환영합니다! / Welcome To The South Korea Portal!South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone; though it also claims the land border with China and Russia. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of 51.96 million, of which roughly half live in the Seoul Capital Area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world. Other major cities include Busan, Daegu and Incheon. The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century BCE. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea into Silla and Balhae in the late 7th century, Korea was ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) was annexed in 1910 into the Empire of Japan. Japanese rule ended following Japan's surrender in World War II, after which Korea was divided into two zones: a northern zone occupied by the Soviet Union, and a southern zone occupied by the United States. After negotiations on reunification failed, the southern zone became the Republic of Korea in August 1948, while the northern zone became the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea the following month. In 1950, a North Korean invasion began the Korean War, which ended in 1953 after extensive fighting involving the American-led United Nations Command and the People's Volunteer Army from China with Soviet assistance. The war left 3 million Koreans dead and the economy in ruins. The authoritarian First Republic of Korea led by Syngman Rhee was overthrown in the April Revolution of 1960. However, the Second Republic was incompetent as it could not control the revolutionary fervor. The May 16 coup of 1961 led by Park Chung Hee put an end to the Second Republic, signaling the start of the Third Republic in 1963. South Korea's devastated economy began to soar under Park's leadership, recording the one of fastest rises in average GDP per capita. Despite lacking natural resources, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers based on international trade and economic globalization, integrating itself within the world economy with export-oriented industrialization. The Fourth Republic was established after the October Restoration of 1972, in which Park wielded absolute power. The Yushin Constitution declared that the president could suspend basic human rights and appoint a third of the parliament. Suppression of the opposition and human rights abuse by the government became more severe in this period. Even after Park's assassination in 1979, the authoritarian rule continued in the Fifth Republic led by Chun Doo-hwan, which violently seized power by two coups and brutally suppressing the Gwangju Uprising. The June Democratic Struggle of 1987 ended authoritarian rule, forming the current Sixth Republic. The country is now considered among the most advanced democracies in Continental and East Asia. (Full article...) Selected article -About 49 million people in South Korea (or 97.0% of the population) use the Internet. The country has the world's fastest average internet connection speed. South Korea has consistently ranked first in the UN ICT Development Index since the index's launch. The government established policies and programs that facilitated the rapid expansion and use of broadband. The country has 97.6% of the population owning a smartphone, which is the highest in the world. It is recorded that Kilnam Chon played a major role in the introduction of the Internet to South Korea. Kilnam Chon said in an interview that in 1982 he started a South Korean network development project. The first Internet message sent from South Korea to the world was done by Hyunje Park in 1990. It is recorded that the e-mail—"I am Hyunje Park from Korea. Anyone who sees this e-mail, please reply."—sent by Hyunje Park received a reply—"I am Torben at the University of Hawaiʻi, United States. Congratulations. You are now connected to the Internet."—soon after. (Full article...)Selected imageThe Gold crown from Seobongchong Tumulus (Korean: 서봉총 금관; Hanja: 瑞鳳塚金冠; RR: Seobongchong geumgwan; MR: Sŏbongch'ong kŭmgwan), National Treasure of South Korea No. 339, is a gold crown of Silla origin that is now housed at the Gyeongju National Museum. More did you know -
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Pig Bride (Korean: 정체불명 새색시) is a manhwa written and illustrated by Huh Kook-hwa (허국화) and Kim Su-jin (김수진). The story follows Si-Joon Lee, who was tricked as an eight-year-old boy, into fulfilling a prophecy and marrying the mysterious "Pig Bride" - a young blonde girl who hides her supposedly disfigured face under a pig-faced mask. When Si-Joon turns sixteen, the Bride reappears and causes havoc, interrupting the blossoming romance between Si-Joon and classmate Doe-Doe. The series was released in five volumes between 2007 and 2008 in South Korea by Haksan Publishing and later localized by Yen Press for North American distribution. Yen Press also serialized Pig Bride in Yen Plus, a manga anthology. Yen Press's localization kept the Korean onomatopoeia and sound effects and used Anglicization followed by the English translation. Reception of the initial volumes was mixed and the entire series was reviewed negatively by Manga Critic's Katherine Dacey as one of the worst manga of 2009. The artwork and styling received mixed praise, but the manhwa-style artwork was noted to be a divisive aspect for readers. (Full article...)General images -The following are images from various South Korea-related articles on Wikipedia.
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WikiProjectsSee WikiProject Korea for collaborating on South Korea topics, and more broadly, on all things Korea-related. South Korea topics
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Administrative divisions of South Korea
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