South Korea

1. South Korea By EeshanaHamed

2. Introduction South Korea is one of the most important places that is known for technology. Korea has a great population and its capital Seoul is one of its largest cities with a population of over ten million.

3. Language and ethnicity Korean is the official language of South Korea as well as one of the two official languages in China's Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture. About 78 million people speak Korean worldwide. For over a millennium, Korean was written with adapted Chinese characters called hanja, and also punctuation systems like hyangchal, gugyeol, and idu. In the 15th century, a national writing system called hangul was commissioned by Sejong the Great, but it only came into use in the 20th century, because of the yangban aristocracy's preference for hanja.

4. Religion belief system Religion in South Korea is very diverse. The majority of the population does not have any religious connections. Christian groups (Roman Catholics, Protestants, and others) represent 26 percent of the people, Mahayana Buddhists another 26 percent, Confucianists 1 percent, and other religions are 1 percent. Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, Chondogyoism, and Korean Shamanism (the original religion of the Korean people) are the traditional religions of the country and have played an important role in shaping the main rules of the people of South Korea.

5. Customs and tradititons One thing South Koreans do is gift giving. Gift giving is common in South Korean society, where gifts reflect the consideration and thoughtfulness of the giver. They also have holidays which are very similar to ours. They are like the Korean version of American holidays and here are some: Sinjeong (International New Year’s Day),Seollal/Seol-nal (Lunar New Year),JeongwolDaeboreum (Great Full Moon),SamilJeol (March 1st Movement),Labor Day,Eorininal (Children’s Day),Seongtanjeol (Christmas Day),Jungyangjeol/ Junggu (Buddha’s Birthday) etc. Korean cuisine shows some similarities to Japanese and Chinese cooking, but the overall flavor of Korean dishes are stronger. Many dishes are prepared simply with few ingredients. As is to be expected on a peninsula, fish and seafood are the most popular sources of protein. The traditional clothes for the south koreans were the top part called a jeogori is blouse-like with long sleeves with the men's version being longer, stretching down to the waist. Women wear skirts (chima) while men wear baggy pants (paji). Common people wore white, except during festivals and special occassions such as weddings. Clothes for the upper classes were made of bright colors.

6. Economic activities South Korea over the past four decades has shown incredible growth to become a high-tech industrialized economy. In the 1960s, GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies, and currently is among the world's 20 largest economies. At first, a system of close government and business ties, including directed credit and import restrictions, made this success possible. The government encouraged the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods, and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 showed longstanding weaknesses in South Korea’s development model including high debt/equity ratios and massive short-term foreign borrowing. GDP plunged by 6.9% in 1998, and then recovered by 9% in 1999-2000. Korea got many economic reforms following the crisis, including greater openness to foreign investment and imports. Growth got better to about 4% annually between 2003 and 2007. With the global economic downturn in late 2008, South Korean GDP growth slowed to 0.3% in 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, the economy began to recover, in large part due to export growth.

7. Political systems The political system of South Korea is based on a Republic form of government with the President as Chief of the State and Prime Minister as the Head of Government. Powers of the government is shared between the executive, legislature and judiciary. The Cabinet includes a council of ministers who are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The political system of South Korea continues to suffer from the aftermath of several years authoritarian rule.

8. Educational values The Korean public education structure is divided into three parts: six years of primary school, followed by three years of middle school and then three years of high school. In 1996 only about five percent of Korea's high schools were boys and girls together. The proportion of coeducational schools has increased by almost ten percent. However, classes in many coeducational high schools are still divided along gender lines. The curriculum is standardized so now both boys and girls study technology and domestic science. South korea also has a very high ranking for education

9. Art and music The nation is divided for a number of reasons today, the music of Korea can be divided in a number of ways: ancient and modern; court, aristocratic, and folk; Confucian, Buddhist, and Shamanist. As a result of its long history, the music of South Korea celebrates ancient traditions while also reflecting influences of its Asian neighbors and the West. Buddhism has been a great source of inspiration for Korean artists and the examples of the outstanding Korean artwork and architecture are seen in Buddhist temples and paintings .The earliest examples of Korean painting can be found on the walls of tombs in Manchuria. Paintings in Korea were traditionally forgotten to celebrate nature or religious themes. In the 18th century some artists deviated from the norm and started presenting in pictures the dramatic landscape or daily life. Korean artists were introduced to Western oil painting at the time of Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945. Contemporary South Korean artists incorporate the western style with classical Korean styles and themes, to create work of genius and originality.  

10. Technology Officially known as the Republic of Korea, South Korea has transformed itself over the last sixty years from an underdeveloped society to a vibrant industrialized nation. Government policies accelerated science and technology developments. South Koreas technology is better than ours right now and they have much faster internet service than we do.

11. Recreation For recreation they play a lot of sports. Some like martial art tae kwon do and traditional belt wrestling are practiced nationally in the country. There are professional baseball and football (soccer) leagues like the red devils. The country’s system of national parks attracts large numbers of hikers, campers, and skiers.

12. Other Fun facts • south koreas national sport is taekwando • they love shopping • The South Korean diet is perfect for good health and staying slim. • the taxis are colour coded • a traditional Korean roof curves up with a smile • Tipping is not required in Korea. • Because of the high level of rain, fruit in Korea is very expensive. A watermelon is about $30,000 won – about $26.50 in US dollars. • Many people in Seoul live in high-rise, high-tech apartments; some of them have robots to do the housework. • You can have custom phone rings on house phones, not just cell phones, and many people do.

13. Pictures Buddhism Christianity Food Holidays Education Art

14. Technology Music Recreation Traditional clothing for men and women

15. Political map Physical map