Portal:South Korea
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대한민국 포털
The South Korea Portal
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. Like North Korea, South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of about 52 million, of which half live in the Seoul metropolitan area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world; other major cities include Busan, Daegu, and Incheon.
The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early seventh century BC. From the mid first century BC, various polities consolidated into the rival kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. The lattermost eventually unified most of the peninsula for the first time in the late seventh century AD, while Balhae succeeded Goguryeo in the north. The Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) achieved lasting unification and established the basis for the modern Korean identity. The subsequent Joseon dynasty (1392–1897) generated cultural, economic, and scientific achievements and also established isolationism starting from the mid-17th century. The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) sought modernization and reform but was annexed in 1910 into the Empire of Japan. Japanese rule ended following Japan's surrender in World War II, after which Korea was divided into two zones: the Soviet-occupied northern zone and the United States-occupied southern zone. After negotiations on reunification failed, the southern zone became the Republic of Korea in August 1948, while the northern zone became the communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea the following month.
In 1950, a North Korean invasion triggered the Korean War, one of the first major proxy conflicts of the Cold War, which saw extensive fighting involving the American-led United Nations Command and the Soviet-backed People's Volunteer Army from China. The war ended in 1953 with an armistice and left three million Koreans dead and the economy in ruins; due to the lack of a peace treaty, the Korean conflict is still ongoing. South Korea endured a series of dictatorships punctuated by coups, revolutions, and violent uprisings, but also experienced a soaring economy and one of the fastest rises in average GDP per capita, leading to its emergence as one of the Four Asian Tigers. The June Democratic Struggle of 1987 ended authoritarian rule and led to the establishment of the current Sixth Republic. (Full article...)
Selected article -
The 1988 Summer Olympics (Korean: 1988년 하계 올림픽), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad (제24회 올림픽경기대회) and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (서울 1988), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represented at the games by a total of 8,391 athletes (6,197 men and 2,194 women). 237 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics.
The 1988 Seoul Olympics were the second summer Olympic Games held in Asia, after Tokyo 1964, and the first held in South Korea. As the host country, South Korea ranked fourth overall, winning 12 gold medals and 33 medals in the competition. 11,331 media (4,978 written press and 6,353 broadcasters) showed the Games all over the world. These were the last Olympic Games of the Cold War, as well as for the Soviet Union and East Germany, as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games in 1992. The Soviet Union dominated the medal count, winning 55 gold and 132 total medals. The results that got closest to that medal haul in the years since are China's and the United States's 48 gold medals in 2008 and 2012, respectively, and the United States's 126 total medals in 2024.
Compared to the 1980 Summer Olympics (Moscow) and the 1984 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles), which were divided into two camps by ideology, the 1988 Seoul Olympics was a competition in which the boycotts virtually disappeared, although they were not completely over. A boycott of the 1988 Seoul Olympics took place, with North Korea along with its allies Cuba, Ethiopia, Nicaragua, and Madagascar taking part. Albania and the Seychelles did not respond to invitations sent by the IOC. Nonetheless, the much larger boycotts seen in the three previous editions were avoided, resulting in the largest number of participating nations during the Cold War era. (Full article...)
Selected image
The Gold crown from Seobongchong Tumulus (Korean: 서봉총 금관; Hanja: 瑞鳳塚金冠; RR: Seobongchong geumgwan; MR: Sŏbongch'ong kŭmgwan), National Treasure of South Korea No. 339, is a gold crown of Silla origin that is now housed at the Gyeongju National Museum.
More did you know -
- ... that in April 2010 South Korean mountaineer Oh Eun-Sun became the first woman to summit all 14 eight-thousanders, the world's tallest mountain peaks?
- ... that a 1989 Samsung commercial began the late South Korean actress Choi Jin-sil's path to stardom?
In the news
- 15 December 2025 – Laos–South Korea relations
- Laos and South Korea agree to upgrade their bilateral relations to a comprehensive partnership. (Reuters)
- 11 December 2025 –
- Two people are killed and two others are trapped when an under-construction library collapses in Gwangju, South Korea. (Reuters)
- 23 November 2025 – International Paderewski Piano Competition
- South Korean pianist Roh Hyunjin wins the 13th International Piano Competition held at the Pomeranian Philharmonic in Bydgoszcz, Kuyavia–Pomerania, Poland. (Portal Kujawski)
- 13 November 2025 –
- A truck crashes into pedestrians at an outdoor market in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, killing two people and injuring 18 others. (AP)
- 11 November 2025 – 2024 South Korean martial law crisis
- A high court in Seoul, South Korea, issues an arrest warrant for former National Intelligence Service director Cho Tae-yong for allegedly tampering with evidence regarding former president Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law, among other charges. (Reuters)
- 10 November 2025 – 2024 South Korean martial law crisis
- Former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol, former defense minister Kim Yong-hyun, and former Defense Counterintelligence Command leader Yeo In-hyung are indicted on additional charges related to Yoon's attempt to invoke martial law last December alleging that they ordered surveillance drones to be sent into North Korea to stoke tensions and justify their plans. (DW) (The Chosun Ilbo)
Good article -
Kim Ki-young (Korean: 김기영; October 10, 1919 – February 5, 1998) was a South Korean film director, known for his intensely psychosexual and melodramatic horror films, often focusing on the psychology of their female characters. Kim was born in Seoul during the colonial period, raised in Pyongyang, where he became interested in theater and cinema. In Korea after the end of World War II, he studied dentistry while becoming involved in the theater. During the Korean War, he made propaganda films for the United States Information Service. In 1955, he used discarded movie equipments to produce his first two films. With the success of these two films Kim formed his own production company and produced popular melodramas for the rest of the decade.
Kim Ki-young's first expression of his mature style was in The Housemaid (1960), which featured a powerful femme fatale character. It is widely considered one of the best Korean films of all time. After a "Golden Age" during the 1960s, the 1970s were a low-point in the history of Korean cinema because of government censorship and a decrease in audience attendance. Nevertheless, working independently, Kim produced some of his most eccentric cinematic creations in this era. Films such as Insect Woman (1972) and Iodo (1977) were successful at the time and highly influential on the younger generations of South Korean filmmakers both at their time of release, and with their rediscovery years later. By the 1980s, Kim's popularity had declined, and his output decreased in the second half of the decade. Neglected by the mainstream during much of the 1990s, Kim became a cult figure in South Korean film Internet forums in the early 1990s. Widespread international interest in his work was stimulated by a career retrospective at the 1997 Pusan International Film Festival. He was preparing a comeback film when he and his wife were killed in a house fire in 1998. The Berlin International Film Festival gave Kim a posthumous retrospective in 1998, and the French Cinémathèque screened 18 of Kim's films, some newly rediscovered and restored, in 2006. Through the efforts of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), previously lost films by Kim Ki-young continue to be rediscovered and restored. Many current prominent South Korean filmmakers, including directors Im Sang-soo, Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook, claim Kim Ki-young as an influence on their careers. (Full article...)
General images -
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Lee Myung-bak, President of South Korea from 2008 to 2013 (from History of South Korea) -
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shaking hands inside the Peace House on 27 April 2018 (from History of South Korea) -
Inauguration of the 21st President of South Korea Lee Jae-myung. (from History of South Korea) -
A card portrait of Park Chung Hee during a military parade on Armed Forces Day, 1 October 1973 (from History of South Korea) -
Korean newspapers (from Culture of South Korea) -
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An Internet cafe in Seoul (from Culture of South Korea) -
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Burial grounds of the victims of the Gwangju Uprising at Mangwol-dong cemetery (from History of South Korea) -
President Park Chung Hee, who ruled South Korea from 1961 to 1979 (from History of South Korea) -
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Yoon takes the presidential oath of office outside the National Assembly, 10 May 2022. (from History of South Korea) -
Syngman Rhee, the 1st President of South Korea (from History of South Korea) -
President Kim Dae-jung, the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for advancing democracy and human rights in South Korea and East Asia and for reconciliation with North Korea, was sometimes called the "Nelson Mandela of Asia." (from History of South Korea) -
Samsung Galaxy Tab (from Culture of South Korea) -
President Park Geun-hye with chaebol business magnates Lee Kun-hee and Chung Mong-koo, May 2013 (from History of South Korea) -
Fireworks during the closing ceremonies of the 1988 Summer Olympics (from History of South Korea) -
South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan with U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Seoul, November 1983 (from History of South Korea) -
Sinchon movie theatre (from Culture of South Korea)
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Did you know (auto-generated)
- ... that Canadian veterinarian Frank Schofield was described as "an eternal Korean" by a South Korean prime minister?
- ... that a 700-year-old fortification in present-day South Korea was mostly destroyed during the construction of a coastal road?
- ... that the Saikabo Korean restaurant chain in Japan suffered a 30% drop in sales after the South Korean president visited the disputed Liancourt Rocks?
- ... that a bust of South Korean president Park Chung Hee in Mullae Park had a Japanese Rising Sun Flag tied to it and was dragged through the streets?
- ... that a memorial park was planned in South Korea for composer Zheng Lücheng, despite controversy over his collaboration with North Korea and China?
- ... that the dish gogi-guksu, from South Korea's Jeju Island, developed in part because of the Japanese colonial period?
WikiProjects
See WikiProject Korea for collaborating on South Korea topics, and more broadly, on all things Korea-related.
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Web resources
- The official website of the Republic of Korea (Korea.net)
- The Official Korea Tourism Guide Site
- Korea National Statistical Office
- Video on South Korea-US Relations from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
- "South Korea". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
- A Country Study: South Korea in the Library of Congress
- South Korea from UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Korea OECD
- South Korea profile from the BBC News
- South Korea Encyclopædia Britannica entry
- The War Memorial of Korea
- Key Development Forecasts for South Korea from International Futures
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