KOREA, SOUTH                                                                    
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 98,480 km2; land area: 98,190 km2                                   
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly larger than Indiana                                  
                                                                                
Land boundary: 238 km with North Korea                                          
                                                                                
Coastline: 2,413 km                                                             
                                                                                
Maritime claims:                                                                
                                                                                
Continental shelf: not specific                                                 
                                                                                
Territorial sea: 12 nm (3 nm in the Korea Strait)                               
                                                                                
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%; includes irrigated 12%                  
                                                                                
Environment: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods;                   
earthquakes in southwest; air pollution in large cities                         
                                                                                
Notes: strategic location along the Korea Strait, Sea of Japan, and             
Yellow Sea                                                                      
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 43,134,386 (July 1991), growth rate 0.8% (1991)                     
                                                                                
Birth rate: 15 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: - 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)                         
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 67 years male, 73 years female (1991)                 
Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Korean(s); adjective--Korean                                 
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: homogeneous; small Chinese minority                           
(about 20,000)                                                                  
                                                                                
Religion: strong Confucian tradition; vigorous Christian minority               
(28% of the total population); Buddhism; pervasive folk religion                
(Shamanism); Chondokyo (religion of the heavenly way), eclectic religion        
with nationalist overtones founded in 19th century, claims about 1.5            
million adherents                                                               
                                                                                
Language: Korean; English widely taught in high school                          
                                                                                
Literacy: 96% (male 99%, female 94%) age 15 and over can                        
read and write (1990 est.)                                                      
                                                                                
Labor force: 16,900,000; 52% services and other; 27% mining and                 
manufacturing; 21% agriculture, fishing, forestry (1987)                        
                                                                                
Organized labor: about 10% of nonagricultural labor force in                    
government-sanctioned unions                                                    
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: Republic of Korea; abbreviated ROK                              
                                                                                
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                                                    
                                                                                
Constitution: 25 February 1988                                                  
                                                                                
Legal system: combines elements of continental European civil law               
systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not             
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction                                            
                                                                                
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 August (1948)                            
                                                                                
Executive branch: president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,             
State Council (cabinet)                                                         
                                                                                
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Kuk Hoe)                      
                                                                                
Judicial branch: Supreme Court                                                  
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State--President ROH Tae Woo (since 25 February 1988);                 
Head of Government--Prime Minister CHUNG Won Shik (since 24                     
May 1991); Deputy Prime Minister CHOI Kak Kyu (since 19 February                
1991)                                                                           
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
                                                                                
ruling party--Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), ROH Tae Woo,                      
president, KIM Young Sam, chairman;                                             
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;                                     
                                                                                
opposition--New Democratic Party (NDP, formerly Party for Peace                 
and Democracy or PPD), KIM Dae Jung, president; Democratic Party (DP),          
YI Ki Taek; several smaller parties                                             
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 20                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
President--last held on 16 December 1987 (next to be held                       
December 1992);                                                                 
results--ROH Tae Woo (DJP) 35.9%, KIM Young Sam (RDP) 27.5%,                    
KIM Dae Jung (PPD) 26.5%, other 10.1%;                                          
                                                                                
National Assembly--last held on 26 April 1988 (next to be held                  
April 1992);                                                                    
results--DJP 34%, RDP 24%, PPD 19%, NDRP 15%, other 8%;                         
seats--(299 total) DJP 125, PPD 70, RDP 59, NDRP 35, other 10;                  
note--on 9 February 1990 the DJP, RDP, and NDRP merged to form the DLP;         
also the PPD became the NDP; as a result the distribution                       
of seats changed to DLP 218, NDP 70, other 11 (June 1990)                       
                                                                                
Communists: Communist party activity banned by government                       
                                                                                
Other political or pressure groups: Korean National Council of                  
Churches; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Council of            
College Student Representatives; 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, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77,                   
GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,         
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD,                      
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO                                         
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador HYUN Hong Joo;                            
Chancery at 2320 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone        
(202) 939-5600; there are Korean Consulates General in Agana (Guam),            
Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York,          
San Francisco, and Seattle;                                                     
                                                                                
US--Ambassador Donald P. GREGG; Embassy at 82 Sejong-Ro,                        
Chongro-ku, Seoul (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96301);                 
telephone  82  (2) 732-2601 through 2618; there is a US Consulate               
in 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--which grew by 6.7% in 1989        
after an average annual growth of over 12% between 1986-88--grew about          
9% in 1990. Labor unrest--which led to substantial wage hikes in                
1987-88--was noticeably calmer in 1990, unemployment averaged a low             
2.5%, and investment was strong. Inflation rates, however, are beginning        
to challenge South Korea's strong economic performance. Consumer prices         
rose 8.6%, the highest rate in nine years. Policymakers are concerned           
higher prices could lead to a resurgence of labor unrest.                       
                                                                                
GNP: $238 billion, per capita $5,600; real growth rate 9% (1990                 
est.)                                                                           
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.6% (1990)                                   
                                                                                
Unemployment rate: 2.5% (1990)                                                  
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $38 billion; expenditures $38 billion,                         
including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Exports: $65 billion (f.o.b., 1990);                                            
                                                                                
commodities--textiles, clothing, electronic and electrical                      
equipment, footwear, machinery, steel, automobiles, ships, fish;                
                                                                                
partners--US 30%, Japan 19%                                                     
                                                                                
Imports: $70 billion (c.i.f., 1990);                                            
                                                                                
commodities--machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil,              
steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains;                
                                                                                
partners--Japan 27%, US 24% (1990)                                              
                                                                                
External debt: $31.7 billion (1990)                                             
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate 8.6% (1990 est.); accounts for               
about 45% of GDP                                                                
                                                                                
Electricity: 21,000,000 kW capacity; 85,000 million kWh produced,               
1,970 kWh per capita (1990)                                                     
                                                                                
Industries: textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing,                      
chemicals, steel, electronics, automobile production, ship building             
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for 11% 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: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.9                   
billion; non-US countries (1970-89), $3.0 billion                               
                                                                                
Currency: South Korean won (plural--won);                                       
1 South Korean won (W) = 100 chon (theoretical)                                 
                                                                                
Exchange rates: South Korean won (W) per US$1--718.14 (January                  
1991), 707.76 (1990), 671.46 (1989), 731.47 (1988), 822.57 (1987), 881.45       
(1986), 870.02 (1985)                                                           
                                                                                
Fiscal year: calendar year                                                      
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Railroads: 3,106 km operating in 1983; 3,059 km 1.435-meter                     
standard gauge, 47 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, 712 km double track,            
418 km electrified; government owned                                            
                                                                                
Highways: 62,936 km total (1982); 13,476 km national highway,                   
49,460 km provincial and local roads                                            
                                                                                
Inland waterways: 1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft                
                                                                                
Pipelines: 455 km refined products                                              
                                                                                
Ports: Pusan, Inchon, Kunsan, Mokpo, Ulsan                                      
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 439 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,182,519               
GRT/11,906,897 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 138 cargo, 45               
container, 11 refrigerated cargo, 11 vehicle carrier, 48 petroleum, oils,       
and lubricants (POL) tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 13 liquefied gas, 7            
combination ore/oil, 146 bulk, 7 combination bulk, 1 multifunction              
large-load carrier                                                              
                                                                                
Civil air: 93 major transport aircraft                                          
                                                                                
Airports: 110 total, 102 usable; 60 with permanent-surface runways;             
none with runways over 3,659 m; 21 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with          
runways 1,220-2,439 m                                                           
                                                                                
Telecommunications: adequate domestic and international services;               
4,800,000 telephones; 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 (including Marines), Air Force                             
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 12,859,511; 8,294,624 fit for               
military service; 429,088 reach military age (18) annually                      
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $10.4 billion, 4.5% of GNP (1991)                         
                                                                                
