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
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)
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
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)
