Facts About South Korea

Are you planning to visit South Korea. If yes then you are truly privileged. It is famous for its distinctive culture and heritage. Read on to acquaint yourself about some interesting facts of this fascinating country.
Facts About South Korea
Facts about South Korea
  • Korea has 6,228 km of coastline and nearly 3,000 islands located mainly in the Yellow Sea and Korea Strait. Only a few of them lie off the East Sea.
  • Its total area is 38,462.49 square miles.
  • Its terrain is mostly rugged and mountainous with little arable land.
  • Hallasan, an extinct volcano at a height of 1950 meters is the highest point in South Korea.
  • It is also known as ‘Hermit Kingdom’ and ‘Land of the Morning Calm’.
  • South Korea has a Continental climate with hot, humid summers and dry, cold winters.
  • The major cities of South Korea are Seoul, Pusan, Taegu, Inchan and Kwangju.
  • Its largest and capital city is Seoul, which is the world’s second-largest metropolitan city.
  • Their national anthem is ‘Aegukka’ (The Song of Love of Country) which was adopted on August 15,1948.
  • Confucianism, shamanism (traditional spirit worship), Christianity, Buddhism and Chondokyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) are the religions followed in South Korea.
  • Korean is the main language and English is widely taught in schools. The Korean language is related to the Mongolian and Japanese languages. A large number of Chinese cognates exist in the Korean language. Around 1,300 Chinese characters are used in modern Korean.
  • It has a population of over 49 million people by current estimates.
  • It is one of the world’s leading economies and has a large and sophisticated technological base. It has the 13th-largest economy in the world and the third- largest in Asia.
  • It has the seventh largest fishing industry in the world.
  • It is known as one of the Four Asian Tiger economies.
  • It has 63 daily newspapers.
Facts about South Korean culture
  • The eldest in the house is considered the most wise, and therefore makes most of the important decisions.
  • When you enter a South Korean home, the first thing you do is remove your shoes.
  • When the first night of the new year comes everybody hides their shoes. This is because there is a belief that a ghost will come down and try on everyone’s shoes. If the ghost finds a pair it likes it will take it. It is thought that the owner of the shoes will then have bad luck for the whole year.
  • Korean architecture is influenced by China.
  • The martial art 'Tae kwon do' originated in Korea.
Facts about South Korean History
  • South Korea has a history of over 5000 years.
  • In Korean mythology there is a story about how the Korean nation was born. The story is that a god named Hwanung came from heaven and transformed a bear into a woman. He married her and she gave birth to a son, Tangun, the founder of Korea. Tangun created the first capital of the Korean nation in 2333 B.C and called it Joseon - 'Land of the Morning Calm'.
  • Prehistoric remains found throughout Korea indicate that early in the history of the Korean Peninsula the inhabitants used sophisticated technologies. These people believed that all objects had spirits (also called animism). They also believed that some people had the power to communicate with these spirits, which is also known as shamanism. Farming at this time included cultivating rice. This was around 3,500 years ago at the start of the Bronze Age. Many farm tools have been found from this period.
  • In 1910, Korea became a Japanese colony. Korea was under Japanese rule for 35 years.
  • North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 with goal of unifying the Koreas under communist rule, The United Nations intervened in the war and there was a ceasefire in 1953. The border between South and North Korea remains one of the heaviest militarized zones in the world. Efforts are going on for their peaceful reunification.

By Prabhakar Pillai
Published: 7/4/2008
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