Country	Korea-South
Capital	Seoul
Continent	Asia
Currency	South Korean won(KRW)
Languages	Korean, Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, Jeju, Jeolla & Seoul

Locaion

Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea

Geographic Co ordinates

37 00 N, 127 30 E

Land Boundries

Total:238 km
Border countries:North Korea 238 km

Geography - note

strategic location on Korea Strait

Population

48,636,068 (July 2010 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 26

Nationality

Noun:Korean(s)
Adjective:Korean

Ethnic groups

homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)

Religions

Christian 26.3% (Protestant 19.7%, Roman Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist 23.2%, other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3% (1995 census)

Languages

Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school

Country Name

Conventional long form:Republic of Korea
Conventional short form:South Korea
Local long form:Taehan-min'guk
Local short form:Han'guk
abbreviation: ROK

Government Type

republic

Capital

Name:Seoul
Geographic coordinates: 37 33 N, 126 59 E
Time difference:UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions

9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular and plural)
provinces: Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto (North Cholla), Cholla-namdo (South Cholla), Ch'ungch'ong-bukto (North Ch'ungch'ong), Ch'ungch'ong-namdo (South Ch'ungch'ong), Kangwon-do, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto (North Kyongsang), Kyongsang-namdo (South Kyongsang)
metropolitan cities: Inch'on-gwangyoksi, Kwangju-gwangyoksi, Pusan-gwangyoksi, Soul-t'ukpyolsi, Taegu-gwangyoksi, Taejon-gwangyoksi, Ulsan-gwangyoksi

Independence

15 August 1945 (from Japan)

National Holiday

Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)

Constitution

17 July 1948; note - amended or rewritten many times; current constitution approved on 29 October 1987

Legal system

combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

19 years of age; universal

Executive branch

Chief of state:President LEE Myung-bak (since 25 February 2008)
Head of government:Prime Minister CHUNG Un-chan (since 30 September 2009)
Cabinet:State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation
(For more information visit the World Leaders website)
Elections:president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held on 19 December 2007 (next to be held in December 2012); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly
Election results:LEE Myung-bak elected president on 19 December 2007; percent of vote - LEE Myung-bak (GNP) 48.7%; CHUNG Dong-young (UNDP) 26.1%); LEE Hoi-chang (independent) 15.1; others 10.1%

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats; 245 members elected in single-seat constituencies, 54 elected by proportional representation; members serve four-year terms)
Elections:last held on 9 April 2008 (next to be held in April 2012)
Election results:percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GNP 172, UDP 83, LFP 20, PPA 8, DLP 5, RKP 1, independents 9

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president with consent of National Assembly); Constitutional Court (justices appointed by the president based partly on nominations by National Assembly and Chief Justice of the court)

Political Parties and Leaders

Democratic Party or DP [CHUNG Sye-kyun] (formerly the United Democratic Party or UDP); Democratic Labor Party or DLP [KANG Ki-kap]; Grand National Party or GNP [CHUNG Mong-joon]; Liberty Forward Party or LFP [LEE Hoi-chang]; New Progressive Party or NPP [ROH Hoe-chan]; Pro-Park Alliance or PPA [SUH Choung-won]; Renewal Korea Party or RKP [SONG Yong-o]

Political pressure groups and leaders

Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations

International organization participation

ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CICA, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA, MIGA, MINURSO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

Chief of mission: Ambassador HAN Duck-soo
Chancery:2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Telephone:[1] (202) 939-5600
FAX:[1] (202) 387-0205
Consulate(s) general:Agana (Guam), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle

Diplomatic representation from the US

Chief of mission:Ambassador Kathleen STEPHENS
Embassy:32 Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710
Mailing address:US Embassy Seoul, APO AP 96205-5550
Telephone:[82] (2) 397-4114
FAX:[82] (2) 738-8845

Flag description

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

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