South Korea
Updated: Sep 15, 2022
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Country Name
South Korea or officially the Republic of Korea.
Location
South Korea is located in eastern Asia. The country is bordered by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea- North Korea- to the north, the East Sea (Sea of Japan) to the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west; to the southeast, it is separated from the Japanese island of Tsushima by the Korea Strait.
Capital
Seoul.
Reason for Naming
The name Korea derives from the name Goryeo (also spelled Koryŏ). The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ) which was one of the great powers in East Asia during its time, ruling most of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, parts of the Russian Far East, and parts of Inner Mongolia, under Gwanggaeto the Great.
Flag
The first use of the current flag design was in 1882 and the adoption of the Flag was on January 27, 1883. The last change to the current South Korean flag design was on October 15, 1948.
The flag of South Korea, also known as the Taegukgi, the flag consists
of three parts: a white background, a red and blue Taegeuk* in its center, and four black trigrams one toward each corner.
The white background is a traditional color in Korean culture that represents peace and purity.
The circle in the center represents yin-yang or balance in the universe, the red half represents positive forces, while the blue half represents negative forces, each of which balances the other out.
Together, the trigrams represent movement and harmony as fundamental principles. Each trigram represents one of the four classical elements;
☰ represents heaven, spring, east, humanity, father, heaven, justice,
☲ represents sun, autumn, south, righteousness, daughter, fire, fruition,
☵ represents moon, winter, north, intelligence, son, water, wisdom,
☷ represents earth, summer, west, courtesy, mother, earth, vitality.
*Taegeuk is a traditional Korean symbol, that represents balance in the universe.
Language
Korean is the official language of South Korea. The Korean language in South Korea has a standard dialect known as the Seoul dialect, with an additional four dialects (Chungcheong, Gangwon, Gyeongsang, and Jeolla) and one language (Jeju) in use around the country.
Almost all South Korean students today learn English throughout their education, with some optionally choosing Japanese or Mandarin as well.
Religion
Most of the population in South Korea declared themselves not affiliated with any religious organizations. The people who are affiliated with a religious organization are mostly Christians and Buddhists.
Christians are about 2/3 of them belonging to Protestant churches and the rest to the Roman Catholic Church.
Other religions include Islam, and a variety of indigenous religions, including Cheondoism, Jeungsanism, Daejongism, Daesun Jinrihoe, and others.
Currency
Korean Republic won (₩) (KRW).
Time Zone
+09:00 GMT.
Government Regime
Unitary presidential constitutional republic.
Climate
The climate in Korea is cold but sunny in winter, while it’s hot and sultry with a lot of rainfall in summer. Spring and autumn are quite short but pleasant. The latitude of the country is not high but winter is cold because of the prevailing winds from Siberia. Winter is from late November to mid-March the weather is freezing in the north and the interior. The sun often shines. Snowfalls are relatively rare and not much. The average January temperature exceeds 0 degrees Celsius (32 °F) only on the southern coast, while on the east coast, it's around freezing even in the north. The interior is colder than the coastal areas, in fact, in the north-central inland area, the average temperature in January is around -4 °C (25 °F).
Spring, from mid-March to May, is initially cool, and gradually becomes milder, but the rains become more frequent because of the formation of low-pressure systems. Summer, from June to August, is hot, humid, and rainy. High humidity makes the heat sweltering, especially in July and August. Rainfall can be heavy, especially in July and August. Autumn, from September to late November, is a pleasant season, especially in October, when the maximum temperatures are around 20/22 °C (68/72 °F). In addition, it usually rains less than in spring.
Considering both the cold winter and the hot and rainy summer, the best times to visit South Korea are spring and autumn, especially the months of May and October. The latter can be preferred because it's less rainy.
International Phone Code
+82
Internet Code
.kr
.한국