South Korea

The South Korea or Korea-of-South (rare), officially the Republic of Korea or Pays of the morning calms , is a country of Asia which covers the southern half of the Korean peninsula. Its Capitale is Seoul. The Official language is the Korean whose writing is the hangul or hangeul and the currency the won.

Its single terrestrial Border length a 238 km with the democratic Popular republic of Korea , is made up in north by the demilitarized zone (DMZ), which is in fact, the most militarized in the world.

The name that the South-Koreans give to their country is Hanguk , which literally means Pays of Hans (in Hangeul: 한국; in Hanja: 韓國), of the name of a prehistoric tribe which lived the south of the Korean peninsula (not to be confused with Chinese Han).
The media North-Korean use Nam Chosŏn , literally South Korea (남조선; 南朝鮮).
Daehan Minguk is also used, which means République of Korea or literally Grande republic Han (대한민국; 大韓民國).

History

Policy

Institutions

Defense

Military power

The South Korean army is one of most powerful of the Far East, with the Armée S Chinese, Japanese and North-Korean. Its manpower are of 672 000 men in army of active, and 4 500 000 men in reserve.

According to the international Research institute for the peace of Stockholm, the military expenditure of South Korea reached 21,9 billion US dollars in 2006, classifying it with the eleventh world rank. In 2003, South Korea had devoted 14,5 billion dollars to its budget of defense, that is to say approximately 15 % of the global budget of the State (in comparison, the France spent, at the same time 45,2 billion dollars US for its defense, that is to say 11,35 % of the budget of the State).

The Korean Space agency or KARI ( Korea Aerospace Research Institute ) develops a family of launchers KSLV ( Korea Space Launch Vehicle ), in collaboration with the Russia. Inaugural flight of the basic launcher, the KSLV-1, initially envisaged in 2007, from now on is announced for 2008.

A limited national sovereignty

More 30 000 American soldiers are stationed in South Korea since the end of the Guerre of Korea. The number of American soldiers in Korea should decrease with 25 000 from here 2008 within the framework of a redeployment of the forces. In the event of war, the United States would exert the military command in South Korea. This military subordination to the the United States, which limits the national sovereignty of South Korea, rises from the agreement of defense between the two countries.

The South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun has however " recently; reaffirmed (…) its hope to complete the negotiations with the United States on the recovery of the operational military command in time of war near the American troops in Korea from here end 2006". In its speech of beginning of year 2007, Roh Moo-hyun reaffirmed her wish to reduce " the dépendance" of Seoul towards Washington while allowing South Korea to cover control with its forms armed in the event of war. These declarations echo the disputes, by part of the South Korean opinion, American presence in South Korea. Demonstrations against the American presence took place in May 2006.

Moreover, whereas American soldiers on several occasions were implied in rape cases or of died of Koreans (killed accidentally by the drivers of vehicles), they profit from a privilege of Extraterritorialité : the legal affairs implying of the American soldiers in South Korea for acts made in Korea are judged by American courts, and not by Korean courts.

Diplomacy

The relations intercoréennes

The foreign policy of South Korea remains dominated by the question of the relations intercoréennes and the Réunification of Korea. The Joint Declaration the North-South, signed on June 15th, 2000 between the president Kim Dae-jung and its counterpart North-Korean Kim Jong-il, marked the deepening of the dialog between the two Korea.

A second top intercoréen, between the leader of North Kim Jong-il and the South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, initially envisaged to Pyongyang from August 28th to 30th 2007, was deferred from October 2nd to 4th after most serious Inondations in North Korea for forty years has involved 600 died and disappeared and touched a million people. The intercoréen agreement signed on October 4th, 2007 underlined the common engagement of the two States to promote peace and economic prosperity in the peninsula.

Alliance with the United States

In addition, South Korea is an ally of the the United States of which more 30 000 soldiers station on his territory. South Korea brought one of the most important foreign quotas, after that of the United States, at the time of the Guerre of Vietnam.

It also sent troops in Iraq; November 28th, 2006, the South Korean government however announced its intention to decrease by half (from 2.300 to 1.200 men) the size of the quota present in Iraq. Part of the deputies of the majority however wishes a withdrawal of all the South Korean troops stationed in Iraq after the defeat of the republicans to the elections of November 2006.

Relations between South Korea and Japan

After the end of the Japanese occupation in 1945, South Korea and the Japan, where always a Korean minority of 600.000 people resides, established diplomatic relations only in 1965. The agreement of December 18th, 1965, signed under the impulse of the president Park Chung-hee with the encouragement of the United States, in spite of big demonstrations of opposition in South Korea, involved the payment of an economic aid during ten years (1965-1975) of Japan in South Korea, of which the major part in the form of gifts.

However, the whole of the historical dispute related to the Japanese occupation remain present in the relations between Koreans and Japanese, these tensions having consequences on the diplomatic relations. Thus, of the initiatives were taken so that the Japanese government recognizes the sexual slavery of the Femmes of comfort during the Second world war. The Revisionism in Japan, being in particular the presentation of the Japanese occupation in the handbooks of Japanese history, is very strongly felt by the South Korean opinion. Lastly, the visits of Japanese the Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi with the Sanctuary of Yasukuni, on the tombs of the Japanese generals of the Second world war, made weigh risks of cancellation of the bilateral tops between the two States, with the autumn 2005.

The sovereignty of the island of Rochers of Liancourt (Dokdo/Takeshima) is a subject of dispute between the two countries.

The role of South Korea in the United Nations

The Foreign Minister nomination former Ban Ki-moon at the position of secretary general of the United Nations constituted a success for the South Korean diplomacy. South Korea takes an active part also in the maintenance missions of the peace of UNO: November 28th, 2006, the South Korean government announced that 400 soldiers would be deployed with the Lebanon under mandate of UNO.

The rise of the exchanges sino-Korean and nippo-Korean

The China and the Republic of Korea established diplomatic relations in 1992.

Whereas China became one of the principal business partners of South Korea, the meeting of the president Roh Moo-hyun with her Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, in September 2005, testified to a community of sights in the diplomatic field. The South Korean president then greeted the steps achieved by China to promote the dialog intercoréen.

January 14th, 2007, with Cebu (Filipino), in margin of the forum of ASEAN, was held the seventh trilateral meeting between the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean heads of state and government. These exchanges must look further into the co-operation between the three States on questions of shared interest, in particular in the fields economic, cultural and of environmental protection.

The diversification of the foreign relations

Free-south-Korean relations

The first diplomatic relations between France and Korea were established in 1886. Ceremonies were organized in 2006 in France and South Korea to celebrate the 120e birthday of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Within this framework, the museum of Louvre lent to the National museum of Korea, until March 2007, several French and foreign tables of XVIe at the XIXe centuries, of which Diane leaving the bath of François Boucher, Médée furious of Eugene Delacroix, the Raft of the Jellyfish of Theodore Géricault and Binders of hay of Jean-François Millet.

Association Korean Racines was created in 1995 by adopted French of Korean origin, France being the European country who counts the greatest number of adoptees (10 000) of Korean origin.

The first festival free-Korean of film was organized from December 6th to 12th 2006.

Africano-south-Korean relations

Wishing to diversify its foreign relations, South Korea engaged, in September 2006, to triple its assistance in Africa. In particular, South Korea must finance in 2007 a project of fight against meningitis in Ivory Coast which relates to a million people.

Geography

See also: Geography of South Korea, Peninsula of Korea

August 1st

Provinces

Main cities

Project of a new capital

In order to stop the hypertrophy of Seoul, likely to unbalance the entire country, the Korean government had been committed changing capital, going until indicating in 2004 the town of Yeongi, with a score of kilometers in the west of Cheongju and to about thirty in north Daejeon. But the project was considered to be anticonstitutional. This is why, at the end of September 2005, the government again announced its decision to build, this time of any part, a new capital, with 160 kilometers in the south of Seoul. The site of the new city, whose name was not chosen yet, covers a surface of some 71 km ². It is located in the province of Chungcheong of the South, close to the towns of Daejeon and Gongju. Its construction would begin in 2007. The installation of the ministries - Defense, Finances, Education, Foreign affairs, Relations with the North Korea… - and other government agencies is considered for 2012.

Transport

Chemin de iron

The South Korean railway network counted in 2002,3 127 km of railways (including 675 km of electrified ways). The March 31st 2004 was inaugurated LGV (line at high speed) between Seoul and Daegu of 235 km for KTX (using same technology as TGV) with an improvement of the traditional line until Pusan (Busan on the chart) is a total of 412 km. This LGV comprises 83 tunnels - including two of 17 and 20 km - and 148 viaducts.

Truck driver

South Korea has a network of 88 775 km of roads, of which 1 889 km of Highway S, on which circulate more than 14 million vehicles registered.

Environment

The tiger, which would have disappeared from the south of Korea in 1922, was reintroduced in South Korea in 1986.

Movements of defense of the environment developed in South Korea since the years 1980.

In addition, the Hibiscus syriacus is one of the emblems of South Korea, this flower being originating in Korea.

Economy

South Korean population

Demography

Languages

The Korean language is member of a broader linguistic family of the altaïques languages. The Korean written form, the Hangul, was invented in 1446 by the king Sejong Large the to facilitate the education of its subjects - indeed, the Chinese characters were considered to be too difficult and too long to learn for an average individual - by the royal proclamation of Hunminjeongeum (훈민정음, 訓民正音), which means “the suitable sounds literally to teach with the people”. It is different from the Chinese form of written communication (hanja) because it is based on phonetics.

Many fundamental words of Korean were borrowed from the Chinese via the Hanja, and the older Koreans always prefer to write words in Hanja, identical to the Sinogramme S Chinese and the Kanji Japanese, because it was strictly interdict studied and of speaking Korean during the Japanese domination. The Koreans are the only people in the world who entirely include/understand how, when and why their written language was created, by the transcriptions of the innovating contribution of king Sejong.

In 2000, the government decided to present a new system of romanisation, employed by this article. One teaches the English like second language in the majority of the elementary schools. One also teaches with the college during 2 years the Chinese, Japanese, French, German or Spanish.

Religions

The Christianity (49 % of the believers, of which 36 % of Protestant and 13 % of Catholic) and the Buddhism (47 % of the believers) are the two dominant religions of South Korea. Although only 3 % of the population declare Confucianists, the company is strongly impregnated values and beliefs confucéennes. The remainder of the Koreans practices the Chamanisme (traditional worship of the spirit) and the Cheondogyo (“divine manner”), a traditional religion, still popular.

Culture and company

Cultural heritage and tourism

Several South Korean sites are registered with the world heritage of UNESCO:

the cave of Seokguram and the temple of Bulguksa (two religious sites in mountain);
the sanctuary of Jongmyo (a sanctuary confucéen into full Seoul);
the temple of Haeinsa and the Tripitaka Koreana (high place of Buddhism in Korea);
the whole of the palate of Changdeokgung (most remarkable of the five royal large palaces of Seoul);
the fortress of Hwaseong (six kilometers of ramparts in a big city);
the site of the dolmens of Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa (three prehistoric cemeteries);
historical zones of Gyeongju (of the royal tumuli and an accumulation of religious buildings).

Sport

The Olympic Games of summer of 1988 were organized with Seoul.

The Baseball was introduced in 1905, and in 1982 the Korean Organization of baseball was formed. The national team gained the small finale of the world Classique of baseball in 2004.

South Korea, associated with the Japan, accommodated the Football world cup 2002 ; during this competition, the results of the national team involved a passion of the population for the Football without precedent. Indeed, South Korea reached in semi-final by beating the Poland, the Portugal, the Italy and the Spain, before being eliminated by the Germany. It did not renew its exploit in Germany at the time of the World cup 2006, failing the first turn.

In 2000,2004 and 2006 at the time of the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games both Corées ravelled together but were separate for the sporting tests. The delegations of North and the South again ravelled together at the time of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games of Turin on February 12th, 2006. It is planned to constitute only one national team common to the both Corées with the Olympic Games of 2008, like with the Asian Jeux. A meeting between the Olympic committees of both Corées took place, in Lausanne, on September 5th, 2006, in the objective to constitute only one Korean team with the Olympic Games of Beijing. On this occasion, " the CIO is pleased that the sport and the Olympic ideal can bring to the constitution of a unified team and would wish to thank the two delegations for their engagement and their efforts to reach this objectif" .

Others

international Movement scout

1991: 17th world Jamboree scout with National Soraksan Park

Electrical outlets

electric tension: 220 V
standard of taken: type C

Codes

South Korea has as codes:

KOR, according to the standard ISO 3166-1, code alpha-3 (code list country),
KR, according to the standard ISO 3166-1 (code list country), code alpha-2,
ROK, according to the international Code list of the number plates,
KOR, according to the Code list country of the CIO,
KOR, according to the Code list countries used by NATO, code alpha-3,
KS, according to the Code list countries used by NATO, code alpha-2,

Leisures

The access of the South-Koreans to the Consumer society resulted in a diversification of the leisures: whereas the walks in the parks remain one of the favorite pastimes in end of the week, the South-Koreans young people appreciate the exits with the coffee or the cinema, while the rate of access to Internet counts among highest in the world.

In addition to the practice of the traditional Korean sports (like the shooting with the arc or the Taekwondo), the Football and the Baseball are particularly popular.

Media

The written press is dominated by three Quotidien S of preserving sensitivity: the Chosun Ilbo , the Tong-A Ilbo , the Dong-A Ilbo . The other principal titles are the Hankook Ilbo , the Chungang Ilbo , the Hangyore Sinmun , the Naiel Shinmun , the financial newspaper Hanguk Kyeongje Sinmun and, in English language, The Korea Herald . Three magazines of opinion play a big role: the Sisajonol , the News and People and the Jajuminbo .

The two principal television channels, public, are the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) and the Société Munhwa de Radiotélédiffusion (acronym English: MBC).

Whereas South Korea is one of the countries best connected to the world, the site Ohmynews is influential.

See too

External bonds

National office of Korean Tourism
Site of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs with cards of information on the country, data economic, political and different, diplomatic relations with France T the European Union
a data bank on South Korea and a bibliography with accompanying notes
Photographs on South Korea

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