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South Korea
South Korea, officially known as the Republic of Korea (ROK) is an East Asian country on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. To the north, it is bordered by North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), with which it was united until 1945. To the west, across the Yellow Sea, lies China (People's Republic of China) and to the southeast, across the Korea Strait, lies Japan.
Korea traces its founding to 2333 BCE by Dangun Wanggeom. Archaeological research shows that Koreans occupied the peninsula since the Lower Paleolithic period with territories expanding as far as mainland China and eastern Russia during the Gojoseon period. Korea's history has been turbulent throughout with the last emperor of Korea dating back to the age of the Korean Empire. Since the establishment of the modern republic in 1948, South Korea struggled with the aftermath of the Japanese control (1910-1945), the Korean War (1950-1953), and decades of authoritarian governments, undergoing five major constitutional changes. While the government officially embraced Western-style democracy from its founding, presidential elections suffered from rampant irregularities. It was not until 1987 that direct and fair presidential elections were held, largely prompted by popular demonstrations.
South Korea had one of the fastest economic development in the world since the 1960s and is now the 3rd largest economy in Asia and the 11th largest economy in the world.
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Up until the 1990s, South Korea has been part of the Four Asian Tigers and a Newly-industrialized country; however, upon entering the 21st century, South Korea gained developed status. South Korea is a Next Eleven country and also part of the G20 Industrial Nations. South Korea's HDI is rated at High with 0.912 by the Human Development Index and the country joined the OECD in 1996, an organization for developed nations only.
South Korea is one of the world's most technologically and scientifically advanced countries; it has the fourth highest number and proportion of broadband Internet users among the OECD countries and is a global leader in electronics, digital displays, semiconductor devices, mobile phones and hightech gadgets, headed by the two chaebols, Samsung and LG. South Korea also has the world's 3rd biggest steel producer, POSCO and is the 5th largest car manufacturing nation, headed by Hyundai Kia Automotive Group. South Korea is the world's largest shipbuilder, lead by several multinational corporations such as Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries. Other important industries of South Korea include robotics and biotechnology, with the world's second humanoid robot, EveR-1 and the world's first cloned dog, Snuppy.
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