Korea, South

Korea, South (official name Republic of Korea) A north-eastern Asian country. Consisting of the southern half of the Korean peninsula, mostly beneath the 38th parallel, South Korea was formed from the zone occupied by US forces after World War II.

Physical

The terrain of South Korea is made up of low hills and wide valleys. Numerous small islands in the sovereign territory of South Korea lie off its western coast, in the Yellow Sea. The climate is milder than in the north of the peninsula.

Economy

South Korea suffered economic breakdown in 1997 when the currency collapsed and an IMF rescue plan is now in operation. South Korea has a mixed economy with a successful export-based industrial sector, and an agricultural sector which provides self-sufficiency in food and high yields in rice production. The principal manufacturing industries are petrochemicals, ship-building, textiles, and electronics. The chief exports are transport equipment, electrical machinery, footwear, and textiles. South Korea has few minerals except for large tungsten deposits.

History

The independent Republic of Korea was proclaimed on 15 August 1948. Badly damaged by the KOREAN WAR (1950–53), the South Korean economy was initially restricted by its lack of industrial and power resources and by a severe post-war refugee problem. Unemployment and inflation damaged the reputation of the government of President Rhee, and its increasing brutality and corruption finally led to its overthrow in 1960. After a second civilian government had failed to restore the situation, the army, led by General Park Chung Hee, seized power in 1961. Park, who assumed the powers of a civilian President (1963–79) organized an extremely successful reconstruction campaign which saw South Korea emerge as a strong industrial power, but his repressive policies soon engendered serious unrest. Tension with North Korea remained high during this period, until an agreement between the two governments, signed in July 1972, laid foundations for possible future reunification. Park Chung Hee was assassinated by the head of the South Korean Central Intelligence Agency in a coup in 1979. His successor, General Chun Doo Hwan, continued his policies until forced partially to liberalize the political system after student unrest in 1987. A referendum was held and a new constitution proclaimed. President Roh Tae Woo was elected, and in 1990 his party, the Democratic Justice Party, amalgamated with others to form the Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), which advocated reunion with the north and normalization of relations with the Soviet Union and, later, Russia. There were student demonstrations in 1991, and feuding within the DLP, which lost the general election of 1992. Kim Young-Sam was elected President in 1992, the first civilian President for 32 years. Relations with North Korea again worsened in 1994, with the latter's refusal to submit its nuclear energy programme to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency; large-scale civil defence exercises were held in Seoul. In 1996 the DLP (renamed the New Korea Party) formed a new government. Kim Dae Jung was elected President in 1998.

Capital:	Seoul
Area:	99,237 sq km (38,316 sq miles)
Population:	46,451,000 (1998 est)
Currency:	1 South Korean won = 100 jeon
Religions:	Atheist or non-religious 57.4%; Buddhist 19.9%; Protestant 16.1%; Roman Catholic 4.6%; Confucian 1.2%
Ethnic Groups:	Korean 99.9%
Languages:	Korean (official)
International Organizations:	UN; Colombo Plan