KOREA IN FOCUS
A People and History in Harmony
Introduction
In the past two decades, Korea has been one of the fastest
developing nations in the world - both in economic and social
terms. Rapid industrial and economic growth has seen the
Republic nearly reach developed nation status in a remarkably
short time. The Korean people also find themselves in the midst
of a new era of democratic development following the birth of
the civilian Administration of President Kim Young Sam on
February 25, 1993. This wiped out the negative legacy of decades
of military-backed authoritarian rule. The country has since
been implementing bold political and economic reforms to
eradicate corruption and revitalize and restructure the economy
with the goal of building a New Korea - a mature and vibrant
industrial democracy.
This rapid economic and social development has brought Korea
increased international exposure and recognition, as the
Republic begins to expand its role on the international stage.
Testifying to this was the successful hosting of the 1988 Seoul
Olympics, the largest held in history up to that time. This was
following by the 1993 hosting of an international exposition,
the Taejon Expo '93. Both the Seoul Olympics and the Taejon
Expo played an important role in deepening ties between Korea
and countries all over the world and gave an impetus to the
Korean economy.
This era of stability and expanding international ties
represents the most exciting period in the country's history -
and yet, in retrospect, Korea has, in its 5,000-year history,
quite an enviable record for governments of longevity and
stability. The country's last dynasty, the Yi Dynasty of the
Choson Kingdom, lasted 500 years.
The Koreans of today, while enormously proud of their
country's past, look at Korea's role and reputation from a more
recent historical perspective; but, in order to understand
today's Korea - its land, people, culture, history, and recent
economic and political transitions - it is necessary to look at
both the past and the present. 'Korea In Focus' aims to give you
a brief overview to help in your general awareness of Korea
today. More detailed information can be obtained from individual
organizations or government offices.
Land
The Korean Peninsula, located in Northeast Asia, is bordered
on the north by China and Russia and juts towards Japan to the
southeast. Since 1948, the 221,487 square kilometers which make
up the entire Peninsula have been divided, roughly along the
38th parallel, into the Republic of Korea in the south and the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north. The Republic
of Korea covers 99,221 square kilometers, a land area a little
more than twice the size of Switzerland.
Seoul is the capital of the country which is made up of nine
provinces; other major cities include Pusan, Taegu, Inch'on,
Kwangju, and Taejon.
The landscape is spectacular in its variations and about 70
percent of it is mountaneous. The oceans around the Peninsula
are a major source of livelihood and recreation for Koreans. The
shoreline is dotted by more than 3,000 islands.
The Peninsula's longest river is the Amnokkang (790 km) in
the North. One of the South's major waterways is the Han-gang
River, which flows through Seoul to the West Sea (Yellow Sea).
History
A look back at the 5,000 years of Korean history reveals
triumphs and tragedies, successes and struggles which have been
instrumental in shaping the Korea and Koreans of today. One
remarkable fact that emerges from such a historical examination
is that Korea has largely been ruled by long-term, stable
governments. Korea's kindoms and dynasties generally lasted
about 500 years or more.
Although Korea's traceable history began considerably
earlier that the seventh century, it was the Shilla Unification
in 668 that Korea, as a historical entity with a cohesive
culture and society, came to occuрy most of the Peninsula as it
exists today.
It was almost a decade after the end of the war before the
Republic of Korea had recovered sufficiently to establish
stability and start the momentum for its now remarkable recovery
and development. The three decades since then have been a time
of spectacular progress which has seen the creation of a modern,
industrialized nation.
People
Korea is homogeneous society, although there have been
historic and prehistoric migrations of Chinese, Mongols and
Japanese. Koreans are very conscious of the ethnic differences
and cultural distinctions which give them their unique identity.
The population of the Republic of Korea was estimated at
44.1 million in 1993. Its population density is among the
world's highest and Seoul, the capital, has more than 10 million
inhabitants. The annual population growth in the Republic has
dropped from an average of 2.7 percent in the 1960-66 period to
only 0.90 percent in 1993. The slowdown is also partly the
result of the increasing number of young working women.
The country's rapid industrialization is responsible for
today's concentration of population in urban centers. The
proportion of Koreans living in cities has jumped from only 28
percent in 1960 to 74.4 percent as of 1990 - very similar to the
73 to 76 percent levels in the United States, Japan and France.
Language
The Korean language is spoken by some 60 million people
living on the Peninsula and its outlying islands as well as some
1.5 million Koreans living in other parts of the world.
Korean belongs to the Ural-Altaic language group, which is
found in an narrow band from Korea and Japan across Mongolia and
central Asia to Turkey. Korean is a non-tonal language, with
agglutinative and polysynthetic elements.
Religion
Religion in today's Korea covers a broad spectrum of faiths
and beliefs. Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Islam and
numerous other indigenous religions exist in Korea. Although
none of them dominates, they all influence contemporary culture.
Education
Education has been at the heart of Korea's growth by
training and supplying the manpower needed for rapid industrial
and economic expansion.
A multi-tiered educational system is currently in use,
encompassing elementary school (six years), middle school (three
years), high school (three years), and college (four years), as
well as various graduate and professional programs.
The government has eased regulations on overseas study. This
new policy also encourages those in the teaching profession to
take advantage of opportunities for training abroad.
Transportation
The tremendous pace of domestic economic growth in the past
two decades has been