Welcome to Korea

Holidays

New Year’s Day

(Jan. 1)

Seollal

(Lunar New Year’s Day,

Jan. or Feb.)

Independence Movement Day

(Mar. 1)

Arbor Day

(Apr. 5)

Buddha’s Birthday

(Apr. or May)

Children’s Day

(May 5)

Memorial Day

(June 6)

Constitution Day

(July 17)

Liberation Day

(Aug. 15)

Chuseok

(Korean Thanksgiving Day)

(Sept. or Oct.)

National Foundation Day

(Oct. 3)

Christmas

(Dec. 25)

Facts

and

Figures

Official Name
The Republic of Korea (ROK)

Area

Korean Peninsula : 222,154 km

2

South Korea : 99,460 km

2

Population 48.3 million (2003)

Capital Seoul

Other Major Cities
Busan, Daegu, Daejeon,
Gwangju, Incheon and Ulsan

Monetary Unit won

History

he first legendary kingdom, Gojoseon (ancient Joseon), was formed
in 2333 B.C. Three ancient kingdoms of Goguryeo (37 B.C.-A.D.

668), Baekje (18 B.C.-A.D. 660), and Silla (57 B.C.-A.D. 935) ruled the
entire Korean peninsula and part of Manchuria by the first century B.C.
Baekje and Goguryeo were ultimately vanquished by Silla in A.D. 660
and 668, respectively. The Unified Silla (668-935) period was a golden
age of Korean culture especially in Buddhist art. In the succeeding
Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392), an aristocratic government was instituted.
Buddhism was the state religion. “Korea” is a derivative of “Goryeo.”
Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) moved its capital to Hanyang (now Seoul)
from Gaegyeong (Gaeseong) in 1394 and made political and economic
reforms, adopting Confucianism as the state ideology. The surge of
creative literary endeavors and invention of hangeul, the Korean alphabet,
invest this period with special cultural significance. Japan forcibly
annexed Korea in 1910, ending the Dynasty. Korea was under Japanese
colonial rule for 35 years until the end of World War II.

On August 15, 1945, Korea was liberated from Japan, only
to be divided into South Korea and North Korea. The
Republic of Korea in the south established an independent
government in 1948. The Korean War began on June 25,
1950, when North Korea invaded the South. An armistice
agreement was signed in 1953. South Korea’s tireless post-
war reconstruction efforts were highly successful in her
economic development and securing sociopolitical
stability. In June 2000, the two Koreas held a historic
summit meeting, opening an era of reconciliation and
cooperation on the Korean Peninsula.

National Flag

The Korean flag is called Taegeukgi. Its
design symbolizes the principles of the yin
and yang in Oriental philosophy. The circle
in the center of the flag is divided into two
equal parts. The upper red section
represents the proactive cosmic forces of the
yang. Conversely, the lower blue section
represents the responsive cosmic forces of
the yin. The two forces embody the
concepts of continual movement, balance,
and harmony that characterize the sphere of
infinity. The circle is surrounded by four
trigrams, one in each corner. Each trigram
symbolizes one of the four universal
elements: heaven, earth, fire, and water.

The national flower of Korea is the
Mugunghwa or rose of Sharon.

heaven (

)

earth (

)

fire (

)

water (

)

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Land

and

Climate

he Korean peninsula is situated at the eastern end of the Asian
continent extending about 1,020 km long. China lies across the

Yellow Sea to the west, while Japan is across the East Sea to the east.
Mountains cover 70 percent of the land area and over 3,000 islands are
scattered along the coasts. The peninsula is currently divided into the
Republic of Korea (ROK) in the south and the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea (DPRK) in the north, separated by the demilitarized
zone (DMZ).

Korea belongs to the temperate zone with four distinct seasons.
Spring is rather short, but very pleasant and sunny. Summer is hot and
humid with monsoon rainfalls in July. Autumn is most beautiful as
vivid golds and vibrant reds create a colorful panorama. Winter is cold
and dry with occasional snow. Jeju Island in the southwest of the
peninsula has a mild subtropical climate.

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Spring Summer

Fall Winter

People

and

Language

oreans belong to one ethnic
family, speaking one language.

They are believed to be the
descendants of Mongol tribes who
migrated to the Peninsula during the
Neolithic through Bronze Ages.

The Korean language, like Hungarian,
Turkish, Mongolian, and Finnish, belongs to the Ural-Altaic language
group. Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, is composed of 10 vowels and 14
consonants. King Sejong the Great and his scholars created this writing

system in 1443 because Koreans spoke a different language

from Chinese or Japanese, and yet they were relying on

Chinese characters to study, teach and communicate.

Today, the Hangeul writing system is used by 70 million

South and North Koreans, as well as five million

overseas Koreans.

It is widely acclaimed by linguists

as an ingenious invention.

In July 2000, the Korean

government adopted new rules on

Romanization of Korean on which this
brochure is based.

Constitution

and

Government

he Constitution of the Republic of Korea was first promulgated on July 17,
1948. The Constitution guarantees the basic rights and freedoms of the

people, including equality before the law, freedom from arbitrary arrest, freedom
of residence, the right to vote and hold public office, the right to privacy, freedom
of religion, speech, the press and assembly, as well as the right to a clean
environment and pursuit of happiness.
Under a presidential system, the government consists of three branches: the
legislature, in the form of a unicameral National Assembly; the judiciary,
consisting of district and appellate or high courts and the Supreme Court; and the
executive, headed by the President who is the head of state and commander-in-
chief of the Armed Forces. The President is assisted by the Prime Minister and
the State Council, including the cabinet.

- Suffrage: All citizens age 20 or older are eligible to vote.
- Elections

Presidential: Every five years
National Assembly: Every four years
Local Councils: Every four years

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Welcome to Korea.

Economy

o

rea’s remarkable economic growth began with

the adoption of the First Five-Year Economic

Development Plan in 1962. Per capita GNP was US
$82 and exports were negligible. An average 9 percent
of annual growth was recorded during 1962-1992.
Now, Korea is ranked as the world’s 10th largest
economy.
Korea joined the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1996.
Korea’s past economic development is attributed to
strong government support, export-oriented growth
strategy, emphasis on high-tech industries, and
abundance of highly skilled and educated manpower.
The Asian financial crisis in 1997, however, rocked the
economy and forced the nation to turn to the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a bailout
package. A massive restructuring program was
implemented at the financial, corporate, public and
labor sectors. At the end of 1999, Korea regained its
international credit rating of “fit for investment.”

Korea is also known as an IT powerhouse with its
information infrastructure such as broadband Internet,
which has expanded to cover the whole country. Korea
stands to improve the overall business environment to
emerge as Northeast Asia’s new business hub.

Major industries: electronics, automobiles,

petrochemicals, steel products,
shipbuilding, textiles

Major exports: semi-conductors, automobiles,

electronic goods, steel, machinery

Major imports: oil, petroleum products, iron, steel
Economic status (2003)
GDP: US

˓605.2 billion, per capita GNI: US˓12,646

K

Seoul

eoul, the capital of Korea, is a teeming metropolis
with a population of over 10 million. It is a

fascinating city where the past and the present coexist.
Centuries-old palaces, gates, royal tombs, and shrines are
juxtaposed with soaring skyscrapers, a high-tech
infrastructures, and bustling businesses. Within a 10-
minute walk from the City Hall are palaces of the old
dynasties like Gyeongbokgung, Deoksugung,
Changdeokgung, Changgyeonggung, and Gyeonghuigung.
The Seoul Tower on top of Mt. Namsan is one of the major
landmarks of the city. Insa-dong street showcases art
galleries and traditional craft shops. Mountains are all
around the city, providing the people with beautiful sights
and natural comfort.

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Korea’s World
Cultural Heritage

NESCO has named so far seven Korean sites to the World Heritage List:
Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto, Jongmyo Shrine, Tripitaka

Koreana and Janggyeongpanjeon, Changdeokgung Palace, Hwaseong Fortress,
Gyeongju Historic Area, and Dolmen Sites in Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa.

Bulguksa in Gyeongju was built in 774 during the Silla
period. Its architectural design has become the standard for
temple construction. Seokguram is a man-made cave
carved from white granite featuring a seated Buddha and
38 other Bodhisattvas on the walls. Seokguram exquisitely
combines Silla’s knowledge of architecture, math,
geometry, physics, religion and art into an organic whole.

Jongmyo is the royal ancestral shrine where the spirit
tablets of Joseon kings and queen-consorts are enshrined
and rituals performed. A ceremony is held on every first
Sunday of May. The ritual and music used for the
ceremony have been designated as Intangible Cultural
Properties No. 56 and No. 1, respectively.

Tripitaka Koreana is the oldest and most comprehensive
compilation of Buddhist scriptures in existence today. It
was carved on 81,340 woodblocks during the Goryeo
Dynasty (918-1392). The Janggyeongpanjeon at Haeinsa
Temple is their repositories which has never been damaged
by fire or war since its first construction in 1488.

As one of the five palaces, Changdeokgung is free from
symmetrical or lineal arrangement of structures in layout
and instead designed in accordance with the surrounding
topography. It is a fine example of ancient Korean
landscaping with a lotus pond, some 300-year old trees,
and a pavilion all arranged in harmony with surrounding.

U

Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon was built by King Jeongjo
(r. 1776-1800) as an act of filial piety to restore the honor
of his father who was murdered as a result of palace
intrigue. The fortress was designed by Jeong Yak-yong
known as Dasan, one of the greatest Confucian Silhak
(School of Practical Learning) scholars.

Gyeongju Historic Area and the
Dolmen Sites in the towns of
Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa
were also on the list in 2000.
Gyeongju was the capital of the
Silla Kingdom for a thousand years
and the area is called a “Museum
Without Walls” because of the
wealth of historical remains.

In addition, UNESCO recognized Jongmyo Jerye and
Jerye Music to be among the Masterpieces of the Oral
and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Also, the World
Textual Heritage contains the Hunminjeongeum (correct
sounds to instruct the people, a primer for teaching
Hangeul, the Korean alphabet) and Joseonwangjosillok
(the court journals of the Joseon Dynasty) on the list.

Food

imchi is the most famous Korean food. It is salted
and fermented Korean cabbage, presented as a side

dish in any meal. It is rich in vitamins and minerals.
Dishes most familiar to Westerners are galbi and bulgogi.
Galbi is short ribs of beef cooked over a charcoal grill.
Bulgogi, Korean barbecue, is marinated in soy sauce with
sesame oil and garlic, among other condiments.

Other popular dishes are bibimbap (a mixture of rice,
vegetables, egg, and hot pepper paste), doenjangjjigae (a
bean paste soup), naengmyeon (buckwheat noodles in cold
beef broth) and samgyetang (stewed chicken stuffed with
rice and ginseng).

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Arts

Traditional Music and Dance

Traditional Korean music is called gugak. It has triple
rhythm in contrast to the Chinese and Japanese music with
two beats per measure.
Gugak is divided into jeongak and minsogak. Jeongak
(music of the upper classes) has a slow, solemn, and
complicated melody. Minsogak (folk music) such as
farmers’ music, pansori (epic solo song) and shamanistic
music, is fast and vigorous.

Court dance has a slow and gracious movements while folk
dance reflects exciting, romantic, free and spontaneous
emotions of the commoners. Traditional dancers
concentrate energy in their torsos and move their shoulders
and arms. They emphasize natural movements that express
natural phenomena as shown in Chunaengjeon (Dance of
the Spring Nightingale) and Hakchum (or Hangmu, Crane
Dance). Folk performances include farmers’ dance, mask
dance drama, and shaman and monk dances.

Pottery

Pottery-making techniques were transmitted from China to
Korea over 1,000 years ago, but Chinese influence was lost
when Koreans have mastered their distinct and refined
creativity in the 12-13th centuries. The beauty and unique
bluish-green color of the celadon of the Goryeo Dynasty
are world-famous and much sought-after by antique lovers.
The white porcelain of the Joseon Dynasty is also
renowned.

Hanbok

The hanbok has been Korea’s traditional costume for
thousands of years. Before the arrival of Western-style
clothing 100 years ago, the hanbok used to be an everyday
attire. Men wore jeogori (jacket) with baji (trousers) while
women wore jeogori with chima (wrapped-over skirt).
Today, hanbok is worn on days of celebration or special
occasions such as wedding, 60th or 70th birthdays, and
Seollal or Chuseok.

Sports

ost Koreans are avid sports lovers. Korea is known
for its successful hosting of the 1988 Seoul Olympic

Games and co-hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Korea
has become the first Asian country to advance to the
semifinals in the 2002 World Cup. Today, golf is rapidly
gaining popularity. Many Korean golfers have been reigning
at the world’s professional golf championships.
Taekwondo, a sport originated in Korea, became an official

Olympic sport since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

Traditional sports include kite flying, tug-of-war,

geune (swing), jegichagi (shuttlecock tossing),

neolttwigi (game of seesaw) as well as

ssireum (Korean wrestling). These

games are played on folk festivals such as

Seollal, Chuseok or Dano (the fifth day of

the fifth lunar month) these days.

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Korean Overseas Information Service

www.korea.net