Location: Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the East Sea/Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea

Country Name: conventional long form: Republic of Korea
conventional short form: South Korea
local short form: none
note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han'guk" to refer to their country
local long form: Taehan-min'guk
abbreviation: ROK

Nationality: noun: Korean (s)
adjective: Korean

Capital: Seoul
Flag Description: The flag of South Korea is white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field The white of the background stands for peace and purity. The central yin-yang symbol symbolizes the concepts of creation and development through duality and balance. The four black trigram (kwae) symbols represent heaven, fire. water. and earth. Together, the yin-yang symbol and the trigrams express the principle of the movement of all objects in the universe and the movement of the universe itself, resulting in peace and harmony. http://www.fotw.ca/flags/kr.html
Government Type: republic
Administrative Divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities*
(gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto,
Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do,
Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-
gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi*

Independence: August 15, 1945 (from Japan)

Language: Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school

Ethnic Groups: homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)

Religion: Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1%

Population: 48,324,000 (July 2002 est.)
Population Growth Rate: .85% (2002 est.)
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 21.4% (male 5,488,808; female 4,875,379)
15-64 years: 71% (male 17,404,645; female 16,894,361)
65 years and over: 7.6% (male 1,434,873; female 2,225,934) (2002 est.)
Life Expectancy: male: 71 years ; female: 79 years (2002 est.)
Literacy rate: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 99.3%
female: 96.7% (1995 est.)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP): $931 billion (2001 est.)
Currency: South Korean won (KRW; 1,317KRW=1USD)

Area: 38,023 sq. miles (slightly larger than Indiana)

Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south

Natural Resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential