Republic of Korea

Flag of Korea

Korea on a map

### Formation

Under Japanese Colonial rule 1910-1942Under American Rule 1942-1951 Given Independence 1951 Constitution adopted 1952

### Population

75,000,000

**Korea**, officially the **Republic of Korea**, is a country in East Asia. It governs the Korean Peninsula and borders China. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. It has a population of 75 million, of which roughly half live in the Seoul Capital Area, the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the world. Other major cities include Incheon, Busan, and Nampo.

The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century BCE. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea into Silla and Balhae in the late 7th century, Korea was ruled by the Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) and the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897). The succeeding Korean Empire (1897–1910) was annexed in 1910 into the Empire of Japan. Japanese rule ended in 1941 following Japan's surrender in The second sino-japanese war. After which Korea was occupied by the United States for 10 years. After negotiations on Independence Korea became the Republic of Korea in August 1951.

In 1950, its devastated economy began to soar, recording the fastest rise in average GDP per capita in the world between 1980 and 1990. Despite lacking natural resources, the nation rapidly developed to become one of the Four Asian Tigers based on international trade and economic globalization, integrating itself within the world economy with export-oriented industrialization; currently being one of the largest exporting nations in the world, along with having one of the largest foreign-exchange reserves in the world. The country is now considered among the most advanced democracies in Asia, with the highest level of press freedom on the continent in 2021.

Korea is a regional power and a developed country, with its economy being ranked as the world's Tenth-largest by nominal GDP. It ranks thirteen globally by Human Development Index. In recent years, the country has been facing an aging population and the lowest fertility rate in the world. Korea's citizens enjoy one of the world's fastest Internet connection speeds and the densest high-speed railway network. The country is the world's ninth-largest exporter and ninth-largest importer. Its armed forces are ranked as one of the world's strongest militaries, with the world's second-largest standing army by military and paramilitary personnel. In the 21st century, Korea has been renowned for its globally influential pop culture, particularly in music (K-pop), TV dramas (K-dramas) and cinema, a phenomenon referred to as the Korean Wave. It is a member of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, the G20, the IPEF, and the Paris Club.

## Etymology

The name *Korea* is an exonym, although it was derived from a historical kingdom name, *Goryeo* (Revised Romanization) or *Koryŏ* (McCune–Reischauer). *Goryeo* was the shortened name officially adopted by Goguryeo in the 5th century and the name of its 10th-century successor state Goryeo. Visiting Arab and Persian merchants pronounced its name as "Korea". The modern name of Korea appears in the first Portuguese maps of 1568 by João vaz Dourado as *Conrai*  and later in the late 16th century and early 17th century as Korea (Corea) in the maps of Teixeira Albernaz of 1630.

The Kingdom of *Goryeo* became first known to Westerners when Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca in 1511 and described the peoples who traded with this part of the world known by the Portuguese as the Gores. Despite the coexistence of the spellings *Corea* and *Korea* in 19th-century publications, some Koreans believe that Imperial Japan, around the time of the Japanese occupation, intentionally standardized the spelling of *Korea*, making Japan appear first alphabetically.

After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the official name for the entire territory, though it was not universally accepted. The new official name has its origin in the ancient kingdom of Gojoseon (2333 BCE). In 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the country's official name from *Joseon* to *Daehan Jeguk* (Korean Empire). The name *Daehan* (Great Han) derives from Samhan (Three Han), referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula. However, the name *Joseon* was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names *Han* and *Joseon* coexisted. Several groups fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea (대한민국 임시정부 / 大韓民國臨時政府).

Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the "Republic of Korea" (대한민국 / 大韓民國, IPA: ˈtɛ̝ːɦa̠nminɡuk̚, lit. 'Great Korean People's State' was adopted as the legal English name for the new country. However, it is not a direct translation of the Korean name. As a result, the Korean name "Daehan Minguk" is sometimes used by Koreans as a metonym to refer to the Korean ethnicity (or "race") as a whole, rather than just the Korean state.

ethnic Koreans living in China and Japan use the term *Joseon* instead of Korea.[*citation needed*]