South Korea Full name Republic of Korea / South Korea Capital City Seoul Language Korean (official) Currency

Republic of Korean Won (W) Religion Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, Shamanism National Anthem Aegukga ("The Song of Love for the Country,"or "The Patriotic Song.") Places to Visit Gyeongju, Seoul, Songnisan National Park, Dadohae Haesang National Park, Dodong Mineral Spring Park, Gyeongbokgung, Korean Folk Village, Seongnamsa Shopping sweaters, silks, brocades, Amethyst, clothes, handbags, leatherwork, Topaz, Amber, jade, silver, ginseng, gold jewelry, paintings, musical instruments, brassware, lacquerware, woodcarvings, costume dolls, baskets. While traveling to the Republic of Korea, glance through the reminiscence left over by the Joseon dynasty or watch out for the tallest statue of bronze made Buddha that attracts several pagodas and travelers from all over of the world. Observe the Asian art that are inscribed in the temple of Bulguska, or tour to the tombs of 20 Korean rulers along the Tumuli Park that still retains its age old culture. Maintaining a rich culture, and a marvelous heritage jaunt to this destination of South Korea that greets you with exquisite attractions. South Korea Map Location of South Korea The Republic of Korea is an East Asian state nestled along the Korean Peninsula towards its southern side. The province is engulfed by North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) from the northern end, the Yellow Sea towards the western end, where diagonally placed is the continent of China, while Japan is positioned along the Korea Strait towards the southeastern side. Physical Map of South Korea The Republic of Korea is mountainous in nature with major portion lying uncultivated. The western and the southeastern region are marked with lowlands, which covers about 30 % of the total land space. South Korea is separated into four chief physical regions, namely: High mountain ranges and tapered coastal plains (eastern front); Broad coastal plains, watercourse basins, and undulating hills (western front); Mountains and valleys (southwestern front); and Nakdong River's Broad basin (southeastern front). Western and southern coasts are filled with three thousand islands that are usually uninhabited. Jeju Island is the country's largest island placed about 100 kilometers off shoring the southern coastal region of South Korea. South Korea FlagFlag of South Korea The South Korea flag is designed with three distinct parts, a white background, a red and blue colored taeguk positioned in the middle and four trigrams, placed in each corner of the flag surrounding the taeguk.

Recognized as Taegeukgi by the natives, where Gojong declare and accepted the Taegeukgi as the official flag of Korea during the month of 6 March 1883. The concept behind the flag derived from the Taoist concept that is based on yin and yang. The white base denotes the prevalent of peace within the region. The taeguk is even referred to as taiji symbolizes the emergence of all kind of possessions in the universe. Taeguk believes in two chief principles of Eum , that depicts the negative feature inscribed in blue, and Yang , shows the positive phase inscribed in red, that creates a perfect stability, when merged together. The four black trigrams covering the taeguk from all four corners stand for Force, Field, Radiance and Gorge. Climate of South Korea or the Republic of Korea witnesses four chief seasons that can be categorized as spring, fall, summer, and winter. The best time to jaunt to this location is between the months of September to November. Autumn affects the province during the monsoon time, which is accompanied with slight amount of down pouring with relatively mild atmosphere. Capture the chilly feeling emerging from the Siberian frosty winds that can be felt during the month of winter monsoon. Winters are usually cold during the month of January while mid-March is massively affected with biting and freezing cold. The southern province is prone to typhoon during the months of late June till September. The climate is temperate in nature with heavy showers during the summer season.

Flora And Fauna of South Korea The northern hilly area is covered with alpine plants while the central and the western lowlands are covered with broad-leaved deciduous vegetation. Along the southern coast and the offshore islands of Chejudo and Ullungdo one can catch up with warm-temperate plants. Several evergreen plants are even found along the southern regions of Japan. Watch out for fauna species like Amur goral, Manchurian weasel, roe deer, brown bear, tiger, lynx, deer, northern pika, water shrew, muskrat, pine grosbeak, Manchurian ring-necked pheasant, black grouse, hawk owl, and three-toed woodpecker that can be sighted easily. Some of the noteworthy wildlife that is preserved in the region due to their extinction is Kuroda's Sheldrake bird, Siberian Tiger, Magpie, the national bird of the region and Red Fox. People of Republic of Korea Korean is the local dialect spoken in the region though English is widely accepted. The population of South Korea is filled with Korean with about 20,000 Chinese residents. The prevalent religion thriving in this region are Christianity, Buddhism and Confucianism. The Korean language gains its influence from the Japanese and Mongolian region. Minor religion like Jeungsando and Wonbuddhism even seem to thrive within the region. Shamanism, the spirit worship and Chondogyo that lead to Heavenly Way are the local custom, which the natives resort to. Arts, Culture and Music of Republic of Korea Art: Watch out for realistic landscapes that are based on different themes like flowers, birds, and lives of common people and much more. Glance through the calligraphic representation, which

has Chinese phrases inscribed in it that praises Confucian ethics, which includes filial piety and dedication inscribed within it. Several sculptures are made out of bronze, stone, and rock that gain its inspiration from Buddhism. The Sakyamuni Buddha is known as one of the major national artwork within the region. Culture: Koreans celebrate their New Year festival by wearing their traditional attire known as hanbok and thereby greeting their parents with a big bow which is natively called as sebae. One eats ttok-kuk, the rice cake soup during this auspicious day. Participate in the Ch'usok, harvest festival where you may catch up with natives consuming songp'yon (half-moon-shaped rice cakes). Kut is executed in several occasions like getting good fortune, curing sickness, showing the path of heaven taken by the spirits of departed person, which is accompanied with songs, dances, and chants. Music: Korean music can be identified with two kinds of rhythm namely the folk and classical, relating to courtly feeling like sanjo, pansori and nongak. Korean court music can be classified into three types namely aak, hyangak and dangak. P'ansori is the native folk vocal music that involves singing and storytelling while being accompanied by a changgo (the conventional musical drum). Kut and nong-ak are known as the farmer's celebration music, which is combined with the local dance. Mask dances are even popular in the area, which involves satiric drama.

Economy of Republic of Korea South Korea stands in the tenth position as one of the largest economy in the world while being third largest within Asia just after Japan and China. China is the sole trading partner as far as export is concerned. Exports of manufactured goods have created a boom within the economic sector. South Korea's per capita income has risen 12 times than that of the North Korea. South Korea witnessed severe exploitation during the year 1950, where the area infrastructure was greatly hampered by the Korean War. After then, the country was to a greater extent dependent on the US aid. Later on emphasis was laid on the economic growth where the economy undertook a five-year recovery plan. Foreign trade was highlighted with emphasis made on trade and investment. Light and heavy industries played a major role in the development of the industry. The economy took a major upsurge and was even called as the "Miracle on the Han River", as this river of Han seems to pass through the national capital of the region, that is Seoul. It was during 1990, textiles and shoes were greatly exported, that brought in revenue within the province. The area produces goods like shipbuilding, automobiles, electronics, steel and later, mobile phones, digital monitors, and semiconductors. The economy was regulated with reasonable inflation, low unemployment, addition of export, and equal allotment of income that brought about its stability. South Korea Government

The structure of the South Korea Government is framed according to theConstitution of the Republic of Korea. First promulgated in the year 1948, the document has undergone several revisions. The South Korea Government always had a Presidential system with a relatively independent chief executive. The South Korea Government is divided into three branches of the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. Like most other three branch system, the South Korea Government works with an efficient system of checks and balances. The head of the Executive branch of the South Korea Government is the President. Elected directly by the people, the president is the only elected member of the National Executive. The President is also the head of the South Korea Government, head of state, and commander in chief of the South Korean armed forces and serves a term of five years. The Legislature of the South Korea Government, at a National level comprises of the National Assembly of South Korea. The Legislature is an Unicameral one with 273 members who are elected from single-member constituencies. The Legislature of the South Korea Government is vested with the power of auditing the budget and administrative procedures, deliberating and passing legislation ratifying treaties, and approving state appointments. Headed by the Constitutional Court, the Judicial branch of the South Korea Government is an important organ of the Government. The President of the Constitutional Court is appointed by the President of the Nation supported by the Assembly. The Constitutional Court includes nine justices who are appointed by the President. South Korea Constitution The Constitution of South Korea was first promulgated in the year 1948 on the 17th day of July. Forming the basic laws of the country, theConstitution of South Korea declares the country to be a Republic. TheFirst Constitution of South Korea placed the Nation under the complete control of the President. However, the Constitution of 1948 has undergone several alterations and not only amended has even been completely re- written. The South Korean Constitution of 1948 first amended for the First time in the year 1952 just ahead of the re- election of President Syngman Rhee. This new South Korean Constitution provided for a direct Presidential election and a Bicameral Legislature. However, once again in Syngman Rhee's regime the South Korean Constitution was amended in the year1954 and emphasized on establishing a Capitalist Economic Model. These provisions were a cause of protest and the Second Republic was initiated with a more Democratic Constitution which was in effect from the year 1960. However, the 1960 Constitution was nullified as fast as 1961 and theConstitution of the Third Republic was passed in the year 1962. ThisConstitution was somewhat similar to the U.S Constitution. With the protests of 1987 in favor of Democracy the Sixth Republic introduced theConstitution of 1988. The Constitution of South Korea includes, a preamble, 130 articles, and supplementary provisions. The Constitutiondemarcates the jurisdiction of an executive branch headed by a president and prime minister, an Unicameral legislature called theNational Assembly, and a judiciary which consists of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and lower courts.

South Korea History A tradition of forty to fifty thousand years bestows the South Korea History. The evidence of the Paleolithic people can be traced in the ancient Korea. The documents of Neolithic communities at around 4000 B.C. can even be traced in the South Korea History. There are few remains that tell of the pottery culture in ancient Korea. The evidences are collected that show that the ancient Koreans believed in shamanism. The legends revolving round South Korea tell that 'Tangun' was the figure who founded the first Korean kingdom of Choson. A few evidences are prevalent that show that Choson was a merger of Walled Town states and tribal states. These tribal folks survived on agriculture. The modern South Korea History has seen lots of wars and foreign invasions. Korea was occupied by the Japanese forces from 1910. Korea earned their independence from these forces in 1945. Till then Korea was a unified country. After 1945, Korea was split into two. The southern half of the Korean peninsula came to be known as South Korea. The Republic of Korea (South Korea) was formally proclaimed on August 15, 1948. But soon the Korean War erupted that made the lives of both halves of Korea tragic. The Korean War continued from 1950 to 1953. There have been frequent tensions between these neighboring countries since then. Though there has been a little improvement in their relationship since 1991 when the Prime Ministers from both these nations signed a declaration of non-aggression and reconciliation.