Interesting Facts about South Korea
South Korea, officially known as the Republic of Korea, is located in south East Asia and occupies the southern portion of the Korean peninsula. The country shares a land border with North Korea to the north and sea borders with Japan, The Peoples Republic of China and Taiwan. With a population of over 50 million people it is not surprising that its capital city of Seoul is home it approximately 10,421,800 people. It covers an area of just 38,691 sq mi (100,210 km2) making it the 108th largest country in the world.
Interesting Facts about South Korea
- Except for a small Chinese community (about 20,000), virtually all Koreans share a common cultural and linguistic heritage.
- South Korea is one of the most population dense countries in the world.
- The border between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified border in the world and these two countries are technically still at war as they have never signed a peace treaty. The relationship between these countries is highly strained and fragile.
- South Korea is a democratic state that is governed by a president and a prime minister.
- All South Korean males are constitutionally required to serve in the military, typically for a period of two years. South Korea has an extensive military that includes air force, navy, army and marines.
- South Korea is mostly mountainous and it has about 3,000 islands lying off its coastline.
- The highest point in South Korean is an extinct volcano called Hallasan on the island of Jeju-do off the southern coast of South Korea. It reaches 1,950 meters (6,398 ft) above sea level.
- South Korea has 20 national parks.
- South Korea’s market economy is ranked 14th in the world and it is fast becoming an influence in Asia and the world. South Korea relies on international trade and is the sixth largest exporter and tenth largest importer in the world.
- In 2005, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed the world’s second walking humanoid robot, HUBO. A team in the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology developed the first Korean android, EveR-1 in May 2006. They also have plans to create robots capable of teaching English by 2013.
- South Korea’s education system is technologically advanced and it is the world’s first country to bring high-speed fibre-optic broadband internet access to every primary and secondary school nationwide. Using this ultra fast Internet connection, the country has developed the first Digital Textbooks in the world, which will be freely distributed by 2013.
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