:Korea, North Defense Forces
Branches:
Korean People's Army (including the Army, Navy, Air Force), Civil Security
Forces
Manpower availability:
males 15-49, 6,476,839; 3,949,568 fit for military service; 227,154 reach
military age (18) annually
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - about $5 billion, 20-25% of GNP (1991 est.); note
- the officially announced but suspect figure is $1.9 billion (1991) 8% of
GNP (1991 est.)
:Korea, South Geography
Total area:
98,480 km2
Land area:
98,190 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than Indiana
Land boundaries:
238 km; North Korea 238 km
Coastline:
2,413 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf:
not specific
Territorial sea:
12 nm (3 nm in the Korea Strait)
Disputes:
Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan
Climate:
temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
Terrain:
mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
Natural resources:
coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower
Land use:
arable land 21%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and
woodland 67%; other 10%; includes irrigated 12%
Environment:
occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest;
air pollution in large cities
:Korea, South People
Population:
44,149,199 (July 1992), growth rate 1.1% (1992)
Birth rate:
16 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
1 migrant/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
23 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
67 years male, 73 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
1.6 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
noun - Korean(s);adjective - Korean
Ethnic divisions:
homogeneous; small Chinese minority (about 20,000)
Religions:
strong Confucian tradition; vigorous Christian minority (24.3% of the total
population); Buddhism; pervasive folk religion (Shamanism); Chondogyo
(religion of the heavenly way), eclectic religion with nationalist overtones
founded in 19th century, about 0.1% of population
Languages:
Korean; English widely taught in high school
Literacy:
96% (male 99%, female 94%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
16,900,000; 52% services and other; 27% mining and manufacturing; 21%
agriculture, fishing, forestry (1987)
Organized labor:
23.4% (1989) of labor force in government-sanctioned unions
:Korea, South Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Korea; abbreviated ROK
Type:
republic
Capital:
Seoul
Administrative divisions:
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 6 special cities* (jikhalsi,
singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo,
Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-jikhalsi*, Kangwon-do,
Kwangju-jikhalsi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo,
Pusan-jikhalsi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-jikhalsi*, Taejon-jikhalsi*
Independence:
15 August 1948
Constitution:
25 February 1988
Legal system:
combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American
law, and Chinese classical thought
National holiday:
Independence Day, 15 August (1948)
Executive branch:
president, prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, State Council
(cabinet)
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (Kuk Hoe)
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President ROH Tae Woo (since 25 February 1988)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister CHUNG Won Shik (since 24 May 1991); Deputy Prime Minister
CHOI Gak Kyu (since 19 February 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
ruling party:
Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), ROH Tae Woo, president, KIM Young Sam,
chairman; KIM Chong Pil and PAK Tae Chun, co-chairmen; note - the DLP
resulted from a merger of the Democratic Justice Party (DJP), Reunification
Democratic Party (RDP), and New Democratic Republican Party (NDRP) on 9
February 1990
opposition:
Democratic Party (DP), result of a merger of the New Democratic Party and
the Democratic Party formalized 16 September 1991; KIM Dae Jung, executive
chairman; LEE Ki Taek, executive chairman; several smaller parties
Suffrage:
universal at age 20
Elections:
President:
last held on 16 December 1987 (next to be held December 1992); results - ROH
Tae Woo (DJP) 35.9%, KIM Young Sam (RDP) 27.5%, KIM Dae Jung (PPD) 26.5%,
other 10.1%
National Assembly:
last held on 26 April 1988 (next to be held around March 1992); results -
DJP 34%, RDP 24%, PPD 19%, NDRP 15%, other 8%; seats - (296 total) DJP 125,
PPD 70, RDP 59, NDRP 35, other 10; note - on 9 February 1990 the DJP, RDP,
and NDRP merged to form the DLP; also the PPD, later renamed the NDP, merged
with another party to form the DP in September 1991. The distribution of
seats as of December 1991 was DLP 214, DP 72, independent 9, vacant 1
:Korea, South Government
Other political or pressure groups:
Korean National Council of Churches; National Democratic Alliance of Korea;
National Council of College Student Representatives; National Federation of
Farmers' Associations; National Council of Labor Unions; Federation of
Korean Trade Unions; Korean Veterans' Association; Federation of Korean
Industries; Korean Traders Association
Member of:
AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, COCOM, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF, ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, OAS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador HYUN Hong Joo; Chancery at 2370 Massachusetts Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-5600; there are Korean Consulates
General in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los
Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
US:
Ambassador Donald P. GREGG; Embassy at 82 Sejong-Ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul,
AMEMB, Unit 15550 (mailing address is APO AP 96205-0001); telephone [82] (2)
732-2601 through 2618; FAX [82] (2) 738-8845; there is a US Consulate in
Pusan
Flag:
white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a
different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each
corner of the white field