Korea, South

Country	Korea, South
Flag
Capital	name: Seoul geographic coordinates: 37 33 N, 126 59 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Population	48,508,972 (July 2009 est.)
GMT	+9
Location	Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
Area	total: 98,480 sq km land: 98,190 sq km water: 290 sq km
Ethnic groups	homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
Religions	Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist 23.2%, other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3% (1995 census)
Languages	Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school
Government type	republic
National holiday	Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)
Constitution	17 July 1948; note - amended or rewritten nine times; current constitution approved on 29 October 1987
Legal system	combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Background	An independent Korean state or collection of states has existed almost continuously for several millennia. Between its initial unification in the 7th century - from three predecessor Korean states - until the 20th century, Korea existed as a single independent country. In 1905, following the Russo-Japanese War, Korea became a protectorate of imperial Japan, and in 1910 it was annexed as a colony. Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the United States in 1945. After World War II, a Republic of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north (the DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South Korea from DPRK attacks supported by China and the Soviet Union. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1993, KIM Young-sam became South Korea's first civilian president following 32 years of military rule. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South's President KIM Dae-jung and the North's leader KIM Jong Il. In October 2007, a second North-South summit took place between the South's President ROH Moo-hyun and the North Korean leader. Harsh rhetoric and unwillingness by North Korea to engage with President LEE Myung-bak following his February 2008 inauguration has strained inter-Korean relations.
Internet country code	.kr