VERBACARD GEOGRAPHY — ASIA
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SOUTH KOREA
Republic of Korea
KR · KOR
MODERN REPUBLIC FOUNDED 1948
WORLD LEADER IN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING
POPULATION
51.8M
AREA
100,210 km²
CAPITAL
Seoul
CURRENCY
KRW
GDP / CAPITA
$33,000
TERRITORY
HIGHEST POINT
Hallasan, 1,947 m
LOWEST POINT
Sea of Japan, 0 m
COASTLINE
2,413 km
LAND BORDERS
238 km, 1 country
TERRAIN
Mostly hills and mountains, with wide coastal plains in the west and south.
POSITION
CAPITAL COORDINATES
37.57°N, 126.98°E
TIME ZONE
KST, UTC+9 — no daylight saving
NEIGHBORS
North Korea
GOVERNMENT & SOCIETY
GOVERNMENT
Presidential republic
RELIGION
Christianity, ~28%; Buddhism, ~16%; unaffiliated majority
LIFE EXPECTANCY
83 years
HDI
0.929 — Very high (rank 19)
LANGUAGES
KoreanOFFICIAL
ECONOMY
KEY INDUSTRIES
Semiconductors & electronics
Automotive manufacturing
Shipbuilding
Steel
TOP EXPORTS
Semiconductors
Automobiles
Petrochemicals
Ships
TOP IMPORTS
Crude petroleum
Semiconductors
Machinery
LAND USE
Agricultural, 18%
Forest, 63%
Other, 19%
POPULATION, 1970–2024
32.2M
1970
38.1M
1980
42.9M
1990
47.0M
2000
49.6M
2010
51.8M
2020
51.7M
2024
SOURCES: WORLD BANK · CIA WORLD FACTBOOK · NATURAL EARTH · ISO 4217
VERBACARD GEOGRAPHY SET