South Korea

Flag of South Korea.svgSouth Korea, officially called Republic of Korea, is located in East Asia. Seas surround it from three sides, that is, the Sea of Japan/East Sea from the South and the East, and the Yellow Sea from the west. Its population is 50 million (2012), and the name of its capital is Seoul, where about 10 million people live. South Korea is considered as a developed, highly industrialized country with a strong economy, which has continued growing steadily since the 1960s. Based on its impressive successes, it has been transferring agricultural technologies and rural development model to a number of developing countries, and has forged partnerships with major development organizations, like the World Bank. For administrative purposes, South Korea is divided into a “special city” (Seoul), a “special self-governing city” (Sejong), six “metropolitan cities”, eight “provinces”, and a “special self- governing province” (Jeju).

Acknowledgements

  • Authored by M. Kalim Qamar (January 2014)
  • Edited by Burton E. Swanson