Portal:South Korea
대한민국 포털
The South Korea Portal
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of about 52 million, of which half live in the Seoul metropolitan area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world, with other major cities being Busan, Daegu, and Incheon.
The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early seventh century BC. From the mid first century BC, various polities consolidated into the rival kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. The lattermost eventually unified most of the peninsula for the first time in the late seventh century AD, while Balhae succeeded Goguryeo in the north. The Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) achieved lasting unification and established the basis for the modern Korean identity. The subsequent Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) generated cultural, economic, and scientific achievements and also established isolationism starting from the mid-17th century. The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) sought modernization and reform but was annexed in 1910 into the Empire of Japan. Japanese rule ended following Japan's surrender in World War II, after which Korea was divided into two zones: the Soviet-occupied northern zone and the United States-occupied southern zone.
After negotiations on reunification failed, the southern zone became the Republic of Korea in August 1948, while the northern zone became the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea the following month. In 1950, a North Korean invasion triggered the Korean War, one of the first major proxy conflicts of the Cold War, which saw extensive fighting involving the American-led United Nations Command and the Soviet-backed People's Volunteer Army from China. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice and left three million Koreans dead and the economy in ruins; due to the lack of a peace treaty, the Korean conflict is still ongoing. South Korea endured a series of dictatorships punctuated by coups, revolutions, and violent uprisings, but also experienced a soaring economy and one of the fastest rises in average GDP per capita, leading to its emergence as one of the Four Asian Tigers. The June Democratic Struggle of 1987 ended authoritarian rule and led to the establishment of the current Sixth Republic. (Full article...)
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The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire lasted until the Japanese annexation of Korea in August 1910.
During this period, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwangmu Reform, a partial modernization and westernization of Korea's military, economy, land system, education system, and various industries. In 1905, the Korean Empire became a protectorate of the Empire of Japan. After the Japanese annexation in 1910, the Korean Empire ceased to exist. (Full article...)
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Girls' Generation (Korean: 소녀시대; RR: Sonyeo Sidae), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. Its nine original members were (pictured, from left to right): Taeyeon, Hyoyeon, Seohyun, Sooyoung, Yoona, Jessica, Tiffany, Sunny, and Yuri. Jessica later departed from the group in September 2014.
More did you know -
- ... that South Korean boy band TVXQ (pictured) became the first foreign artist to have four number-one singles on the Japanese single charts?
- ... that director/screenwriter Kang Dae-ha from Jeju Island, South Korea, directed films related to Korean shamanism?
- ... that South Korean fashion model Daul Kim was also a keen painter and had exhibited her works at a solo exhibition in Seoul?
In the news
- 5 March 2026 – Economic impact of the 2026 Iran war
- South Korean president Lee Jae Myung orders the activation of a ₩100 trillion (about US$68 billion) stabilization fund to address volatility in the country's financial markets linked to the Iran war. (AFP via The Economic Times)
- 25 February 2026 – Economy of South Korea
- South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index surpasses 6,000 points for the first time, crossing the threshold shortly after the opening of trading. (AFP via BSS)
- 19 February 2026 – Arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol
- Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol is sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of leading an insurrection when he declared martial law on December 3, 2024. (The Korea Herald) (Reuters)
- 6 February 2026 – Capital punishment in North Korea, Mass media in North Korea
- Amnesty International reports that North Koreans are being executed for watching the South Korean series Squid Game and listening to K-pop. (Sky News)
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HL Anyang (Korean: HL 안양) is a professional ice hockey team based in Anyang in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It is one of the founding and current members of the Asia League Ice Hockey (ALIH). Formed in 1994, it is the oldest professional ice hockey team in South Korea. The Halla Group contributes three billion won annually to run the club.
At its inception the team was based in Mok-dong, Seoul and named the Mando Winia. In 1998 the team took the name of Mando's parent company, Halla. After the collapse of the Korean Ice Hockey League in 2003, they were the only team to survive. They joined four Japanese teams to create the new Asia League Ice Hockey. In 2005, the team moved to its current hometown of Anyang, where it plays its home games at the Anyang Ice Arena. After two years of finishing in fifth place, they became the first non-Japanese team to finish first in the regular season in 2008–09. However, they failed to defeat the Nippon Paper Cranes in the semi-finals. In the following season, Halla again finished in first and won the semi-final and final series giving them their first play-off series win and first Asia League Championship. The club captured their second AL title after the league cancelled the championship final due to the earthquake in Japan. Asia League announced Halla and Tohoku Free Blades as the co-champions. In 2022, the team rebranded as HL Anyang. (Full article...)
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Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Draken is the tallest, fastest, and joint-steepest roller coaster in South Korea?
- ... that a 700-year-old fortification in present-day South Korea was mostly destroyed during the construction of a coastal road?
- ... that Hometown Village is a community of Sakhalin Koreans who were finally allowed to return to South Korea after the dissolution of the Soviet Union?
- ... that a South Korean actor sold his belongings and went $7 million into debt to keep his amusement park running?
- ... that a senior colonel with 30 years' experience in North Korean intelligence agencies defected to South Korea in 2014?
- ... that Jeong Haneul went from being a North Korean soldier to a South Korean YouTuber?
WikiProjects
See WikiProject Korea for collaborating on South Korea topics, and more broadly, on all things Korea-related.
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East Asia
Associated Wikimedia
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Wiktionary
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Web resources
- The official website of the Republic of Korea (Korea.net)
- The Official Korea Tourism Guide Site
- Korea National Statistical Office
- Video on South Korea-US Relations from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
- "South Korea". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
- A Country Study: South Korea in the Library of Congress
- South Korea from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Korea OECD
- South Korea profile from the BBC News
- South Korea Encyclopædia Britannica entry
- The War Memorial of Korea
- Key Development Forecasts for South Korea from International Futures
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