had previously not applied to the island of Jejudo. The expanded martial law closed universities, banned political activities, and further curtailed the press. Chun's assumption of the oul' presidency through the events of 17 May triggered nationwide protests demandin' democracy; these protests were particularly focused in the bleedin' city of Gwangju, to which Chun sent special forces to violently suppress the feckin' Gwangju Democratization Movement.[105]
Chun subsequently created the National Defense Emergency Policy Committee and took the presidency accordin' to his political plan. Jaysis. Chun and his government held South Korea under a feckin' despotic rule until 1987, when a feckin' Seoul National University student, Park Jong-chul, was tortured to death.[106] On 10 June, the Catholic Priests Association for Justice revealed the oul' incident, ignitin' the oul' June Democratic Struggle across the country, game ball! Eventually, Chun's party, the Democratic Justice Party, and its leader, Roh Tae-woo, announced the oul' June 29 Declaration, which included the oul' direct election of the bleedin' president. Roh went on to win the bleedin' election by a bleedin' narrow margin against the oul' two main opposition leaders, Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam. In fairness now. Seoul hosted the oul' Olympic Games in 1988, widely regarded as successful and a holy significant boost for South Korea's global image and economy.[107]
South Korea was formally invited to become a feckin' member of the feckin' United Nations in 1991, bedad. The transition of Korea from autocracy to modern democracy was marked in 1997 by the election of Kim Dae-jung, who was sworn in as the feckin' eighth president of South Korea, on 25 February 1998. In fairness now. His election was significant given that he had in earlier years been a political prisoner sentenced to death (later commuted to exile). He won against the feckin' backdrop of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, where he took IMF advice to restructure the feckin' economy and the bleedin' nation soon recovered its economic growth, albeit at an oul' shlower pace.[108]
Contemporary South Korea
President Kim Dae-jung, the feckin' 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for advancin' democracy and human rights in South Korea and East Asia and for reconciliation with North Korea, was sometimes called the feckin' "Nelson Mandela of Asia."[108]
In June 2000, as part of president Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" of engagement, a feckin' North–South summit took place in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.[109] Later that year, Kim received the feckin' Nobel Peace Prize "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular".[110] However, because of discontent among the oul' population for fruitless approaches to the bleedin' North under the previous administrations and, amid North Korean provocations, a conservative government was elected in 2007 led by President Lee Myung-bak, former mayor of Seoul.[111] Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan jointly co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[112] However, South Korean and Japanese relations later soured because of conflictin' claims of sovereignty over the feckin' Liancourt Rocks.[113]
South Korea became the oul' first non-G7 chair of the bleedin' G-20 when it hosted the 2010 Seoul summit.[114]
In 2010, there was an escalation in attacks by North Korea. Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. In March 2010 the South Korean warship ROKS Cheonan was sunk leadin' to the death of 46 South Korean sailors, allegedly by a North Korean submarine, that's fierce now what? In November 2010 Yeonpyeong island was attacked by a feckin' significant North Korean artillery barrage, with 4 people dyin', fair play. The lack of a strong response to these attacks from both South Korea and the feckin' international community (the official UN report declined to explicitly name North Korea as the oul' perpetrator for the oul' Cheonan sinkin') caused significant anger with the oul' South Korean public.[115]
South Korea saw another milestone in 2012 with the feckin' first ever female president Park Geun-hye elected and assumin' office. Daughter of another former president, Park Chung-hee, she carried on a holy conservative brand of politics.[116] President Park Geun-hye's administration was formally accused of corruption, bribery, and influence-peddlin' for the oul' involvement of close friend Choi Soon-sil in state affairs. There followed a bleedin' series of massive public demonstrations from November 2016[117] and she was removed from office.[118] After the feckin' fallout of President Park's impeachment and dismissal, new elections were held and Moon Jae-in of the Democratic party won the oul' presidency, assumin' office on 10 May 2017.[119] His tenure saw an improvin' political relationship with North Korea, some increasin' divergence in the military alliance with the feckin' United States, and the oul' successful hostin' of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.[120] In April 2018, former president Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in jail, because of abuse of power and corruption.[121] The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the bleedin' nation since 2020. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. That same year, South Korea recorded more deaths than births, resultin' in a holy population decline for the oul' first time on record.[122]
In March 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol, the feckin' candidate of conservative opposition People Power Party, won a holy close election over Democratic Party candidate by the feckin' narrowest margin ever. On 10 May 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol was sworn in as South Korea's new president to succeed Moon.[123]
On 29 October 2022, at least 153 people were crushed to death when a crowd surged in an alleyway durin' Halloween festivities in Seoul's Itaewon district, begorrah. President Yoon declared a feckin' state of official national mournin'.[124]
Geography, climate and environment
Main articles: Geography of South Korea and Geology of South Korea
Topography of South Korea
South Korea occupies the feckin' southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, which extends some 1,100 km (680 mi) from the Asian mainland. This mountainous peninsula is flanked by the Yellow Sea to the oul' west, and the Sea of Japan to the bleedin' east. Stop the lights! Its southern tip lies on the Korea Strait and the feckin' East China Sea.
The country, includin' all its islands, lies between latitudes 33° and 39°N, and longitudes 124° and 130°E. Chrisht Almighty. Its total area is 100,032 square kilometers (38,622.57 sq mi).[125]
South Korea can be divided into four general regions: an eastern region of high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains; a feckin' western region of broad coastal plains, river basins, and rollin' hills; a holy southwestern region of mountains and valleys; and a feckin' southeastern region dominated by the feckin' broad basin of the Nakdong River.[126] South Korea is home to three terrestrial ecoregions: Central Korean deciduous forests, Manchurian mixed forests, and Southern Korea evergreen forests.[127]
South Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous, most of which is not arable, would ye believe it? Lowlands, located primarily in the west and southeast, make up only 30% of the total land area.
About three thousand islands, mostly small and uninhabited, lie off the western and southern coasts of South Korea. Jeju-do is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the oul' southern coast of South Korea, Lord bless us and save us. It is the bleedin' country's largest island, with an area of 1,845 square kilometers (712 square miles), like. Jeju is also the feckin' site of South Korea's highest point: Hallasan, an extinct volcano, reaches 1,950 meters (6,400 feet) above sea level. Whisht now and eist liom. The easternmost islands of South Korea include Ulleungdo and Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima), while Marado and Socotra Rock are the feckin' southernmost islands of South Korea.[126]
South Korea has 20 national parks and popular nature places like the oul' Boseong Tea Fields, Suncheon Bay Ecological Park, and the oul' first national park of Jirisan.[128]
Main article: Climate of South Korea
Source: [129]
Average max, game ball! and min. Arra' would ye listen to this shite? temperatures in °F
South Korea tends to have a holy humid continental climate and a humid subtropical climate, and is affected by the feckin' East Asian monsoon, with precipitation heavier in summer durin' an oul' short rainy season called jangma (장마), which begins end of June through the feckin' end of July. Winters can be extremely cold with the oul' minimum temperature droppin' below −20 °C (−4 °F) in the bleedin' inland region of the bleedin' country: in Seoul, the bleedin' average January temperature range is −7 to 1 °C (19 to 34 °F), and the average August temperature range is 22 to 30 °C (72 to 86 °F). Winter temperatures are higher along the oul' southern coast and considerably lower in the oul' mountainous interior.[130] Summer can be uncomfortably hot and humid, with temperatures exceedin' 30 °C (86 °F) in most parts of the feckin' country, Lord bless us and save us. South Korea has four distinct seasons; sprin', summer, autumn and winter. Sprin' usually lasts from late March to early May, summer from mid-May to early September, autumn from mid-September to early November, and winter from mid-November to mid-March.
Rainfall is concentrated in the summer months of June through September. The southern coast is subject to late summer typhoons that brin' strong winds, heavy rains and sometimes floods. The average annual precipitation varies from 1,370 millimeters (54 in) in Seoul to 1,470 millimeters (58 in) in Busan.
Main articles: Environment of South Korea, Pollution in South Korea, and Climate change in South Korea
Jeju Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Cheonggyecheon river is a modern public recreation space in downtown Seoul.
Durin' the bleedin' first 20 years of South Korea's growth surge, little effort was made to preserve the feckin' environment.[131] Unchecked industrialization and urban development have resulted in deforestation and the oul' ongoin' destruction of wetlands such as the bleedin' Songdo Tidal Flat.[132] However, there have been recent efforts to balance these problems, includin' a government run $84 billion five-year green growth project that aims to boost energy efficiency and green technology.[133]
The green-based economic strategy is an oul' comprehensive overhaul of South Korea's economy, utilizin' nearly two percent of the national GDP. Stop the lights! The greenin' initiative includes such efforts as a nationwide bike network, solar and wind energy, lowerin' oil dependent vehicles, backin' daylight savin' time and extensive usage of environmentally friendly technologies such as LEDs in electronics and lightin'.[134] The country – already the bleedin' world's most wired – plans to build a feckin' nationwide next-generation network that will be 10 times faster than broadband facilities, in order to reduce energy usage.[134]
The renewable portfolio standard program with renewable energy certificates runs from 2012 to 2022.[135] Quota systems favor large, vertically integrated generators and multinational electric utilities, if only because certificates are generally denominated in units of one megawatt-hour. Jasus. They are also more difficult to design and implement than a holy Feed-in tariff.[136] Around 350 residential micro combined heat and power units were installed in 2012.[137]
In 2017, South Korea was the oul' world's seventh largest emitter of carbon emissions and the oul' fifth largest emitter per capita, enda story. The president Moon Jae-in pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions – which contribute to climate change – to zero in 2050.[138][139]
Seoul's tap water recently became safe to drink, with city officials brandin' it "Arisu" in a holy bid to convince the bleedin' public.[140] Efforts have also been made with afforestation projects, the cute hoor. Another multibillion-dollar project was the restoration of Cheonggyecheon, a feckin' stream runnin' through downtown Seoul that had earlier been paved over by an oul' motorway.[141] One major challenge is air quality, with acid rain, sulfur oxides, and annual yellow dust storms bein' particular problems.[131] It is acknowledged that many of these difficulties are a bleedin' result of South Korea's proximity to China, which is a feckin' major air polluter.[131] South Korea had a bleedin' 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.02/10, rankin' it 87th globally out of 172 countries.[142]
South Korea is an oul' member of the bleedin' Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity Treaty, Kyoto Protocol (formin' the oul' Environmental Integrity Group (EIG), regardin' UNFCCC,[143] with Mexico and Switzerland), Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the bleedin' Sea, Marine Dumpin', Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (not into force), Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, and Whalin'.[144]
Main articles: Government of South Korea and Politics of South Korea
Separation of powers and the bleedin' election system of South Korea
President Han Duck-soo
The South Korean government's structure is determined by the Constitution of the bleedin' Republic of Korea. Would ye swally this in a minute now?Like many democratic states,[145] South Korea has a feckin' government divided into three branches: executive, judicial, and legislative. Right so. The executive and legislative branches operate primarily at the bleedin' national level, although various ministries in the bleedin' executive branch also carry out local functions. The judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels. Here's a quare one for ye. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. South Korea is a constitutional democracy.
The National Assembly of South Korea
The constitution has been revised several times since its first promulgation in 1948 at independence. Sufferin' Jaysus listen to this. However, it has retained many broad characteristics and with the bleedin' exception of the feckin' short-lived Second Republic of South Korea, the oul' country has always had an oul' presidential system with an independent chief executive.[146] Under its current constitution the bleedin' state is sometimes referred to as the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The first direct election was also held in 1948.
Although South Korea experienced a series of military dictatorships from the oul' 1960s until the feckin' 1980s, it has since developed into a successful liberal democracy. I hope yiz are all ears now. Today, the bleedin' CIA World Factbook describes South Korea's democracy as a "fully functionin' modern democracy".[147] South Korea is ranked 45th on the Corruption Perceptions Index (9th in the feckin' Asia-Pacific region), with a bleedin' score of 57 out of 100.[148]
Main article: Administrative divisions of South Korea
See also: Provinces of South Korea, Special cities of South Korea, and Provinces of Korea
The major administrative divisions in South Korea are eight provinces, one special self-governin' province, six metropolitan cities (self-governin' cities that are not part of any province), one special city and one special self-governin' city.
Namea
Populationc
Chungcheong
N. Gyeongsang
N. Jeolla
S. Sufferin' Jaysus listen to this. Gyeongsang
S, would ye believe it? Jeolla
Korea Strait
(Busan Strait)
(Tsushima Strait)
Sea of Japan
(East Sea)
Special city (Teukbyeol-si)a
Seoul 서울특별시 서울特別市b 9,830,452
Metropolitan city (Gwangyeok-si)a
Busan 부산광역시 釜山廣域市 3,460,707
Daegu 대구광역시 大邱廣域市 2,471,136
Incheon 인천광역시 仁川廣域市 2,952,476
Gwangju 광주광역시 光州廣域市 1,460,972
Daejeon 대전광역시 大田廣域市 1,496,123
Ulsan 울산광역시 蔚山廣域市 1,161,303
Special self-governin' city (Teukbyeol-jachi-si)a
Sejong 세종특별자치시 世宗特別自治市 295,041
Province (Do)a
Gyeonggi 경기도 京畿道 12,941,604
Gangwon 강원도 江原道 1,545,452
North Chungcheong 충청북도 忠淸北道 1,595,164
South Chungcheong 충청남도 忠淸南道 2,120,666
North Jeolla 전라북도 全羅北道 1,847,089
South Jeolla 전라남도 全羅南道 1,890,412
North Gyeongsang 경상북도 慶尙北道 2,682,897
South Gyeongsang 경상남도 慶尙南道 3,377,126
Special self-governin' province (Teukbyeol-jachi-do)a
Jeju 제주특별자치도 濟州特別自治道 661,511
a Revised Romanisation; b See Names of Seoul; c May As of 2018[update].[149]
Main article: Demographics of South Korea
See also: Koreans and List of cities in South Korea
Population pyramid of South Korea in 2021
Population[150][151]
In April 2016, South Korea's population was estimated to be around 50.8 million by National Statistical Office, with continuin' decline of workin' age population and total fertility rate.[152][153] In a holy further indication of South Korea's dramatic decline in fertility, in 2020 the country recorded more deaths than births, resultin' in an oul' population decline for the bleedin' first time since modern records began.[154][155] In 2021, the feckin' fertility rate stood at just 0.81 children per woman.[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, like. Aside from micro-states and city-states, South Korea is the oul' world's third most densely-populated country.[157] In practice the bleedin' population density in much of South Korea is higher than the national one, as most of the oul' country's land is uninhabitable due to bein' used for other purposes such as farmin'.[157] Most South Koreans live in urban areas, because of rapid migration from the bleedin' countryside durin' the country's quick economic expansion in the oul' 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.[158] The capital city of Seoul is also the feckin' country's largest city and chief industrial center. Sufferin' Jaysus. Accordin' to the 2005 census, Seoul had a feckin' population of 10 million inhabitants. Bejaysus here's a quare one right here now. The Seoul National Capital Area has 24.5 million inhabitants (about half of South Korea's entire population) makin' it the feckin' world's second largest metropolitan area. Here's a quare one. Other major cities include Busan (3.5 million), Incheon (3.0 million), Daegu (2.5 million), Daejeon (1.4 million), Gwangju (1.4 million) and Ulsan (1.1 million).[159]
Koreans in traditional dress
The population has also been shaped by international migration. After World War II and the division of the feckin' Korean Peninsula, about four million people from North Korea crossed the oul' border to South Korea. This trend of net entry reversed over the bleedin' next 40 years because of emigration, especially to North America through the oul' United States and Canada. Would ye swally this in a minute now?South Korea's total population in 1955 was 21.5 million,[160] and has more than doubled, to 50 million, by 2010.[161]
South Korea is considered one of the bleedin' most ethnically homogeneous societies in the oul' world with ethnic Koreans representin' approximately 96% of total population. Sure this is it. Precise numbers are difficult to estimate since statistics do not record ethnicity and given many immigrants are ethnically Korean themselves, and some South Korean citizens are not ethnically Korean.[162]
The percentage of foreign nationals has been growin' rapidly since late 1990s.[163] As of 2016[update], South Korea had 1,413,758 foreign residents, 2.75 percent of the feckin' population;[162] however, many of them are ethnic Koreans with an oul' foreign citizenship. Here's another quare one for ye. For example, migrants from China (PRC) make up 56.5 percent of foreign nationals, but approximately 70 percent of the Chinese citizens in Korea are Joseonjok (조선족), PRC citizens of Korean ethnicity.[164] Regardless of the oul' ethnicity, there are 28,500 US military personnel servin' in South Korea, most servin' a bleedin' one-year unaccompanied tour (though approximately 10 percent serve longer tours accompanied by family), accordin' to the bleedin' Korea National Statistical Office.[165][166] In addition, about 43,000 English teachers from English-speakin' countries reside temporarily in Korea.[167] Currently, South Korea has one of the highest rates of growth of foreign born population, with about 30,000 foreign born residents obtainin' South Korean citizenship every year since 2010.
Large numbers of ethnic Koreans live overseas, sometimes in Korean ethnic neighborhoods also known as Koreatowns. The four largest diaspora populations can be found in China (2.3 million), the oul' United States (1.8 million), Japan (0.85 million), and Canada (0.25 million).
South Korea's birth rate was the feckin' world's lowest in 2009,[168] at an annual rate of approximately 9 births per 1000 people.[169] Fertility saw some modest increase afterwards,[170] but dropped to a new global low in 2017,[171] with fewer than 30,000 births per month for the feckin' first time since records began[172] and less than 1 child per woman in 2018.[173] The average life expectancy in 2008 was 79.10 years,[174] (which was 34th in the oul' world[175]) but by 2015 it had increased to around 81.[176] South Korea has the steepest decline in workin' age population of the OECD nations.[177] In 2015, National Statistical Office estimated that the oul' population of the feckin' country will have reached its peak by 2035.[152][153]
Largest cities or towns in South Korea
2015 Population and Housin' Census[178]
Busan 1 Seoul Seoul 9,904,312 11 Yongin Gyeonggi 971,327
2 Busan Busan 3,448,737 12 Seongnam Gyeonggi 948,757
3 Incheon Incheon 2,890,451 13 Bucheon Gyeonggi 843,794
4 Daegu Daegu 2,446,052 14 Cheongju North Chungcheong 833,276
5 Daejeon Daejeon 1,538,394 15 Ansan Gyeonggi 747,035
6 Gwangju Gwangju 1,502,881 16 Jeonju North Jeolla 658,172
7 Suwon Gyeonggi 1,194,313 17 Cheonan South Chungcheong 629,062
8 Ulsan Ulsan 1,166,615 18 Namyangju Gyeonggi 629,061
9 Changwon South Gyeongsang 1,059,241 19 Hwaseong Gyeonggi 608,725
10 Goyang Gyeonggi 990,073 20 Anyang Gyeonggi 585,177
Main article: Education in South Korea
Seoul National University is considered to be the oul' most prestigious university in South Korea.
A centralized administration in South Korea oversees the feckin' process for the feckin' education of children from kindergarten to the feckin' third and final year of high school. The school year is divided into two semesters, the first of which begins at the oul' beginnin' of March and ends in mid-July, the feckin' second of which begins in late August and ends in mid-February, the hoor. The schedules are not uniformly standardized and vary from school to school. Most South Korean middle schools and high schools have school uniforms, modeled on western-style uniforms. Here's a quare one. Boys' uniforms usually consist of trousers and white shirts, and girls wear skirts and white shirts (this only applies in middle schools and high schools). Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. The country adopted a new educational program to increase the bleedin' number of their foreign students through 2010. Accordin' to the bleedin' Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, the oul' number of scholarships for foreign students in South Korea would have (under the bleedin' program) doubled by that time, and the oul' number of foreign students would have reached 100,000.[179]
South Korea is one of the feckin' top-performin' OECD countries in readin' literacy, mathematics and sciences with the bleedin' average student scorin' 519, compared with the OECD average of 492, placin' it ninth in the oul' world. Soft oul' day. The country has one of the oul' world's highest-educated labor forces among OECD countries.[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".[182][183][184] This obsession with education has catapulted the resource-poor nation consistently atop the feckin' global education rankings, the hoor. In 2014, South Korea ranked second worldwide (after Singapore) in the feckin' national rankings of students' math and science scores by the bleedin' Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) .[185]
Higher education is a bleedin' serious issue in South Korean society, where it is viewed as one of the oul' fundamental cornerstones of South Korean life, begorrah. Education is regarded with a high priority for South Korean families, as success in education is often a feckin' source of pride for families and within South Korean society at large, and is a holy necessity to improve one's socioeconomic position in South Korean society.[186][187] South Koreans view education as the feckin' main propeller of social mobility for themselves and their family, as a feckin' gateway to the South Korean middle class. I hope yiz are all ears now. Graduatin' from a bleedin' top university is the bleedin' ultimate marker of prestige, high socioeconomic status, promisin' marriage prospects, and a feckin' respectable career path.[188] The entrance into an oul' top-tier higher educational institution leads to a feckin' prestigious, secure and well-paid white collar job with the oul' government, banks, or a major South Korean conglomerate such as Samsung, Hyundai or LG Electronics.[189] With incredible pressure on high school students to secure places at the oul' nation's best universities, its institutional reputation and alumni networks are strong predictors of future career prospects. The top three universities in South Korea, often referred to as "SKY", are Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University.[190][191] An average South Korean student's life revolves around education, with intense competition for top grades, pressure to succeed academically and bein' the oul' top student deeply ingrained in the feckin' psyche of South Korean students at a holy young age.[191] Yet with only limited places at the bleedin' nation's most prestigious universities and even fewer places at top-tier companies, many young people remain disappointed and are often unwillin' to lower their sights with the bleedin' result of many feelin' as though they are underachievers. Soft oul' day. There is a feckin' major cultural taboo in South Korean society attached to those who have not achieved formal university education, where those who do not hold university degrees face social prejudice and are often looked down by others as second-class citizens. Be the hokey here's a quare wan. This often results in fewer opportunities for employment, improvement of one's socioeconomic position and prospects for marriage.[192][193]
KAIST main campus in Daejeon
In 2015, the feckin' country spent 5.1% of its GDP on all levels of education – roughly 0.8 percentage points above the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average of 4.3%.[194] A strong investment in education, a feckin' militant drive for success, as well as the feckin' passion for excellence has helped the oul' resource-poor country rapidly grow its economy over the feckin' past 60 years from a bleedin' war-torn wasteland to a feckin' prosperous first-world country.[195]
International opinion regardin' the bleedin' South Korean education system has been divided. It has been praised for various reasons, includin' its comparatively high test results and its major role in generatin' South Korea's economic development, creatin' one of the world's most educated workforces.[196] South Korea's highly enviable academic performance has persuaded British education ministers to actively remodel their own curriculums and exams to try to emulate Korea's militant drive and passion for excellence and high educational achievement.[196] Former U.S. I hope yiz are all ears now. President Barack Obama has also praised the country's rigorous school system, where over 80 percent of South Korean high school graduates go on to university.[197] The nation's high university entrance rate has created a highly skilled workforce, makin' South Korea among the feckin' most highly educated countries in the world with one of the feckin' highest percentages of its citizens holdin' a feckin' tertiary education degree.[198] In 2017, the oul' country ranked fifth for the percentage of 25 to 64 year old's that have attained tertiary education with 47.7 percent.[198] In addition, 69.8 percent of South Koreans aged 25–34 have completed some form of tertiary education qualification, and bachelor's degrees are held by 34.2 percent of South Koreans aged 25–64, the oul' most in the feckin' OECD.[194][198]
The system's rigid and hierarchical structure has been criticized for stiflin' creativity and innovation;[199][200] described as intensely and "brutally" competitive,[201] the system is often blamed for the oul' high suicide rate in the feckin' country, particularly the feckin' growin' rates among those aged 10–19. Right so. Various media outlets attribute the oul' country's high suicide rate to the oul' nationwide anxiety around the oul' country's college entrance exams, which determine the bleedin' trajectory of students' entire lives and careers.[202][203] Former South Korean hagwon teacher Se-Woong Koo wrote that the bleedin' South Korean education system amounts to child abuse and that it should be "reformed and restructured without delay".[204] The system has also been criticized for producin' an excess supply of university graduates creatin' an overeducated and underemployed labor force; in the feckin' first quarter of 2013 alone, nearly 3.3 million South Korean university graduates were jobless, leavin' many graduates overqualified for jobs requirin' less education.[205] Further criticism has been stemmed for causin' labor shortages in various skilled blue collar labor and vocational occupations, where many go unfilled as the feckin' negative social stigma associated with vocational careers and not havin' an oul' university degree continues to remain deep-rooted in South Korean society.[206][207][208]
Main articles: Korean language and Korean dialects
Dialects of the oul' Korean language
Korean is the bleedin' official language of South Korea, and is classified by most linguists as a language isolate, fair play. It incorporates a feckin' significant number of loan words from Chinese, would ye believe it? Korean uses an indigenous writin' system called Hangul, created in 1446 by Kin' Sejong, to provide a convenient alternative to the Classical Chinese Hanja characters that were difficult to learn and did not fit the oul' Korean language well. South Korea still uses some Chinese Hanja characters in limited areas, such as print media and legal documentation.
The Korean language in South Korea has an oul' 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 bleedin' country.
Almost all South Korean students today learn English throughout their education, with some optionally choosin' Japanese or Mandarin as well.[citation needed]
Main article: Religion in South Korea
See also: Irreligion in South Korea
Religion in South Korea (2015 census)[209][4]
Irreligious (56.1%)
Protestantism (19.7%)
Korean Buddhism (15.5%)
Catholicism (7.9%)
Other (0.8%)
Accordin' to the feckin' results of the bleedin' census of 2015, more than half of the feckin' South Korean population (56.1%) declared themselves not affiliated with any religious organizations.[209] In a bleedin' 2012 survey, 52% declared themselves "religious", 31% said they were "not religious" and 15% identified themselves as "convinced atheists".[210] Of the bleedin' people who are affiliated with a bleedin' religious organization, most are Christians and Buddhists. Accordin' to the feckin' 2015 census, 27.6% of the bleedin' population were Christians (19.7% identified themselves as Protestants, 7.9% as Roman Catholics) and 15.5% were Buddhists.[209] Other religions include Islam (130,000 Muslims, mostly migrant workers from Pakistan and Bangladesh but includin' some 35,000 Korean Muslims[211]), the feckin' homegrown sect of Won Buddhism, and an oul' variety of indigenous religions, includin' Cheondoism (a Confucianizin' religion), Jeungsanism, Daejongism, Daesun Jinrihoe, and others. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the bleedin' constitution, and there is no state religion.[212] Overall, between the 2005 and 2015 censuses, there has been a shlight decline of Christianity (down from 29% to 27.6%), a bleedin' sharp decline of Buddhism (down from 22.8% to 15.5%), and an oul' rise of the feckin' unaffiliated population (from 47.2% to 56.9%).[209]
Christianity is South Korea's largest organized religion, accountin' for more than half of all South Korean adherents of religious organizations. Sufferin' Jaysus. There are approximately 13.5 million Christians in South Korea today; about two thirds of them belongin' to Protestant churches, and the feckin' rest to the bleedin' Catholic Church.[209] The number of Protestants has been stagnant throughout the bleedin' 1990s and the oul' 2000s, but increased to a bleedin' peak level throughout the 2010s. Roman Catholics increased significantly between the feckin' 1980s and the feckin' 2000s, but declined throughout the bleedin' 2010s.[209] Christianity, unlike in other East Asian countries, found fertile ground in Korea in the oul' 18th century, and by the oul' end of the bleedin' 18th century it persuaded a large part of the population, as the feckin' declinin' monarchy supported it and opened the oul' country to widespread proselytism as part of a holy project of Westernization, fair play. The weakness of Korean Sindo, which – unlike Japanese Shinto and China's religious system – never developed into an oul' national religion of high status,[213] combined with the bleedin' impoverished state of Korean Buddhism, (after 500 years of suppression at the oul' hands of the bleedin' Joseon state, by the 20th century it was virtually extinct) left an oul' free hand to Christian churches. Whisht now. Christianity's similarity to native religious narratives has been studied as another factor that contributed to its success in the feckin' peninsula.[214] The Japanese colonization of the oul' first half of the bleedin' 20th century further strengthened the identification of Christianity with Korean nationalism, as the bleedin' Japanese coopted native Korean Sindo into the bleedin' Nipponic Imperial Shinto that they tried to establish in the feckin' peninsula.[215] Widespread Christianization of the bleedin' Koreans took place durin' State Shinto,[215] after its abolition, and then in the oul' independent South Korea as the newly established military government supported Christianity and tried to utterly oust native Sindo.
Buddha's Birthday celebration in Seoul
Among Christian denominations, Presbyterianism is the largest, enda story. About nine million people belong to one of the feckin' hundred different Presbyterian churches; the biggest ones are the oul' HapDong Presbyterian Church, TongHap Presbyterian Church and the Koshin Presbyterian Church, game ball! South Korea is also the feckin' second-largest missionary-sendin' nation, after the United States.[216]
Buddhism was introduced to Korea in the 4th century.[217] It soon became an oul' dominant religion in the oul' southeastern kingdom of Silla, the feckin' region that hitherto hosts the feckin' strongest concentration of Buddhists in South Korea. Would ye believe this shite?In the bleedin' other states of the Three Kingdoms Period, Goguryeo and Baekje, it was made the state religion respectively in 372 and 528. It remained the oul' state religion in Later Silla (North South States Period) and Goryeo. Right so. It was later suppressed throughout much of the oul' subsequent history under the oul' unified kingdom of Joseon (1392–1897), which officially adopted a holy strict Korean Confucianism. G'wan now and listen to this wan. Today, South Korea has about 7 million Buddhists,[209] most of them affiliated to the Jogye Order. Jesus, Mary and holy Saint Joseph. Most of the bleedin' National Treasures of South Korea are Buddhist artifacts.
Main article: Health in South Korea
Development of life expectancy in North Korea and South Korea
South Korea has an oul' universal healthcare system.[218] Accordin' to one rankin', it has the oul' world's second best healthcare system.[219]
Suicide in South Korea is the bleedin' 10th highest in the world accordin' to the World Health Organization, as well as the highest suicide rate in the OECD.[220][221]
South Korean hospitals have advanced medical equipment and facilities readily available, rankin' 4th for MRI units per capita and 6th for CT scanners per capita in the OECD.[222] It also had the oul' OECD's second largest number of hospital beds per 1000 people at 9.56 beds.
Life expectancy has been risin' rapidly and South Korea ranked 11th in the bleedin' world for life expectancy at 82.3 years by the oul' WHO in 2015.[223] It also has the bleedin' third highest health adjusted life expectancy in the world.[224]
Main article: Foreign relations of South Korea
Former Secretary-General of the feckin' United Nations (2007–2016), Ban Ki-moon
South Korea maintains diplomatic relations with more than 188 countries. The country has also been a feckin' member of the United Nations since 1991, when it became a member state at the feckin' same time as North Korea. G'wan now and listen to this wan. On 1 January 2007, former South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon served as UN Secretary-General from 2007 to 2016. Here's another quare one. It has also developed links with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as both a member of ASEAN Plus three, a holy body of observers, and the feckin' East Asia Summit (EAS).
In November 2009, South Korea joined the bleedin' OECD Development Assistance Committee, markin' the bleedin' first time an oul' former aid recipient country joined the oul' group as a bleedin' donor member.
South Korea hosted the G-20 Summit in Seoul in November 2010, a bleedin' year that saw South Korea and the oul' European Union conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) to reduce trade barriers. Here's another quare one for ye. South Korea went on to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Australia in 2014, and another with New Zealand in 2015.
Main article: North Korea–South Korea relations
The Joint Security Area
Both North and South Korea claim complete sovereignty over the entire peninsula and outlyin' islands.[225] Despite mutual animosity, reconciliation efforts have continued since the initial separation between North and South Korea. Political figures such as Kim Koo worked to reconcile the feckin' two governments even after the feckin' Korean War.[226] With longstandin' animosity followin' the feckin' Korean War from 1950 to 1953, North Korea and South Korea signed an agreement to pursue peace.[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 cheerin' squad.[227]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands inside the Peace House
Despite the oul' Sunshine Policy and efforts at reconciliation, the feckin' progress was complicated by North Korean missile tests in 1993, 1998, 2006, 2009, and 2013. By early 2009, relationships between North and South Korea were very tense; North Korea had been reported to have deployed missiles,[228] ended its former agreements with South Korea,[229] and threatened South Korea and the oul' United States not to interfere with a satellite launch it had planned.[230] North and South Korea are still technically at war (havin' never signed an oul' peace treaty after the oul' Korean War) and share the bleedin' world's most heavily fortified border.[231] On 27 May 2009, North Korean media declared that the bleedin' Armistice is no longer valid because of the oul' South Korean government's pledge to "definitely join" the bleedin' Proliferation Security Initiative.[citation needed] To further complicate and intensify strains between the bleedin' two nations, the bleedin' sinkin' of the oul' South Korean warship Cheonan in March 2010 was affirmed by the bleedin' South Korean government[232] to have been caused by a North Korean torpedo, which the North denies, that's fierce now what? President Lee Myung-bak declared in May 2010 that Seoul would cut all trade with North Korea as part of measures primarily aimed at strikin' back at North Korea diplomatically and financially, except for the bleedin' joint Kaesong Industrial Project and humanitarian aid.[233] North Korea initially threatened to sever all ties, to completely abrogate the previous pact of non-aggression, and to expel all South Koreans from a joint industrial zone in Kaesong, but backtracked on its threats and decided to continue its ties with South Korea. In fairness now. Despite the bleedin' continuin' ties, the feckin' Kaesong Industrial Region has seen a large decrease in investment and manpower as a result of this military conflict. In February 2016, the feckin' Kaesong complex was closed by Seoul in reaction to North Korea's launch of a rocket earlier in the feckin' month,[234] which was unanimously condemned by the feckin' United Nations Security Council.[235] The 2017 election of President Moon Jae-in has seen a change in approach towards the North, and both sides used the bleedin' South Korean-held 2018 Winter Olympics as an opportunity for engagement,[236] with a very senior North Korean political delegation sent to the games, along with an oul' reciprocal visit by senior South Korean cabinet members to the oul' North soon afterwards.[237]
China and Russia
Main articles: China–South Korea relations, South Korea–Taiwan relations, and Russia–South Korea relations
Historically, Korea had close relations with the dynasties in China, and some Korean kingdoms were members of the feckin' Imperial Chinese tributary system. Arra' would ye listen to this. The Korean kingdoms also ruled over some Chinese kingdoms includin' the oul' Khitan people and the oul' Manchurians before the bleedin' Qin' dynasty and received tributes from them.[238] In modern times, before the oul' formation of South Korea, Korean independence fighters worked with Chinese soldiers durin' the feckin' Japanese occupation. Bejaysus. However, after World War II, the bleedin' People's Republic of China embraced Maoism while South Korea sought close relations with the bleedin' United States. The PRC assisted North Korea with manpower and supplies durin' the feckin' Korean War, and in its aftermath the bleedin' diplomatic relationship between South Korea and the bleedin' PRC almost completely ceased. Relations thawed gradually and South Korea and the oul' PRC re-established formal diplomatic relations on 24 August 1992, bejaysus. The two countries sought to improve bilateral relations and lifted the feckin' forty-year-old trade embargo,[239] and South Korean–Chinese relations have improved steadily since 1992.[239] The Republic of Korea broke off official relations with the bleedin' Republic of China (Taiwan) upon gainin' official relations with the People's Republic of China, which does not recognize Taiwan's sovereignty.[240]
South Korean president Moon Jae-in meets with Russian president Vladimir Putin
China has become South Korea's largest tradin' partner by far, sendin' 26% of South Korean exports in 2016 worth $124 billion, as well as an additional $32 billion worth of exports to Hong Kong.[241] South Korea is also China's fourth largest tradin' partner, with $93 billion of Chinese imports in 2016.[242]
The 2017 deployment of THAAD defense missiles by the oul' United States military in South Korea in response to North Korean missile tests has been protested strongly by the Chinese government, concerned that the bleedin' technologically advanced missile defense could be used more broadly against China.[243] Relations between the governments have cooled in response, with South Korean commercial and cultural interests in China havin' been targeted, and Chinese tourism to South Korea havin' been curtailed.[244] The situation was largely resolved by South Korea makin' significant military concessions to China in exchange for THAAD, includin' not deployin' any more anti-ballistic missile systems in South Korea and not participatin' in an alliance between the oul' United States and Japan.[245]
South Korea and Russia are participants in the oul' Six-party talks on the bleedin' North Korea's nuclear proliferation issue, like. Moon Jae-in's administration has focused on increasin' South Korea's consumption of natural gas. These plans include re-openin' dialogue around an oul' natural gas pipeline that would come from Russia and pass through North Korea.[246] In June 2018, president Moon Jae-in became the oul' first South Korean leader to speak in the bleedin' Russian Parliament.[247] On 22 June, Moon Jae-in and Putin signed a document for foundation of free trade area.[248]
Main article: Japan–South Korea relations
See also: History of Japan–Korea relations and Japan–Korea disputes
The Liancourt Rocks have become an issue known as the Liancourt Rocks dispute.
Korea and Japan have had difficult relations since ancient times, but also significant cultural exchange, with Korea actin' as the bleedin' gateway between Asia and Japan. Bejaysus here's a quare one right here now. Contemporary perceptions of Japan are still largely defined by Japan's 35 year colonization of Korea in the feckin' 20th century, which is generally regarded in South Korea as havin' been very negative. Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. Japan is today South Korea's third largest tradin' partner, with 12% ($46 billion) of exports in 2016.[241]
There were no formal diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan directly after independence the end of World War II in 1945. C'mere til I tell ya. South Korea and Japan eventually signed the feckin' Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the feckin' Republic of Korea in 1965 to establish diplomatic ties. There is heavy anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea because of a bleedin' number of unsettled Japanese-Korean disputes, many of which stem from the feckin' period of Japanese occupation after the feckin' Japanese annexation of Korea. Sufferin' Jaysus. Durin' World War II, more than 100,000 Koreans served in the feckin' Imperial Japanese Army.[249][250] Korean women were coerced and forced to serve the oul' Imperial Japanese Army as sexual shlaves, called comfort women, in both Korea and throughout the bleedin' Japanese war fronts.[251][252]
Longstandin' issues such as Japanese war crimes against Korean civilians, the feckin' negationist re-writin' of Japanese textbooks relatin' Japanese atrocities durin' World War II, the territorial disputes over the Liancourt Rocks, known in South Korea as "Dokdo" and in Japan as "Takeshima",[253] and visits by Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine, honorin' Japanese people (civilians and military) killed durin' the bleedin' war continue to trouble Korean-Japanese relations. Sufferin' Jaysus. The Liancourt Rocks were the oul' first Korean territories to be forcibly colonized by Japan in 1905, so it is. Although it was again returned to Korea along with the oul' rest of its territory in 1951 with the feckin' signin' of the oul' Treaty of San Francisco, Japan does not recant on its claims that the feckin' Liancourt Rocks are Japanese territory.[254] In response to then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, former President Roh Moo-hyun suspended all summit talks between South Korea and Japan in 2009.[255] A summit between the feckin' nations' leaders was eventually held on 9 February 2018 durin' the bleedin' Korean held Winter Olympics.[256] South Korea asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban the bleedin' Japanese Risin' Sun Flag from the feckin' 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo,[257][258] and the feckin' IOC said in a statement "sports stadiums should be free of any political demonstration. When concerns arise at games time we look at them on an oul' case-by-case basis."[259]
Main article: South Korea–European Union relations
The European Union (EU) and South Korea are important tradin' partners, havin' negotiated a free trade agreement for many years since South Korea was designated as a feckin' priority FTA partner in 2006. Jaykers! The free trade agreement was approved in September 2010, and took effect on 1 July 2011.[260] South Korea is the feckin' EU's tenth largest trade partner, and the oul' EU has become South Korea's fourth largest export destination. Whisht now and eist liom. EU trade with South Korea exceeded €90 billion in 2015 and has enjoyed an annual average growth rate of 9.8% between 2003 and 2013.[261]
The EU has been the feckin' single largest foreign investor in South Korea since 1962, and accounted for almost 45% of all FDI inflows into Korea in 2006. Would ye swally this in a minute now?Nevertheless, EU companies have significant problems accessin' and operatin' in the South Korean market because of stringent standards and testin' requirements for products and services often creatin' barriers to trade. Both in its regular bilateral contacts with South Korea and through its FTA with Korea, the EU is seekin' to improve this situation.[261]
Main article: South Korea–United States relations
President Moon Jae-in and U.S, grand so. President Joe Biden havin' lunch on 21 May 2021, on the bleedin' Oval Office Patio of the oul' White House
The close relationship began directly after World War II, when the bleedin' United States temporarily administrated Korea for three years (mainly in the oul' South, with the oul' Soviet Union engaged in North Korea) after Japan, fair play. Upon the bleedin' onset of the oul' Korean War in 1950, U.S. forces were sent to defend against an invasion from North Korea of the South, and subsequently fought as the bleedin' largest contributor of UN troops. Jesus Mother of Chrisht almighty. The United States participation was critical for preventin' the near defeat of the oul' Republic of Korea by northern forces, as well as fightin' back for the oul' territory gains that define the bleedin' South Korean nation today.
Followin' the Armistice, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to a "Mutual Defense Treaty", under which an attack on either party in the feckin' Pacific area would summon a bleedin' response from both.[262] In 1967, South Korea obliged the oul' mutual defense treaty, by sendin' a bleedin' large combat troop contingent to support the oul' United States in the Vietnam War. The US has over 23,000 troops stationed in South Korea, includin' the oul' U.S. Jasus. Eighth Army, Seventh Air Force, and U.S. Naval Forces Korea. Listen up now to this fierce wan. The two nations have strong economic, diplomatic, and military ties, although they have at times disagreed with regard to policies towards North Korea, and with regard to some of South Korea's industrial activities that involve usage of rocket or nuclear technology. There had also been strong anti-American sentiment durin' certain periods, which has largely moderated in the oul' modern day.[263]
The two nations also share a holy close economic relationship, with the oul' U.S. Stop the lights! bein' South Korea's second largest tradin' partner, receivin' $66 billion in exports in 2016.[241] In 2007, a free trade agreement known as the Republic of Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA) was signed between South Korea and the feckin' United States, but its formal implementation was repeatedly delayed, pendin' approval by the feckin' legislative bodies of the oul' two countries, bejaysus. On 12 October 2011, the feckin' U.S. Soft oul' day. Congress passed the oul' long-stalled trade agreement with South Korea.[264] It went into effect on 15 March 2012.[265]
Main article: Republic of Korea Armed Forces
may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (March 2012)
Unresolved tension with North Korea has prompted South Korea to allocate 2.6% of its GDP and 15% of all government spendin' to its military (Government share of GDP: 14.967%), while maintainin' compulsory conscription for men.[citation needed] Consequently, South Korea has the oul' world's seventh largest number of active troops (599,000 in 2018), the bleedin' world's highest number of reserve troops (3,100,000 in 2018).[266]
The South Korean military consists of the bleedin' Army (ROKA), the Navy (ROKN), the Air Force (ROKAF), and the bleedin' Marine Corps (ROKMC), and reserve forces.[citation needed] Many of these forces are concentrated near the Korean Demilitarized Zone. All South Korean males are constitutionally required to serve in the bleedin' military, typically 18 months. Chrisht Almighty. Previous exceptions for South Korean citizens of mixed race no longer apply since 2011.[267]
ROKN Sejong the feckin' Great, a bleedin' Sejong the bleedin' Great-class guided-missile destroyer built by Hyundai Heavy Industries
In addition to male conscription in South Korea's sovereign military, 1,800 Korean males are selected every year to serve 18 months in the feckin' KATUSA Program to further augment the bleedin' United States Forces Korea (USFK).[citation needed] In 2010, South Korea was spendin' ₩1.68 trillion in a holy cost-sharin' agreement with the feckin' US to provide budgetary support to the feckin' US forces in Korea, on top of the feckin' ₩29.6 trillion budget for its own military.
The South Korean-developed K2 Black Panther, built by Hyundai Rotem
The South Korean Army has 2,500 tanks in operation, includin' the bleedin' K1A1 and K2 Black Panther, which form the feckin' backbone of the feckin' South Korean army's mechanized armor and infantry forces, grand so. A sizable arsenal of many artillery systems, includin' 1,700 self-propelled K55 and K9 Thunder howitzers and 680 helicopters and UAVs of numerous types, are assembled to provide additional fire, reconnaissance, and logistics support. Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. South Korea's smaller but more advanced artillery force and wide range of airborne reconnaissance platforms are pivotal in the feckin' counter-battery suppression of North Korea's large artillery force, which operates more than 13,000 artillery systems deployed in various state of fortification and mobility.[citation needed]
The South Korean Navy has made its first major transformation into a feckin' blue-water navy through the oul' formation of the oul' Strategic Mobile Fleet, which includes a battle group of Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin class destroyers, Dokdo class amphibious assault ship, AIP-driven Type 214 submarines, and Kin' Sejong the oul' Great class destroyers, which is equipped with the latest baseline of Aegis fleet-defense system that allows the ships to track and destroy multiple cruise missiles and ballistic missiles simultaneously, formin' an integral part of South Korea's indigenous missile defense umbrella against the oul' North Korean military's missile threat.[268]
The South Korean Air Force operates 840 aircraft, makin' it world's ninth largest air force, includin' several types of advanced fighters like F-15K, heavily modified KF-16C/D,[269] and the indigenous T-50 Golden Eagle,[270][271] supported by well-maintained fleets of older fighters such as F-4E and KF-5E/F that still effectively serve the oul' air force alongside the more modern aircraft. In an attempt to gain strength in terms of not just numbers but also modernity, the bleedin' commissionin' of four Boein' 737 AEW&C aircraft, under Project Peace Eye for centralized intelligence gatherin' and analysis on a modern battlefield, will enhance the feckin' fighters' and other support aircraft's ability to perform their missions with awareness and precision.
In May 2011, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., South Korea's largest plane maker, signed an oul' $400 million deal to sell 16 T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets to Indonesia, makin' South Korea the bleedin' first country in Asia to export supersonic jets.[272]
ROKAF FA-50, a bleedin' supersonic combat aircraft developed by Korea Aerospace Industries
From time to time, South Korea has sent its troops overseas to assist American forces. It has participated in most major conflicts that the feckin' United States has been involved in the oul' past 50 years, be the hokey! South Korea dispatched 325,517 troops to fight alongside American, Australian, Filipino, New Zealand and South Vietnamese soldiers in the Vietnam War, with a peak strength of 50,000.[273] In 2004, South Korea sent 3,300 troops of the feckin' Zaytun Division to help re-buildin' in northern Iraq, and was the oul' third largest contributor in the oul' coalition forces after only the feckin' US and Britain.[274] Beginnin' in 2001, South Korea had so far deployed 24,000 troops in the bleedin' Middle East region to support the oul' War on Terrorism. Be the holy feck, this is a quare wan. A further 1,800 were deployed since 2007 to reinforce UN peacekeepin' forces in Lebanon.
ROKS Dokdo, the oul' lead ship of the Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, built by Hanjin Heavy Industries
United States contingent
The United States has stationed an oul' substantial contingent of troops to defend South Korea. There are approximately 28,500 U.S. military personnel stationed in South Korea,[275] most of them servin' one year unaccompanied tours, game ball! The U.S. troops, which are primarily ground and air units, are assigned to USFK and mainly assigned to the feckin' Eighth United States Army of the oul' U.S. Army and Seventh Air Force of the U.S. Air Force. Jaysis. They are stationed in installations at Osan, Kunsan, Yongsan, Dongducheon, Sungbuk, Camp Humphreys, and Daegu, as well as at Camp Bonifas in the feckin' DMZ Joint Security Area.
A fully functionin' UN Command is at the top of the oul' chain of command of all forces in South Korea, includin' the U.S. forces and the feckin' entire South Korean military – if a sudden escalation of war between North and South Korea were to occur the United States would assume control of the feckin' South Korean armed forces in all military and paramilitary moves. Jaykers! There has been long-term agreement between the United States and South Korea that South Korea should eventually assume the feckin' lead for its own defense. This transition to a holy South Korean command has been shlow and often postponed, although it is currently scheduled to occur in the early 2020s.[276]
Main article: Conscription in South Korea
Male citizens who refuse or reject to undertake military services because of conscientious objection are typically imprisoned, with over 600 individuals usually imprisoned at any given time; more than the bleedin' rest of the feckin' world put together.[277] The vast majority of these are young men from the feckin' Jehovah's Witnesses Christian denomination.[278] However, in a feckin' court rulin' of 2018, conscientious objectors were permitted to reject military service.[279]
Main article: Economy of South Korea
See also: List of largest companies of South Korea
Share of world GDP (PPP)[280]
1980 0.63%
The Bank of Korea, the bleedin' central bank of South Korea and issuer of the oul' South Korean won
The Samsung headquarters in Samsung Town, located in Seocho-gu, Seoul
The Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, is the feckin' tallest buildin' in South Korea and the feckin' 5th tallest in the bleedin' world.
South Korea's mixed economy[281][282][283] ranks 10th nominal[284] and 13th purchasin' power parity GDP in the oul' world, identifyin' it as one of the oul' G-20 major economies. It is a feckin' developed country with an oul' high-income economy and is the oul' most industrialized member country of the OECD, fair play. 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]
Its massive investment in education has taken the oul' country from mass illiteracy to a major international technological powerhouse, that's fierce now what? The country's national economy benefits from a holy highly skilled workforce and is among the feckin' most educated countries in the feckin' world with one of the bleedin' highest percentages of its citizens holdin' a feckin' tertiary education degree.[286] South Korea's economy was one of the oul' world's fastest-growin' from the feckin' early 1960s to the oul' late 1990s, and was still one of the oul' fastest-growin' developed countries in the 2000s, along with Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, the oul' other three Asian Tigers.[287] It recorded the oul' fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world between 1980 and 1990.[288] South Koreans refer to this growth as the feckin' Miracle on the Han River.[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 feckin' world.
Despite the oul' South Korean economy's high growth potential and apparent structural stability, the country suffers damage to its credit ratin' in the stock market because of the bleedin' belligerence of North Korea in times of deep military crises, which has an adverse effect on South Korean financial markets.[290][291] The International Monetary Fund compliments the resilience of the feckin' South Korean economy against various economic crises, citin' low state debt and high fiscal reserves that can quickly be mobilized to address financial emergencies.[292] Although it was severely harmed by the feckin' 1997 Asian financial crisis, the oul' South Korean economy managed a rapid recovery and subsequently tripled its GDP.[293]
Furthermore, South Korea was one of the few developed countries that were able to avoid a feckin' recession durin' the feckin' global financial crisis.[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] an oul' sharp recovery from economic growth rates of 2.3% in 2008 and 0.2% in 2009 durin' the feckin' Great Recession. The unemployment rate in South Korea also remained low in 2009, at 3.6%.[296]
South Korea became a feckin' member of the oul' Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1996.[297]
The followin' list includes the oul' largest South Korean companies by revenue in 2017 who are all listed as part of the oul' Fortune Global 500:
Rank[298]
(Mil. $)
01. Samsung Electronics Suwon 173,957 19,316 217,104
02. Hyundai Motor Seoul 80,701 4,659 148,092
03. SK Holdings Seoul 72,579 659 85.332
04. Korea Electric Power Naju 51,500 6,074 147,265
05. LG Electronics Seoul 47,712 66 31,348
06. POSCO Pohang 45,621 1,167 66,361
07. Kia Motors Seoul 45,425 2,373 42,141
08. Hanwha Seoul 40,606 423 128,247
09. Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan 33,881 469 40,783
010. Hyundai Mobis Seoul 32,972 2,617 34,541
011. Samsung Life Insurance Seoul 26,222 1,770 219,157
012. Lotte Shoppin' Seoul 25,444 144 34,710
013. Samsung C&T Seoul 24,217 92 36,816
014. LG Display Seoul 22,840 781 20,606
015. GS Caltex Seoul 22,207 1,221 15,969
Transportation, energy and infrastructure
Main articles: Transport in South Korea and Energy in South Korea
Incheon International Airport's Maglev station
South Korea developed the HEMU 430X high-speed train, which can travel at over 430 km/h (270 mph), makin' South Korea the bleedin' world's fourth country after France, Japan and China to develop a high-speed train runnin' above 420 km/h (260 mph) on conventional rails.
The Daegu Metro Line 3 monorail
South Korea has a holy technologically advanced transport network consistin' of high-speed railways, highways, bus routes, ferry services, and air routes that crisscross the bleedin' country, you know yourself like. Korea Expressway Corporation operates the bleedin' toll highways and service amenities en route.
Korail provides frequent train services to all major South Korean cities, bedad. Two rail lines, Gyeongui and Donghae Bukbu Line, to North Korea are now bein' reconnected. The Korean high-speed rail system, KTX, provides high-speed service along Gyeongbu and Honam Line. Major cities includin' Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon and Gwangju have urban rapid transit systems.[299] Express bus terminals are available in most cities.[300]
South Korea's main gateway and largest airport is Incheon International Airport, servin' 58 million passengers in 2016.[301] Other international airports include Gimpo, Busan and Jeju. Jaykers! There are also many airports that were built as part of the infrastructure boom but are barely used.[302] There are also many heliports.[303]
The national carrier, Korean Air served over 26,800,000 passengers, includin' almost 19,000,000 international passengers in 2016.[304] A second carrier, Asiana Airlines also serves domestic and international traffic. Combined, South Korean airlines serve 297 international routes.[305] Smaller airlines, such as Jeju Air, provide domestic service with lower fares.[306]
South Korea is the oul' world's fifth-largest nuclear power producer and the feckin' second-largest in Asia as of 2010[update].[307] Nuclear power in South Korea supplies 45% of electricity production, and research is very active with investigation into a feckin' variety of advanced reactors, includin' a bleedin' small modular reactor, a holy liquid-metal fast/transmutation reactor and a high-temperature hydrogen generation design, the hoor. Fuel production and waste handlin' technologies have also been developed locally, that's fierce now what? It is also a member of the ITER project.[308]
South Korea is an emergin' exporter of nuclear reactors, havin' concluded agreements with the UAE to build and maintain four advanced nuclear reactors,[309] with Jordan for a feckin' research nuclear reactor,[310][311] and with Argentina for construction and repair of heavy-water nuclear reactors.[312][313] As of 2010[update], South Korea and Turkey are in negotiations regardin' construction of two nuclear reactors.[314] South Korea is also preparin' to bid on construction of a holy light-water nuclear reactor for Argentina.[313]
South Korea is not allowed to enrich uranium or develop traditional uranium enrichment technology on its own, because of US political pressure,[315] unlike most major nuclear powers such as Japan, Germany, and France, competitors of South Korea in the bleedin' international nuclear market. This impediment to South Korea's indigenous nuclear industrial undertakin' has sparked occasional diplomatic rows between the bleedin' two allies. While South Korea is successful in exportin' its electricity-generatin' nuclear technology and nuclear reactors, it cannot capitalize on the market for nuclear enrichment facilities and refineries, preventin' it from further expandin' its export niche. Soft oul' day. South Korea has sought unique technologies such as pyroprocessin' to circumvent these obstacles and seek an oul' more advantageous competition.[316] The US has recently been wary of South Korea's burgeonin' nuclear program, which South Korea insists will be for civilian use only.[307]
South Korea is the third highest ranked Asian country in the bleedin' World Economic Forum's Network Readiness Index (NRI) after Singapore and Hong Kong respectively – an indicator for determinin' the oul' development level of an oul' country's information and communication technologies. Sure this is it. South Korea ranked number 10 overall in the bleedin' 2014 NRI rankin', up from 11 in 2013.[317]
Main article: Tourism in South Korea
Haeundae Beach in Busan
In 2016, 17 million foreign tourists visited South Korea.[318][319] With risin' tourist prospects, especially from foreign countries outside of Asia, the feckin' South Korean government has set an oul' target of attractin' 20 million foreign tourists a feckin' year by 2017.[320]
South Korean tourism is driven by many factors, includin' the feckin' prominence of Korean pop culture such as South Korean pop music and television dramas, known as the bleedin' Korean Wave or Hallyu, has gained popularity throughout East Asia. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. The Hyundai Research Institute reported that the oul' Korean Wave has an oul' direct impact in encouragin' direct foreign investment back into the oul' country through demand for products, and the oul' tourism industry.[321] Among East Asian countries, China was the bleedin' most receptive, investin' $1.4 billion in South Korea, with much of the investment within its service sector, a bleedin' sevenfold increase from 2001. Accordin' to an analysis by economist Han Sang-Wan, a holy 1 percent increase in the bleedin' exports of Korean cultural content pushes consumer goods exports up 0.083 percent while a feckin' 1 percent increase in Korean pop content exports to an oul' country produces a bleedin' 0.019 percent bump in tourism.[321]
South Korean National Pension System
It has been suggested that this article should be split into multiple articles. (discuss) (November 2020)
The South Korean pension system was created to provide benefits to persons reachin' old age, families and persons stricken with death of their primary breadwinner, and for the purposes of stabilizin' its nation's welfare state.[322] South Korea's pension system structure is primarily based on taxation and is income-related, begorrah. In 2007 there was a holy total of 18,367,000 insured individuals with only around 511,000 persons excluded from mandatory contribution.[323] The current pension system is divided into four categories distributin' benefits to participants through national, military personnel, governmental, and private school teacher pension schemes.[324] The national pension scheme is the feckin' primary welfare system providin' allowances to the feckin' majority of persons. Eligibility for the oul' national pension scheme is not dependent on income but on age and residence, where those between the feckin' ages of 18 to 59 are covered.[325] Any one who is under the feckin' age of 18 are dependents of someone who is covered or under a special exclusion where they are allowed to alternative provisions.[326] The national pension scheme is divided into four categories of insured persons – the feckin' workplace-based insured, the feckin' individually insured, the feckin' voluntarily insured, and the bleedin' voluntarily and continuously insured.
Employees between the ages of 18 to 59 are covered under the feckin' workplace-based pension scheme and contribute 4.5% of their gross monthly earnings.[322] The national pension covers employees who work in firms that employ five or more employees, fishermen, farmers, and the feckin' self-employed in both rural and urban areas. Employers are also covered under the oul' workplace-based pension scheme and help cover their employees obligated 9% contribution by providin' the remainin' 4.5%.[326] Anyone who is not employed, of the age of 60 or above, or excluded by article 6 of the National Pension Act,[327] but is of the oul' ages between 18 and 59, is covered under the feckin' individually insured pension scheme.[327] Persons covered by the feckin' individually insured pension scheme are in charge of payin' the entire 9% contribution themselves, the hoor. Voluntarily insured persons are not subjected to mandatory coverage but can choose to be, you know yourself like. This category comprises retirees who voluntarily choose to have additional benefits, individuals under the feckin' age of 27 without income, and individuals whose spouses are covered under a holy public welfare system, whether military, governmental, or private school teacher pensions.[325] Like the bleedin' individually insured persons, they too are in charge of coverin' the oul' full amount of the feckin' contribution. Voluntarily and continuously insured persons consists of individuals 60 years of age who want to fulfill the minimum insured period of 20 years to qualify for old age pension benefits.[327] Excludin' the oul' workplace-based insured persons, all the feckin' other insured persons personally cover their own 9% contribution.[325]
South Korea's old-age pension scheme covers individuals age 60 or older for the bleedin' rest of their life as long as they have satisfied the minimum of 20 years of national pension coverage beforehand.[326] Individuals with a holy minimum of 10 years covered under the bleedin' national pension scheme and who are 60 years of age are able to be covered under a holy 'reduced old-age pension' scheme, would ye swally that? There also is an 'active old-age pension' scheme that covers individuals age 60 to 65 engaged in activities yieldin' earned income. Whisht now and eist liom. Individuals age of 55 and younger than 60 who are not engaged in activities yieldin' earned income are eligible to be covered under the 'early old-age pension' scheme.[327] Around 60% of all Korean elders, age 65 and over are entitled to a holy 5% benefit of their past average income at an average of 90,000 Korean Won (KRW).[328] Basic old-age pension schemes covered individuals 65 years of age who earned below an amount set by presidential order. In 2010, that ceilin' was 700,000 KRW for a single individual and 1,120,000 for a couple, equivalent to around $600.00 and $960.00.[326]
Main article: History of science and technology in Korea
See also: List of Korean inventions and discoveries
A 3D OLED TV made by Korean LG Display, the oul' world's largest LCD and OLED maker
Scientific and technological development in South Korea at first did not occur largely because of more pressin' matters such as the bleedin' division of Korea and the bleedin' Korean War that occurred right after its independence. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. It was not until the feckin' 1960s under the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee where South Korea's economy rapidly grew from industrialization and the feckin' Chaebol corporations such as Samsung and LG. Ever since the oul' industrialization of South Korea's economy, South Korea has placed its focus on technology-based corporations, which has been supported by infrastructure developments by the oul' government. 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.[329] An estimated 90% of South Koreans own a holy mobile phone.[330] Aside from placin'/receivin' calls and text messagin', mobile phones in the country are widely used for watchin' Digital Multimedia Broadcastin' (DMB) or viewin' websites.[331] Over one million DMB phones have been sold and the bleedin' three major wireless communications providers SK Telecom, KT, and LG U+ provide coverage in all major cities and other areas, fair play. South Korea has the feckin' fastest Internet download speeds in the oul' world,[332] with an average download speed of 25.3 Mbit/s.[333]
South Korea leads the feckin' OECD in graduates in science and engineerin'.[334] From 2014 to 2019, the country ranked first among the feckin' most innovative countries in the oul' Bloomberg Innovation Index.[335] It was ranked 5th in the oul' Global Innovation Index 2022, up from 10th in 2020 and 11st in 2019.[336][337][338] Additionally, South Korea today is known as a feckin' Launchpad of a bleedin' mature mobile market, where developers can reap benefits of a market where very few technology constraints exist. There is an oul' growin' trend of inventions of new types of media or apps, utilizin' the oul' 4G and 5G internet infrastructure in South Korea. Soft oul' day. South Korea has today the feckin' infrastructures to meet a density of population and culture that has the oul' capability to create strong local particularity.[339]
See also: Internet censorship in South Korea
Followin' cyberattacks in the bleedin' first half of 2013, whereby government, news-media, television station, and bank websites were compromised, the feckin' national government committed to the bleedin' trainin' of 5,000 new cybersecurity experts by 2017, begorrah. The South Korean government blamed North Korea for these attacks, as well as incidents that occurred in 2009, 2011 and 2012, but Pyongyang denies the bleedin' accusations.[340]
In late September 2013, a computer-security competition jointly sponsored by the feckin' defense ministry and the feckin' National Intelligence Service was announced, would ye believe it? The winners were announced on 29 September 2013 and shared a holy total prize pool of 80 million won (US$74,000).[340]
South Korea's government maintains a broad-rangin' approach toward the bleedin' regulation of specific online content and imposes an oul' substantial level of censorship on election-related discourse and on many websites that the government deems subversive or socially harmful.[341][342]
Aerospace engineerin'
Main article: Korea Aerospace Research Institute
Naro-1 durin' liftoff
South Korea has sent up 10 satellites since 1992, all usin' foreign rockets and overseas launch pads, notably Arirang-1 in 1999, and Arirang-2 in 2006 as part of its space partnership with Russia.[343] Arirang-1 was lost in space in 2008, after nine years in service.[344]
In April 2008, Yi So-yeon became the feckin' first Korean to fly in space, aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA-12.[345][346]
In June 2009, the first spaceport of South Korea, Naro Space Center, was completed at Goheung, Jeollanam-do.[347] The launch of Naro-1 in August 2009 resulted in a bleedin' failure.[348] The second attempt in June 2010 was also unsuccessful.[349] However, the oul' third launch of the Naro 1 in January 2013 was successful.[350] The government plans to develop Naro-2 by 2018.[351]
South Korea's efforts to build an indigenous space launch vehicle have been marred due to persistent political pressure from the oul' United States, who had for many decades hindered South Korea's indigenous rocket and missile development programs[352] in fear of their possible connection to clandestine military ballistic missile programs, which Korea many times insisted did not violate the research and development guidelines stipulated by US-Korea agreements on restriction of South Korean rocket technology research and development.[353] South Korea has sought the assistance of foreign countries such as Russia through MTCR commitments to supplement its restricted domestic rocket technology. The two failed KSLV-I launch vehicles were based on the bleedin' Universal Rocket Module, the bleedin' first stage of the oul' Russian Angara rocket, combined with an oul' solid-fueled second stage built by South Korea.
Albert HUBO, developed by KAIST, can make expressive gestures with its five separate fingers.
Robotics has been included in the feckin' list of main national R&D projects in Korea since 2003.[354] In 2009, the government announced plans to build robot-themed parks in Incheon and Masan with a holy mix of public and private fundin'.[355]
In 2005, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed the world's second walkin' humanoid robot, HUBO. A team in the feckin' Korea Institute of Industrial Technology developed the first Korean android, EveR-1 in May 2006.[356] EveR-1 has been succeeded by more complex models with improved movement and vision.[357][358]
Plans of creatin' English-teachin' robot assistants to compensate for the feckin' shortage of teachers were announced in February 2010, with the robots bein' deployed to most preschools and kindergartens by 2013.[359] Robotics are also incorporated in the entertainment sector as well; the oul' Korean Robot Game Festival has been held every year since 2004 to promote science and robot technology.[360]
Since the oul' 1980s, the Korean government has invested in the development of an oul' domestic biotechnology industry, and the sector is projected to grow to $6.5 billion by 2010.[361] The medical sector accounts for a feckin' large part of the feckin' production, includin' production of hepatitis vaccines and antibiotics.
Recently, research and development in genetics and clonin' has received increasin' attention, with the oul' first successful clonin' of a feckin' dog, Snuppy (in 2005), and the bleedin' clonin' of two females of an endangered species of gray wolves by the bleedin' Seoul National University in 2007.[362]
The rapid growth of the feckin' industry has resulted in significant voids in regulation of ethics, as was highlighted by the scientific misconduct case involvin' Hwang Woo-Suk.[363]
Since late 2020, SK Bioscience Inc. Bejaysus here's a quare one right here now. (a division of SK Group) has been producin' a major proportion of the bleedin' Vaxzevria vaccine (also known as COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca), under license from the oul' University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, for worldwide distribution through the oul' COVAX facility under the bleedin' WHO hospice. A recent agreement with Novavax expands its production for a bleedin' second vaccine to 40 million doses in 2022, with a feckin' $450 million investment in domestic and overseas facilities.[364]
Main article: Culture of South Korea
See also: Culture of Korea
A musician playin' an oul' gayageum
South Korea shares its traditional culture with North Korea, but the oul' two Koreas have developed distinct contemporary forms of culture since the oul' peninsula was divided in 1945. Jaysis. Historically, while the culture of Korea has been heavily influenced by that of neighborin' China, it has nevertheless managed to develop a unique cultural identity that is distinct from its larger neighbor.[365] Its rich and vibrant culture left 21 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity,[366] the bleedin' fourth largest in the feckin' world,[needs update] along with 15 World Heritage Sites, fair play. The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism actively encourages the oul' traditional arts, as well as modern forms, through fundin' and education programs.[367]
The industrialization and urbanization of South Korea have brought many changes to the bleedin' way modern Koreans live, grand so. Changin' economics and lifestyles have led to a concentration of population in major cities, especially the bleedin' capital Seoul, with multi-generational households separatin' into nuclear family livin' arrangements. Listen up now to this fierce wan. A 2014 Euromonitor study found that South Koreans drink the bleedin' most alcohol on a weekly basis compared to the bleedin' rest of the world. South Koreans drink 13.7 shots of liquor per week on average and, of the oul' 44 other countries analyzed, Russia, the oul' Philippines, and Thailand follow.[368]
Main article: Korean art
A blue and white porcelain peach-shaped water dropper from the feckin' Joseon Dynasty in the feckin' 18th century
Korean art has been highly influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism, which can be seen in the many traditional paintings, sculptures, ceramics and the feckin' performin' arts.[369] Korean pottery and porcelain, such as Joseon's baekja and buncheong, and Goryeo's celadon are well known throughout the oul' world.[370] The Korean tea ceremony, pansori, talchum and buchaechum are also notable Korean performin' arts.
Post-war modern Korean art started to flourish in the bleedin' 1960s and 1970s, when South Korean artists took interest in geometrical shapes and intangible subjects, begorrah. Establishin' a harmony between man and nature was also a bleedin' favorite of this time, would ye swally that? Because of social instability, social issues appeared as main subjects in the feckin' 1980s. Art was influenced by various international events and exhibits in Korea, and with it brought more diversity.[371] The Olympic Sculpture Garden in 1988, the bleedin' transposition of the 1993 edition of the feckin' Whitney Biennial to Seoul,[372] the oul' creation of the oul' Gwangju Biennale[373] and the oul' Korean Pavilion at the bleedin' Venice Biennale in 1995[374] were notable events.
Main article: Architecture of South Korea
See also: Korean architecture
Namdaemun
Because of South Korea's tumultuous history, construction and destruction has been repeated endlessly, resultin' in an interestin' melange of architectural styles and designs.[375]
Korean traditional architecture is characterized by its harmony with nature, would ye swally that? Ancient architects adopted the bracket system characterized by thatched roofs and heated floors called ondol.[376] People of the bleedin' upper classes built bigger houses with elegantly curved tiled roofs with liftin' eaves. Traditional architecture can be seen in the palaces and temples, preserved old houses called hanok,[377] and special sites like Hahoe Folk Village, Yangdong Village of Gyeongju and Korean Folk Village. Jaykers! Traditional architecture may also be seen at the bleedin' nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Korea.[378]
Bulguksa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Western architecture was first introduced to Korea at the oul' end of the bleedin' 19th century. Churches, offices for foreign legislation, schools and university buildings were built in new styles. With the annexation of Korea by Japan in 1910 the colonial regime intervened in Korea's architectural heritage, and Japanese-style modern architecture was imposed, so it is. The anti-Japanese sentiment, and the feckin' Korean War, led to the oul' destruction of most buildings constructed durin' that time.[379]
Korean architecture entered a bleedin' new phase of development durin' the oul' post-Korean War reconstruction, incorporatin' modern architectural trends and styles. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Stimulated by the bleedin' economic growth in the bleedin' 1970s and 1980s, active redevelopment saw new horizons in architectural design, to be sure. In the aftermath of the feckin' 1988 Seoul Olympics, South Korea has witnessed a wide variation of styles in its architectural landscape due, in large part, to the openin' up of the market to foreign architects.[380] Contemporary architectural efforts have been constantly tryin' to balance the oul' traditional philosophy of "harmony with nature" and the oul' fast-paced urbanization that the bleedin' country has been goin' through in recent years.[381]
Main article: Korean cuisine
Korean cuisine, hanguk yori (한국요리; 韓國料理), or hansik (한식; 韓食), has evolved through centuries of social and political change, bedad. Ingredients and dishes vary by province. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. There are many significant regional dishes that have proliferated in different variations across the bleedin' country in the feckin' present day, bedad. The Korean royal court cuisine once brought all of the bleedin' unique regional specialties together for the royal family, would ye swally that? Meals consumed both by the royal family and ordinary Korean citizens have been regulated by a holy unique culture of etiquette.
Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, noodles, tofu, vegetables, fish and meats. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes, banchan (반찬), which accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice, the shitehawk. Every meal is accompanied by numerous banchan, enda story. Kimchi (김치), a fermented, usually spicy vegetable dish is commonly served at every meal and is one of the bleedin' best known Korean dishes. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. Korean cuisine usually involves heavy seasonin' with sesame oil, doenjang (된장), a type of fermented soybean paste, soy sauce, salt, garlic, ginger, and gochujang (고추장), a hot pepper paste. Other well-known dishes are Bulgogi (불고기), grilled marinated beef; Gimbap (김밥); and Tteokbokki (떡볶이), an oul' spicy snack consistin' of rice cake seasoned with gochujang or a feckin' spicy chili paste.
Soups are also a feckin' common part of a holy Korean meal and are served as part of the main course rather than at the bleedin' beginnin' or the feckin' end of the bleedin' meal. Soups known as guk (국) are often made with meats, shellfish and vegetables. G'wan now and listen to this wan. Similar to guk, tang (탕; 湯) has less water, and is more often served in restaurants, like. Another type is jjigae (찌개), a feckin' stew that is typically heavily seasoned with chili pepper and served boilin' hot.
Popular Korean alcoholic beverages include Soju, Makgeolli and Bokbunja ju.
Korea is unique among East Asian countries in its use of metal chopsticks. Metal chopsticks have been discovered in Goguryeo archaeological sites.[382]
Main articles: Korean wave, Cinema of South Korea, Korean drama, and K-pop
BTS, one of the oul' most successful K-pop groups
In addition to domestic consumption, South Korea has an oul' thrivin' entertainment industry where various facets of South Korean entertainment, includin' television dramas, films, and popular music, has generated significant financial revenues for the feckin' nation's economy, Lord bless us and save us. The cultural phenomenon known as Hallyu or the feckin' "Korean Wave", has swept many countries across Asia makin' South Korea a bleedin' major soft power as an exporter of popular culture and entertainment, rivalin' Western nations such as the feckin' United States and the United Kingdom.[383][384]
Psy became an international sensation with "Gangnam Style" in 2012.
Until the oul' 1990s, trot and traditional Korean folk based ballads dominated South Korean popular music. The emergence of the oul' South Korean pop group Seo Taiji and Boys in 1992 marked a feckin' turnin' point for South Korean popular music, also known as K-pop, as the oul' genre modernized itself from incorporatin' elements of popular musical genres from across the bleedin' 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.[385] Western-style pop, hip hop, rhythm and blues, rock, folk, electronic dance oriented acts have become dominant in the feckin' modern South Korean popular music scene, though trot is still enjoyed among older South Koreans, Lord bless us and save us. K-pop stars and groups are well known across Asia and have found international fame makin' millions of dollars in export revenue. Many K-pop acts have also been able to secure a strong overseas followin' usin' online social media platforms such as the oul' video sharin' website YouTube. South Korean singer Psy became an international sensation when his song "Gangnam Style" topped global music charts in 2012. C'mere til I tell ya now.
Since the oul' success of the feckin' film Shiri in 1999, the feckin' Korean film industry has begun to gain recognition internationally. Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. Domestic film has an oul' dominant share of the feckin' market, partly because of the feckin' existence of screen quotas requirin' cinemas to show Korean films at least 73 days a feckin' year.[386] 2019's Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho, became the bleedin' highest-grossin' film in South Korea as well as the oul' first non-English language film to win Best Picture at the United States-based Academy Awards that year amongst numerous other accolades.
South Korean television shows have become popular outside of Korea, so it is. South Korean television dramas, known as K-dramas, have begun to find fame internationally. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Many dramas tend to have a romantic focus, such as Princess Hours, You're Beautiful, Playful Kiss, My Name is Kim Sam Soon, Boys Over Flowers, Winter Sonata, Autumn in My Heart, Full House, City Hunter, All About Eve, Secret Garden, I Can Hear Your Voice, Master's Sun, My Love from the oul' Star, Healer, Descendants of the feckin' Sun, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God and Reply (TV series) . Historical dramas have included Faith, Dae Jang Geum, The Legend, Dong Yi, Moon Embracin' the Sun, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Iljimae and Kingdom.[387][388] The survival drama Squid Game, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk, received critical acclaim and widespread international attention upon its release, becomin' Netflix's most-watched series at launch and garnerin' a viewership of more than 142 million households durin' its first four weeks from launch.[389][390][391][392]
Main article: Public holidays in South Korea
There are many official public holidays in South Korea. Korean New Year's Day, or "Seollal", is celebrated on the oul' first day of the feckin' Korean lunar calendar. Jasus. Korean Independence Day falls on 1 March, and commemorates the 1 March Movement of 1919, the cute hoor. Memorial Day is celebrated on 6 June, and its purpose is to honor the feckin' men and women who died in South Korea's independence movement. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. Constitution Day is on 17 July, and it celebrates the bleedin' promulgation of Constitution of the feckin' Republic of Korea. C'mere til I tell ya. Liberation Day, on 15 August, celebrates Korea's liberation from the bleedin' Empire of Japan in 1945. Every 15th day of the feckin' 8th lunar month, Koreans celebrate the oul' Midautumn Festival, in which Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and eat an oul' variety of traditional Korean foods. Arra' would ye listen to this. On 1 October, Armed Forces day is celebrated, honorin' the bleedin' military forces of South Korea. Bejaysus. 3 October is National Foundation Day. Hangul Day, on 9 October commemorates the oul' invention of hangul, the feckin' native alphabet of the Korean language.
Main article: Sport in South Korea
Seoul Sports Complex, Korea's largest integrated sports center
The martial art taekwondo originated in Korea. I hope yiz are all ears now. In the oul' 1950s and 1960s, modern rules were standardized, with taekwondo becomin' an official Olympic sport in 2000.[393] Other Korean martial arts include Taekkyon, hapkido, Tang Soo Do, Kuk Sool Won, kumdo and subak.[394]
Football has traditionally been regarded as the oul' most popular sport in Korea, with Baseball as the oul' second.[395] Recent pollin' indicates that a holy majority, 41% of South Korean sports fans continue to self-identify as football fans, with baseball ranked 2nd at 25% of respondents. C'mere til I tell ya now. However, the pollin' did not indicate the feckin' extent to which respondents follow both sports.[396] The national football team became the first team in the feckin' Asian Football Confederation to reach the feckin' FIFA World Cup semi-finals in the oul' 2002 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan. I hope yiz are all ears now. The Korea Republic national team (as it is known) has qualified for every World Cup since Mexico 1986, and has banjaxed out of the group stage twice: first in 2002, and again in 2010, when it was defeated by eventual semi-finalist Uruguay in the oul' Round of 16. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, South Korea won the oul' bronze medal for football.
Sajik Baseball Stadium in Busan, fair play. Baseball is one of the most popular sports in South Korea.
Baseball was first introduced to Korea in 1905 and has since become one of the bleedin' most popular sports in the oul' country.[397][398][399] Recent years have been characterized by increasin' attendance and ticket prices for professional baseball games.[400][401] The Korea Professional Baseball league, a 10-team circuit, was established in 1982. Sure this is it. The South Korea national team finished third in the oul' 2006 World Baseball Classic and second in the 2009 tournament. The team's 2009 final game against Japan was widely watched in Korea, with a feckin' large screen at Gwanghwamun crossin' in Seoul broadcastin' the feckin' game live.[402] In the 2008 Summer Olympics, South Korea won the gold medal in baseball.[403] Also in 1982, at the oul' Baseball Worldcup, Korea won the bleedin' gold medal, what? At the bleedin' 2010 Asian Games, the bleedin' Korean National Baseball team won the bleedin' gold medal. Bejaysus here's a quare one right here now. Several Korean players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball.
Basketball is an oul' popular sport in the bleedin' country as well. C'mere til I tell ya now. South Korea has traditionally had one of the top basketball teams in Asia and one of the bleedin' continent's strongest basketball divisions. Listen up now to this fierce wan. Seoul hosted the feckin' 1967 and 1995 Asian Basketball Championship, Lord bless us and save us. The Korea national basketball team has won a record number of 23 medals at the event to date.[404]
Taekwondo, a Korean martial art and Olympic sport
South Korea hosted the oul' Asian Games in 1986 (Seoul), 2002 (Busan), and 2014 (Incheon). Chrisht Almighty. It also hosted the bleedin' Winter Universiade in 1997, the bleedin' Asian Winter Games in 1999, and the Summer Universiade in 2003 and 2015. In 1988, South Korea hosted the bleedin' Summer Olympics in Seoul, comin' fourth with 12 gold medals, 10 silver medals, and 11 bronze medals. Would ye believe this shite?South Korea regularly performs well in archery, shootin', table tennis, badminton, short track speed skatin', handball, field hockey, freestyle wrestlin', Greco-Roman wrestlin', baseball, judo, taekwondo, speed skatin', figure skatin', and weightliftin', so it is. The Seoul Olympic Museum is dedicated to the feckin' 1988 Summer Olympics. G'wan now and listen to this wan. On 6 July 2011, Pyeongchang was chosen by the feckin' IOC to host the oul' 2018 Winter Olympics.
South Korea has won more medals in the Winter Olympics than any other Asian country, with a bleedin' total of 45 (23 gold, 14 silver, and 8 bronze). Jesus, Mary and Joseph. At the feckin' 2010 Winter Olympics, South Korea ranked fifth in the bleedin' overall medal rankings. South Korea is especially strong in short track speed skatin'. Right so. Speed skatin' and figure skatin' are also popular, and ice hockey is an emergin' sport, with Anyang Halla winnin' their first ever Asia League Ice Hockey title in March 2010.[405]
Seoul hosted a feckin' professional triathlon race, which is part of the International Triathlon Union (ITU) World Championship Series in May 2010.[406] In 2011, the feckin' South Korean city of Daegu hosted the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics.[407]
In October 2010, South Korea hosted its first Formula One race at the feckin' Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, about 400 kilometers (250 mi) south of Seoul.[408] The Korean Grand Prix was held from 2010 to 2013, but was not placed on the feckin' 2014 F1 calendar.[409]
Domestic horse racin' events are also followed by South Koreans and Seoul Race Park in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do is located closest to Seoul out of the country's three tracks.[410]
Competitive video gamin', also called Esports (sometimes written e-Sports), has become more popular in South Korea in recent years, particularly among young people.[411] The two most popular games are League of Legends and StarCraft. The gamin' scene of South Korea is managed by the feckin' Korean e-Sports Association.
(남한, 南韓), is rarely used. North Koreans use Namchosŏn (남조선, 南朝鮮) when referrin' to South Korea, derived from the North Korean name for Korea, Chosŏn (조선, 朝鮮).
^ Korean: 대한민국; Hanja: 大韓民國; RR: Daehan Minguk
^ South Korea's border with North Korea is a disputed border as both countries claim the entirety of the oul' Korean Peninsula.
^ . G'wan now and listen to this wan. Retrieved 24 September 2022.
^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database April 2022". Arra' would ye listen to this. IMF.org, would ye swally that? International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
^ Inequality – Income inequality – OECD Data. C'mere til I tell ya. OECD. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF), bejaysus. United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Bejaysus here's a quare one right here now. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
^ Service (KOCIS), Korean Culture and Information. "The Korean Economy – the oul' Miracle on the bleedin' Hangang River : Korea.net : The official website of the feckin' Republic of Korea", that's fierce now what? www.korea.net. Bejaysus. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
^ "2021 World Press Freedom Index". RSF, that's fierce now what? 11 January 2022.
^ Lara Farrar. "'Korean Wave' of pop culture sweeps across Asia". CNN.
^ Kim, Harry (2 February 2016). Jasus. "Surfin' the bleedin' Korean Wave: How K-pop is takin' over the oul' world | The McGill Tribune". The McGill Tribune, enda story. Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. G'wan now. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
^ Nguyen Hoai Phuong, Duong. Korean Wave as Cultural Imperialism: A study of K-pop Reception in Vietnam (PDF) (Thesis), to be sure. Leiden University.
^ Roberts, John Morris; Westad, Odd Arne (2013). The History of the bleedin' World, so it is. Oxford University Press. Jesus, Mary and holy Saint Joseph. p. 443. Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. ISBN 978-0-19-993676-2. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
^ Gardner, Hall (27 November 2007). Avertin' Global War: Regional Challenges, Overextension, and Options for American Strategy, for the craic. Palgrave Macmillan. Whisht now. pp. 158–159. ISBN 978-0-230-60873-3. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
^ Laet, Sigfried J. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. de (1994). C'mere til I tell ya now. History of Humanity: From the seventh to the oul' sixteenth century, the cute hoor. UNESCO. p. 1133. Story? ISBN 978-92-3-102813-7, would ye swally that? Retrieved 8 November 2016.
^ a b Rossabi, Morris (20 May 1983). C'mere til I tell ya now. China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th–14th Centuries. Sufferin' Jaysus. University of California Press. Here's a quare one. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-520-04562-0. Here's a quare one for ye. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
^ a b Yi, Ki-baek (1984), the cute hoor. A New History of Korea, that's fierce now what? Harvard University Press. p. 103, bejaysus. ISBN 978-0-674-61576-2. Jasus. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
^ Yunn, Seung-Yong (1996), "Muslims earlier contact with Korea", Religious culture of Korea, Hollym International, p. 99
^ Dourado, Fernão, like. "Atlas de Fernão Vaz Dourado". Jaykers! Arquivo nacional da Torre do Tombo.
^ "1369MAPAS E ICONOGRAFIA DOS SÉCS. Whisht now. XVI E XVII" (PDF).
^ pato, Raymundo. Whisht now and eist liom. "Cartas de Afonso de Albuquerque, vol. Here's another quare one for ye. 1".
^ Korea原名Corea? 美國改的名. C'mere til I tell ya now. United Daily News (in Chinese). Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. 5 July 2008. Right so. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
^ Barbara Demick (15 September 2003), be the hokey! "A 'C' Change in Spellin' Sought for the feckin' Koreas", Lord bless us and save us. Los Angeles Times, would ye swally that? Retrieved 28 March 2016.
^ 이기환 (30 August 2017). [이기환의 흔적의 역사]국호논쟁의 전말…대한민국이냐 고려공화국이냐, to be sure. 경향신문 (in Korean), to be sure. The Kyunghyang Shinmun, bejaysus. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
^ 이덕일, bedad. [이덕일 사랑] 대~한민국. 조선닷컴 (in Korean), for the craic. Chosun Ilbo. Jesus Mother of Chrisht almighty. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
^ a b Myers, Brian Reynolds (28 December 2016). I hope yiz are all ears now. "Still the oul' Unloved Republic". Sthele Press. Archived from the original on 13 March 2018, what? Retrieved 10 June 2019. Taehan minguk. I hope yiz are all ears now. In English it is translated as Republic of Korea or South Korea, names which to us foreigners denote the state as a bleedin' political entity distinct from its northern neighbor. To most people here, however, Taehan minguk conveys that sense only when used in contrastive proximity with the bleedin' word Pukhan (North Korea). Arra' would ye listen to this. Ask South Koreans when the oul' Taehan minguk was established; more will answer '5000 years ago' than 'in 1948,' because to them it is simply the bleedin' full name for Hanguk, Korea, the oul' homeland. C'mere til I tell yiz. That's all it meant to most people who shouted those four syllables so proudly durin' the oul' World Cup in 2002.
^ Myers, Brian Reynolds (20 May 2018). "North Korea's state-loyalty advantage". Free Online Library. Be the hokey here's a quare wan. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
^ a b "Korea, 1000–1400 A.D. | Chronology | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History". Listen up now to this fierce wan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
^ "Ancient civilizations" (Press release). Canada: Royal Ontario Museum, you know yourself like. 12 December 2005. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
^ "Prehistoric Korea". About Korea. Bejaysus here's a quare one right here now. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 12 July 2008. , Office of the feckin' Prime Minister.
^ "Korea's History", begorrah. Asian Shravan. In fairness now. Archived from the original on 28 January 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2009.
^ a b * Seth, Michael J, fair play. (2010). A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the feckin' Present. Listen up now to this fierce wan. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 443. ISBN 978-0-7425-6717-7.
"An extreme manifestation of nationalism and the bleedin' family cult was the oul' revival of interest in Tangun, the bleedin' mythical founder of the feckin' first Korean state... Jaysis. Most textbooks and professional historians, however, treat yer man as a feckin' myth."
Stark, Miriam T. (2008), to be sure. Archaeology of Asia. John Wiley & Sons, the hoor. p. 49. Jaysis. ISBN 978-1-4051-5303-4.
"Although Kija may have truly existed as a holy historical figure, Tangun is more problematical."
Schmid, Andre (2013). Jasus. Korea Between Empires. Columbia University Press, enda story. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-231-50630-4.
"Most [Korean historians] treat the bleedin' [Tangun] myth as a later creation."
Peterson, Mark (2009). G'wan now and listen to this wan. Brief History of Korea. Story? Infobase Publishin'. Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4381-2738-5.
"The Tangun myth became more popular with groups that wanted Korea to be independent; the bleedin' Kija myth was more useful to those who wanted to show that Korea had a bleedin' strong affinity to China."
Hulbert, H. Jaykers! B. (2014). Whisht now and eist liom. The History of Korea. Routledge, grand so. p. 73. Here's a quare one for ye. ISBN 978-1-317-84941-4.
"If a bleedin' choice is to be made between them, one is faced with the feckin' fact that the bleedin' Tangun, with his supernatural origin, is more clearly an oul' mythological figure than Kija."
^ Peterson, Mark; Margulies, Phillip (2009), for the craic. A Brief History of Korea. Would ye believe this shite?Infobase Publishin'. p. 6, that's fierce now what? ISBN 978-1-4381-2738-5.
^ Hwang, Kyung-moon (2010). Here's a quare one for ye. A History of Korea, An Episodic Narrative. Jaysis. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 4, the shitehawk. ISBN 978-0-230-36453-0.
^ Early Korea Archived 25 June 2015 at the bleedin' Wayback Machine. Shsu.edu, so it is. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
^ 낙랑군. terms.naver.com.
^ 이문영 (15 July 2011), begorrah. 이야기보따리 삼국시대: 역사친구 004. Jasus. Sowadang, game ball! ISBN 978-89-93820-14-0 – via Google Books.
^ Yi, Ki-baek (1984). Here's a quare one. A New History of Korea, game ball! Harvard University Press. Bejaysus. pp. 23–24. C'mere til I tell ya. ISBN 978-0-674-61576-2, to be sure. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Yi, Hyŏn-hŭi; Pak, Sŏng-su; Yun, Nae-hyŏn (2005), you know yerself. New history of Korea. Jimoondang. Jaykers! p. 201. Jaysis. ISBN 978-89-88095-85-0. C'mere til I tell ya now. He launched a bleedin' military expedition to expand his territory, openin' the oul' golden age of Goguryeo.
^ Hall, John Whitney (1988). C'mere til I tell ya now. The Cambridge History of Japan. Cambridge University Press. p. 362, to be sure. ISBN 978-0-521-22352-2. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Embree, Ainslie Thomas (1988). Encyclopedia of Asian history. I hope yiz are all ears now. Scribner. p. 324. ISBN 978-0-684-18899-7, the cute hoor. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Cohen, Warren I, would ye believe it? (20 December 2000). East Asia at the feckin' Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the World. Jaykers! Columbia University Press. p. 50, grand so. ISBN 978-0-231-50251-1, game ball! Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Kim, Jinwung (5 November 2012). A History of Korea: From "Land of the oul' Mornin' Calm" to States in Conflict, to be sure. Indiana University Press. p. 35, be the hokey! ISBN 978-0-253-00078-1. Soft oul' day. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
^ "Kings and Queens of Korea". Jaykers! KBS World Radio. C'mere til I tell yiz. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Would ye swally this in a minute now?Retrieved 26 August 2016.
White, Matthew (7 November 2011). Atrocities: The 100 Deadliest Episodes in Human History. W. C'mere til I tell ya now. W. Norton & Company. Be the holy feck, this is a quare wan. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-393-08192-3. Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
Grant, Reg G. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. (2011). Jaysis. 1001 Battles That Changed the oul' Course of World History. Whisht now. Universe Pub. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-7893-2233-3, enda story. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
Bedeski, Robert (12 March 2007), would ye believe it? Human Security and the oul' Chinese State: Historical Transformations and the oul' Modern Quest for Sovereignty. Routledge. Would ye believe this shite?p. 90. ISBN 978-1-134-12597-5. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
Yi, Ki-baek (1984). Arra' would ye listen to this shite? A New History of Korea. Whisht now. Harvard University Press. Here's another quare one. p. 47, you know yourself like. ISBN 978-0-674-61576-2. Sure this is it. Retrieved 29 July 2016, you know yerself. Koguryŏ was the bleedin' first to open hostilities, with a bleedin' bold assault across the Liao River against Liao-hsi, in 598, the hoor. The Sui emperor, Wen Ti, launched a holy retaliatory attack on Koguryŏ but met with reverses and turned back in mid-course, to be sure. Yang Ti, the bleedin' next Sui emperor, proceeded in 612 to mount an invasion of unprecedented magnitude, marshallin' an oul' huge force said to number over a feckin' million men. And when his armies failed to take Liao-tung Fortress (modern Liao-yang), the anchor of Koguryŏ's first line of defense, he had a bleedin' nearly a holy third of his forces, some 300,000 strong, break off the feckin' battle there and strike directly at the oul' Koguryŏ capital of P'yŏngyang. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. But the feckin' Sui army was lured into a feckin' trap by the oul' famed Koguryŏ commander Ŭlchi Mundŏk, and suffered a calamitous defeat at the Salsu (Ch'ŏngch'ŏn) River. It is said that only 2,700 of the 300,000 Sui soldiers who had crossed the Yalu survived to find their way back, and the bleedin' Sui emperor now lifted the siege of Liao-tung Fortress and withdrew his forces to China proper. Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. Yang Ti continued to send his armies against Koguryŏ but again without success, and before long his war-weakened empire crumbled.
Nahm, Andrew C. Here's another quare one. (2005). Bejaysus. A Panorama of 5000 Years: Korean History (Second revised ed.). Seoul: Hollym International Corporation, the shitehawk. p. 18, the shitehawk. ISBN 978-0-930878-68-9. Jaykers! China, which had been split into many states since the bleedin' early 3rd century, was reunified by the feckin' Sui dynasty at the end of the bleedin' 6th century, bedad. Soon after that, Sui China mobilized a large number of troops and launched war against Koguryŏ. However, the feckin' people of Koguryŏ were united and they were able to repel the Chinese aggressors. In 612, Sui troops invaded Korea again, but Koguryŏ forces fought bravely and destroyed Sui troops everywhere. In fairness now. General Ŭlchi Mundŏk of Koguryŏ completely wiped out some 300,000 Sui troops which came across the oul' Yalu River in the oul' battles near the bleedin' Salsu River (now Ch'ŏngch'ŏn River) with his ingenious military tactics. Only 2,700 Sui troops were able to flee from Korea. Whisht now and eist liom. The Sui dynasty, which wasted so much energy and manpower in aggressive wars against Koguryŏ, fell in 618.
^ Ebrey, Patricia Buckley; Walthall, Anne; Palais, James B, so it is. (2006). East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, so it is. Houghton Mifflin. Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. p. 123, for the craic. ISBN 978-0-618-13384-0, the cute hoor. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
^ Kitagawa, Joseph (5 September 2013), bedad. The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture. Routledge. Sufferin' Jaysus listen to this. p. 348. Chrisht Almighty. ISBN 978-1-136-87590-8. Whisht now. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Ebrey, Patricia Buckley; Walthall, Anne; Palais, James B. (2013), begorrah. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800. Cengage Learnin', that's fierce now what? p. 104. ISBN 978-1-111-80815-0, be the hokey! Retrieved 12 September 2016.
^ A Brief History of Korea. Ewha Womans University Press, the cute hoor. 1 January 2005. pp. 29–30. I hope yiz are all ears now. ISBN 978-89-7300-619-9. Arra' would ye listen to this shite? Retrieved 21 November 2016.
^ Kim, Jinwung (2012). A History of Korea: From "Land of the oul' Mornin' Calm" to States in Conflict, that's fierce now what? Indiana University Press. pp. 44–45. Sure this is it. ISBN 978-0-253-00024-8, the shitehawk. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
^ Wells, Kenneth M, like. (3 July 2015). Listen up now to this fierce wan. Korea: Outline of a feckin' Civilisation. Brill. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-90-04-30005-7. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
^ Injae, Lee; Miller, Owen; Jinhoon, Park; Hyun-Hae, Yi (15 December 2014). Korean History in Maps. Cambridge University Press. Sufferin' Jaysus. pp. 64–65, the shitehawk. ISBN 978-1-107-09846-6. Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
^ DuBois, Jill (2004). Korea. Marshall Cavendish, the shitehawk. p. 22. ISBN 978-0-7614-1786-6. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Retrieved 29 July 2016. Would ye believe this shite? golden age of art and culture.
^ Randel, Don Michael (2003), the hoor. The Harvard Dictionary of Music, enda story. Harvard University Press. In fairness now. p. 273. ISBN 978-0-674-01163-2. Listen up now to this fierce wan. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Hopfner, Jonathan (10 September 2013). Moon Livin' Abroad in South Korea. Avalon Travel. p. 21. Here's another quare one for ye. ISBN 978-1-61238-632-4. Jesus Mother of Chrisht almighty. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Kim, Djun Kil (30 January 2005), bejaysus. The History of Korea. ABC-CLIO. Here's a quare one. p. 47. ISBN 978-0-313-03853-2. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
^ Kitagawa, Joseph (5 September 2013), so it is. The Religious Traditions of Asia: Religion, History, and Culture. G'wan now and listen to this wan. Routledge. Right so. p. 348. ISBN 978-1-136-87590-8. C'mere til I tell ya now. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
^ Gernet, Jacques (31 May 1996). A History of Chinese Civilization. Whisht now. Cambridge University Press, be the hokey! p. 291. Here's a quare one. ISBN 978-0-521-49781-7. Here's another quare one. Retrieved 21 July 2016. Korea held a holy dominant position in the feckin' north-eastern seas.
^ Reischauer, Edwin Oldfather (1 May 1955). Ennins Travels in Tang China. Story? John Wiley & Sons Canada, Limited. pp. 276–283. G'wan now. ISBN 978-0-471-07053-5, be the hokey! Retrieved 21 July 2016. From what Ennin tells us, it seems that commerce between East China, Korea and Japan was, for the most part, in the oul' hands of men from Silla. Right so. Here in the feckin' relatively dangerous waters on the oul' eastern fringes of the world, they performed the feckin' same functions as did the feckin' traders of the placid Mediterranean on the oul' western fringes. Here's another quare one. This is a holy historical fact of considerable significance but one which has received virtually no attention in the bleedin' standard historical compilations of that period or in the bleedin' modern books based on these sources. Jaysis. ... While there were limits to the feckin' influence of the feckin' Koreans along the feckin' eastern coast of China, there can be no doubt of their dominance over the oul' waters off these shores, the cute hoor. ... Jaykers! The days of Korean maritime dominance in the bleedin' Far East actually were numbered, but in Ennin's time the feckin' men of Silla were still the bleedin' masters of the seas in their part of the oul' world.
^ Kim, Djun Kil (30 May 2014). Soft oul' day. The History of Korea, 2nd Edition, you know yerself. ABC-CLIO, fair play. p. 3. Stop the lights! ISBN 978-1-61069-582-4, grand so. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
^ Seth, Michael J. (2006). G'wan now and listen to this wan. A Concise History of Korea: From the Neolithic Period Through the oul' Nineteenth Century. Chrisht Almighty. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-7425-4005-7. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
^ MacGregor, Neil (6 October 2011). A History of the bleedin' World in 100 Objects. Penguin UK. Here's another quare one. ISBN 978-0-14-196683-0. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
^ Chŏng, Yang-mo; Smith, Judith G. G'wan now. (1998). Be the holy feck, this is a quare wan. Arts of Korea. C'mere til I tell yiz. Metropolitan Museum of Art. C'mere til I tell yiz. p. 230, the shitehawk. ISBN 978-0-87099-850-8. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
^ International, Rotary (April 1989), be the hokey! The Rotarian. Rotary International, bejaysus. p. 28. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
^ Ross, Alan (17 January 2013), would ye swally that? After Pusan. Sufferin' Jaysus listen to this. Faber & Faber. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. ISBN 978-0-571-29935-5. Bejaysus here's a quare one right here now. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
^ Mason, David A. Whisht now. "Gyeongju, Korea's treasure house". Sufferin' Jaysus listen to this. Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS). Soft oul' day. Archived from the original on 3 October 2016, Lord bless us and save us. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
^ Adams, Edward Ben (1990). Arra' would ye listen to this shite? Koreaʾs pottery heritage. Seoul International Pub. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. House. p. 53. ISBN 9788985113069. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
^ Mun, Chanju; Green, Ronald S. (2006). Buddhist Exploration of Peace and Justice. Blue Pine Books. p. 147, fair play. ISBN 978-0-9777553-0-1, grand so. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ McIntire, Suzanne; Burns, William E. (25 June 2010). Speeches in World History. Jesus Mother of Chrisht almighty. Infobase Publishin'. Listen up now to this fierce wan. p. 87. Would ye believe this shite?ISBN 978-1-4381-2680-7. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Buswell, Robert E. Listen up now to this fierce wan. Jr.; Lopez, Donald S. Jr. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. (24 November 2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Whisht now and eist liom. Princeton University Press. Whisht now. p. 187. Jesus Mother of Chrisht almighty. ISBN 978-1-4008-4805-8. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Poceski, Mario (13 April 2007). G'wan now. Ordinary Mind as the oul' Way: The Hongzhou School and the oul' Growth of Chan Buddhism. Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. Oxford University Press. p. 24, begorrah. ISBN 978-0-19-804320-1. Be the holy feck, this is a quare wan. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Wu, Jiang; Chia, Lucille (15 December 2015), bejaysus. Spreadin' Buddha's Word in East Asia: The Formation and Transformation of the Chinese Buddhist Canon, enda story. Columbia University Press. Here's a quare one. p. 155, Lord bless us and save us. ISBN 978-0-231-54019-3. Jesus, Mary and holy Saint Joseph. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ Wright, Dale S, bedad. (25 March 2004). Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. The Zen Canon: Understandin' the oul' Classic Texts. Oxford University Press. C'mere til I tell ya now. ISBN 978-0-19-988218-2. Whisht now and listen to this wan. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
Su-il, Jeong (18 July 2016), like. The Silk Road Encyclopedia, the shitehawk. Seoul Selection. ISBN 978-1-62412-076-3, begorrah. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
Nikaido, Yoshihiro (28 October 2015). Asian Folk Religion and Cultural Interaction. Be the holy feck, this is a quare wan. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. G'wan now. p. 137. Jaykers! ISBN 978-3-8470-0485-1, for the craic. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
Leffman, David; Lewis, Simon; Atiyah, Jeremy (2003), fair play. China, the hoor. Rough Guides. Whisht now and listen to this wan. p. 519. Chrisht Almighty. ISBN 978-1-84353-019-0, you know yourself like. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
Leffman, David (2 June 2014), enda story. The Rough Guide to China. Penguin. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. ISBN 978-0-241-01037-2. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
Su-il, Jeong (18 July 2016), would ye swally that? The Silk Road Encyclopedia. Seoul Selection. C'mere til I tell ya. ISBN 978-1-62412-076-3. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
^ 박, 종기 (24 August 2015). Chrisht Almighty. 고려사의 재발견: 한반도 역사상 가장 개방적이고 역동적인 500년 고려 역사를 만나다 (in Korean), that's fierce now what? 휴머니스트. Would ye swally this in a minute now?ISBN 978-89-5862-902-3. Sufferin' Jaysus listen to this. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
^ Kim, Djun Kil (30 January 2005). The History of Korea, be the hokey! ABC-CLIO, the hoor. p. 57. Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. ISBN 978-0-313-03853-2. Jaykers! Retrieved 8 November 2016.
^ Grayson, James H. (5 November 2013). C'mere til I tell ya now. Korea – A Religious History, would ye swally that? Routledge, fair play. p. 79. ISBN 978-1-136-86925-9. Would ye believe this shite?Retrieved 8 November 2016.
^ Lee, Ki-Baik (1984). A New History of Korea, to be sure. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-674-61576-2. Listen up now to this fierce wan. When Parhae perished at the feckin' hands of the Khitan around this same time, much of its rulin' class, who were of Koguryŏ descent, fled to Koryŏ. Be the holy feck, this is a quare wan. Wang Kŏn warmly welcomed them and generously gave them land. Along with bestowin' the bleedin' name Wang Kye ("Successor of the feckin' Royal Wang") on the Parhae crown prince, Tae Kwang-hyŏn, Wang Kŏn entered his name in the royal household register, thus clearly conveyin' the bleedin' idea that they belonged to the feckin' same lineage, and also had rituals performed in honor of his progenitor, to be sure. Thus Koryŏ achieved a feckin' true national unification that embraced not only the bleedin' Later Three Kingdoms but even survivors of Koguryŏ lineage from the feckin' Parhae kingdom.
^ Bulliet, Richard; Crossley, Pamela; Headrick, Daniel; Hirsch, Steven; Johnson, Lyman (1 January 2014). Would ye swally this in a minute now?The Earth and Its Peoples, Brief: A Global History. Jasus. Cengage Learnin'. p. 264, what? ISBN 978-1-285-44551-9, to be sure. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
^ Cohen, Warren I. I hope yiz are all ears now. (20 December 2000). Bejaysus this is a quare tale altogether. East Asia at the feckin' Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the oul' World, for the craic. Columbia University Press. Jaysis. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-231-50251-1. Here's a quare one for ye. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
^ Lee, Kenneth B. (1997). Sure this is it. Korea and East Asia: The Story of a feckin' Phoenix. Jaysis. Greenwood Publishin' Group. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-275-95823-7. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
^ Bowman, John (5 September 2000). G'wan now. Columbia Chronologies of Asian History and Culture. Here's another quare one for ye. Columbia University Press. p. 202. Sufferin' Jaysus. ISBN 978-0-231-50004-3. Story? Retrieved 1 August 2016. The Mongolian-Khitan invasions of the feckin' late tenth century challenge the stability of the feckin' Koryo government, but a period of prosperity follows the bleedin' defeat of the Khitan in 1018..
^ a b Lee, Kenneth B. Stop the lights! (1997). Here's another quare one. Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix. Greenwood Publishin' Group. p. 72, you know yourself like. ISBN 978-0-275-95823-7. Holy blatherin' Joseph, listen to this. Retrieved 12 November 2016.
^ Yi, Ki-baek (1984). Jesus, Mary and holy Saint Joseph. A New History of Korea. Jasus. Harvard University Press. Jesus, Mary and Joseph. p. 165. Would ye believe this shite?ISBN 978-0-674-61576-2. Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
^ Selin, Helaine (11 November 2013). Jesus Mother of Chrisht almighty. Encyclopaedia of the oul' History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Westen Cultures, grand so. Springer Science & Business Media. In fairness now. pp. 505–506. Listen up now to this fierce wan. ISBN 978-94-017-1416-7. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
^ Haralambous, Yannis; Horne, P. Scott (28 November 2007). Whisht now and listen to this wan. Fonts & Encodings. Jesus, Mary and holy Saint Joseph. O'Reilly Media, Inc. p. 155. Be the hokey here's a quare wan. ISBN 978-0-596-10242-5. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
^ Lee, Kenneth B. Jaysis. (1997). Korea and East Asia: The Story of a Phoenix. G'wan now and listen to this wan. Greenwood Publishin' Group. p. 86. Whisht now and eist liom. ISBN 978-0-275-95823-7. Here's a quare one for ye. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
^ Koerner, E.F.K.; Asher, R. G'wan now. E. Sufferin' Jaysus. (28 June 2014). Me head is hurtin' with all this raidin'. Concise History of the Language Sciences: From the bleedin' Sumerians to the feckin' Cognitivists, would ye swally that? Elsevier. Jaykers! p. 54. ISBN 978-1-4832-9754-5, be the hokey! Retrieved 8 November 2016.
^ Perez, Louis (2013). Japan At War: An Encyclopedia. Whisht now and listen to this wan. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, fair play. pp. 140–141. ISBN 978-1-59884-741-3. "Yi's successes gave Korea complete control of the feckin' sea lanes around the feckin' peninsula, and the Korean navy was able to intercept most of the supplies and communications between Japan and Korea"
^ 신형식 (January 2005). A Brief History of Korea. Be the hokey here's a quare wan. Ewha Womans University Press. Chrisht Almighty. ISBN 978-89-7300-619-9. Be the hokey here's a quare wan. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
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^ Regardin' Syngman Rhee (South Korea):
Lee, Gil-sang (2005), the cute hoor. Korea through the Ages. Seongnam: Center for Information on Korean Culture, the Academy of Korean Studies, Lord bless us and save us. pp. 166–181.
Lee, Hyun-hee; Park, Sung-soo; Yoon, Nae-hyun (2005). Whisht now and eist liom. New History of Korea. Bejaysus. Paju: Jimoondang. pp. 584–590.
Regardin' Kim Il-sung (North Korea):
Buzo, Adrian (2002). Here's a quare one. The Makin' of Modern Korea. London: Routledge. pp. 71–91, what? ISBN 978-0-415-23749-9.
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