The Republic of Korea (commonly referred to as South Korea) is located in the southern region of the Korean Peninsula which sits on the far northeast edge of the Asian Continent. To its west is China, and to the east is Japan. The capital is Seoul, the official language is Korean (Written form : Hangeul), and it adopts a presidential system of government.

Land

The Korean Peninsula is situated at the eastern and of the Asian continent and is approximately 1,100km long. Mountains cover 70 percent of the land area and about 3,200 islands are scattered along the coasts. The peninsula is currently divided into the Republic of Korea(ROK) in the south and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north, separated by demilitarized zone (DMZ).

Greneral

Population: 48.75million (2009). Monetary Unit: Won (US$1=1,170won) *Exchange rate at the end of 2009. National flag: Taegeukgi Climate: Temperate with four distinct seasons

Economy & Technology

Over the past four decades, Korea's impressive economic growth has been part of what has been described as the "East Asian miracle".
Korea joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1996.
- GDP: US$832.9 billion (2009) *ranked 15th in the world
- Per capita GNI: US$17,175 *ranked 28th in the world
- Trade volume: US$686.6 billion (2009) *ranked 10th in the world
*Imports: US$364 billion (2009) *ranked 12th in the world
*Exports: US$323 billion (2009) *ranked 9th in the world
- Shipbuilding: South Korea is the world's largest shipbuilding nation (831 million 9,000CG/T). It produces the world's bestoil tankers, container ships, and general cargo vessels as well as special ice breaker ships, ultra-large LNG tankers, and various military ships including the Aegis destroyer.
- Steel: South Korea is the world's sixth largest steel producer.
- Internet: South Korea is #1 in terms of Internet penetration and has the third largest number of Internet users in the world. (61 users out of 100 people)