Korea, South




                                 Geography


Location:
     Eastern Asia, between North Korea and Japan
Map references:
     Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
     98,480 sq km
land area:
     98,190 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than Indiana
Land boundaries:
     total 238 km, North Korea 238 km
Coastline:
     2,413 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
     not specified
territorial sea:
     12 nm; 3 nm in the Korea Strait
International disputes:
     Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan
Climate:
     temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
Terrain:
     mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
Natural resources:
     coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower
Land use:
arable land:
     21%
permanent crops:
     1%
meadows and pastures:
     1%
forest and woodland:
     67%
other:
     10%
Irrigated land:
     13,530 sq km (1989)
Environment:
current issues:
     air pollution in large cities; water pollution from the discharge of
     sewage and industrial effluents
natural hazards:
     occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in
     southwest




international agreements:
     party to - Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Environmental
     Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
     Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Whaling; signed, but not
     ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the
     Sea


                                  People


Population:
     45,082,880 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.04% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     15.7 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     6.17 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     21.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     70.59 years
male:
     67.39 years
female:
     73.98 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     1.65 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Korean(s)
adjective:
     Korean
Ethnic divisions:
     homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)
Religions:
     Christianity 48.6%, Buddhism 47.4%, Confucianism 3%, pervasive folk
     religion (shamanism), Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way) 0.2%
Languages:
     Korean, English widely taught in high school
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     96%
male:
     99%
female:
     99%
Labor force:
     20 million
by occupation:
     services and other 52%, mining and manufacturing 27%, agriculture,
     fishing, forestry 21% (1991)






                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Korea
conventional short form:
     South Korea
local long form:
     Taehan-min'guk
local short form:
     none
Abbreviation:
     ROK
Digraph:
     KS
Type:
     republic
Capital:
     Seoul
Administrative divisions:
     9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 6 special cities* (jikhalsi,
     singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo,
     Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-jikhalsi*, Kangwon-do,
     Kwangju-jikhalsi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo,
     Pusan-jikhalsi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-jikhalsi*, Taejon-jikhalsi*
Independence:
     15 August 1948
National holiday:
     Independence Day, 15 August (1948)
Constitution:
     25 February 1988
Legal system:
     combines elements of continental European civil law systems,
     Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought
Suffrage:
     20 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     President KIM Yong-sam (since 25 February 1993); election last held on
     18 December 1992 (next to be held NA December 1997); results - KIM
     Yong-sam (DLP) 41.9%, KIM Tae-chung (DP) 33.8%, CHONG Chu-yong (UPP)
     16.3%, other 8%
head of government:
     Prime Minister YI Yong-tok (since 29 April 1994); Deputy Prime
     Minister CHONG Chae-sok (since 21 December 1993) and Deputy Prime
     Minister YI Hong-ku (since 30 April 1994)
cabinet:
     State Council; appointed by the president on the prime minister's
     recommendation
Legislative branch:
     unicameral




National Assembly (Kukhoe):
     elections last held on 24 March 1992; results - DLP 38.5%, DP 29.2%,
     Unification National Party (UNP) 17.3% (name later changed to UPP),
     other 15%; seats - (299 total) DLP 149, DP 97, UNP 31, other 22; the
     distribution of seats as of January 1994 was DLP 172, DP 96, UPP 11,
     other 20
note:
     the change in the distribution of seats reflects the fluidity of the
     current situation where party members are constantly switching from
     one party to another
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
majority party:
     Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), KIM Yong-sam, president
opposition:
     Democratic Party (DP), YI Ki-taek, executive chairman; United People's
     Party (UPP), KIM Tong-kil, chairman; several smaller parties
note:
     the DLP resulted from a merger of the Democratic Justice Party (DJP),
     Reunification Democratic Party (RDP), and New Democratic Republican
     Party (NDRP) on 9 February 1990
Other political or pressure groups:
     Korean National Council of Churches; National Democratic Alliance of
     Korea; National Federation of Student Associations; National
     Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Council of Labor Unions;
     Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Veterans' Association;
     Federation of Korean Industries; Korean Traders Association
Member of:
     AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, COCOM (cooperating), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO,
     G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF,
     IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, OAS
     (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNOSOM, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
     WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador HAN Sung-su
chancery:
     2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
     (202) 939-5600
consulate(s) general:
     Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston,
     Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador James T. LANEY
embassy:
     82 Sejong-Ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul
mailing address:
     American Embassy, Unit 15550, Seoul; APO AP 96205-0001
telephone:
     [82] (2) 397-4000 through 4008 and 397-4114
FAX:
     [82] (2) 738-8845




consulate(s):
     Pusan
Flag:
     white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there
     is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of
     Changes) in each corner of the white field


                                  Economy


Overview:
     The driving force behind the economy's dynamic growth has been the
     planned development of an export-oriented economy in a vigorously
     entrepreneurial society. Real GNP increased more than 10% annually
     between 1986 and 1991. This growth ultimately led to an overheated
     situation characterized by a tight labor market, strong inflationary
     pressures, and a rapidly rising current account deficit. As a result,
     in 1992, economic policy focused on slowing the growth rate of
     inflation and reducing the deficit. Annual growth slowed to 5%, still
     above the rate in most other countries of the world. Growth increased
     to 6.3% in 1993 as a result of fourth quarter manufacturing production
     growth of over 10% and is expected to be in the 8% range for 1994.
National product:
     GNP - purchasing power equivalent - $424 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     6.3% (1993)
National product per capita:
     $9,500 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     4.8% (1993)
Unemployment rate:
     2.6% (October 1993)
Budget:
revenues:
     $48.4 billion
expenditures:
     $48.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)
Exports:
     $81 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
     electronic and electrical equipment, machinery, steel, automobiles,
     ships, textiles, clothing, footwear, fish
partners:
     US 26%, Japan 17%, EC 14%
Imports:
     $78.9 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities:
     machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport
     equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains
partners:
     Japan 26%, US 24%, EC 15%
External debt:
     $42 billion (1992)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 5% (1992 est.); accounts for about 45% of GNP




Electricity:
capacity:
     27,016 kW (1993)
production:
     105 billion kWh (1992)
consumption per capita:
     2,380 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel,
     textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing
Agriculture:
     accounts for 8% of GNP and employs 21% of work force (including
     fishing and forestry); principal crops - rice, root crops, barley,
     vegetables, fruit; livestock and livestock products - cattle, hogs,
     chickens, milk, eggs; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat; fish
     catch of 2.9 million metric tons, seventh-largest in world
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.9 billion; non-US
     countries (1970-89), $3 billion
Currency:
     1 South Korean won (W) = 100 chun (theoretical)
Exchange rates:
     South Korean won (W) per US$1 - 810.48 (January 1994), 802.68 (1993),
     780.65 (1992), 733.35 (1991), 707.76 (1990), 671.46 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     3,091 km total (1991); 3,044 km 1.435 meter standard gauge, 47 km
     0.610-meter narrow gauge, 847 km double track; 525 km electrified,
     government owned
Highways:
total:
     63,201 km
paved:
     expressways 1,551 km
unpaved:
     NA
undifferentiated:
     national highway 12,190 km; provincial, local roads 49,460 km (1991)
Inland waterways:
     1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft
Pipelines:
     petroleum products 455 km
Ports:
     Pusan, Inch'on, Kunsan, Mokp'o, Ulsan
Merchant marine:
     417 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,425,920 GRT/10,535,850 DWT,
     bulk 123, cargo 132, chemical tanker 16, combination bulk 2,
     combination ore/oil 2, container 60, liquefied gas 13, multifunction
     large-load carrier 1, oil tanker 47, refrigerated cargo 11, short-sea
     passenger 1, vehicle carrier 9




Airports:
total:
     104
usable:
     95
with permanent-surface runways:
     61
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     23
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     18
Telecommunications:
     excellent domestic and international services; 13,276,449 telephone
     subscribers; broadcast stations - 79 AM, 46 FM, 256 TV (57 of 1 kW or
     greater); satellite earth stations - 2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1
     Indian Ocean INTELSAT


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 13,435,598; fit for military service 8,623,325; reach
     military age (18) annually 417,055 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $13.0 billion, 3.6% of GNP (1994 est.)