South Korea

[[File:South Korea - Location Map (2013) - KOR - UNOCHA.svg|195px|thumb|right|Map of South Korea.]]
{{countrybox|Republic of Korea
|flag = Flag_of _South_Korea.svg
|pop =51,302,044
|GDP =1,449,000
|GDPPC =28,738
|life =81
|dev =0.891
|dem =8.06
|cor =5.5
|edu =0.988
|rel =32.5
}}
{{cquote|The twin obsessions of the foreign press corps in Seoul are a) [[North Korea]]<ref group=note>I mean. Why not, when the country right next to you is derailing more and more by the day.</ref> and b) K-Pop, K-Film, K-Anything-But-Politics.|||[[Brian Reynolds Myers]]<ref>[https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Politics_of_South_Korea Wikiquote]</ref>}}

'''South Korea''', officially the '''Republic of Korea''' ({{wpl|Hangul}}: {{lang|ko|대한민국}}; {{wpl|Hanja}}: {{lang|ko|大韓民國}}; ''Daehan Minguk''), or '''{{wpl|Hell Joseon}}''' by its people for the [[Wealth inequality in South Korea|widespread economic inequality]], is a country in East [[Asia]], surprisingly enough located on the southern half of the [[Korea]]n Peninsula. 

South Korea suffered under a series of military [[dictatorship]]s for decades &mdash; the [[United States]] wanted a strongman in place to counter [[communism]] &mdash; until successive protests eventually forced [[democracy|democratization]] of the government.<ref>[http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/south-koreans-win-mass-campaign-democracy-1986-87 South Koreans win mass campaign for democracy, 1986-87], Swarthmore College</ref> <ref group=note> However, [[Tankies|some people]] still think South Korea is a US puppet even though that has long since passed, and thus label the entire existence of the ROK as "US imperialism."</ref> Starting in the 1970s, South Korea underwent a period of heavy industrialization, and today is a highly industrial nation like its neighbor [[Japan]]. This period occured under the [[authoritarian]] rule of {{wpl|Park Chung-hee||,}} whose [[propaganda]] dehumanized the enemy in the North and any citizen suspected of being a leftist. Park was assassinated in 1979, after which the [[Junta|military]] ruled the country with more dictators: {{wpl|Chun Doo-hwan}} (1979-'88) and {{wpl|Roh Tae-woo}} (1988-'93). 

During Chun's rule, dissidents were falsely accused of being [[Red baiting|pro-North Korean Communists or spies]] and were imprisoned and tortured at various {{wpl|Samchung re-education camp|"re-education camps"}}. In May 1980, Chun ordered his army, led by Roh, to {{wpl|Gwangju Uprising|kill hundreds of citizens of Gwangju}} who were protesting against his rule.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/752055.stm Flashback: The Kwangju massacre], BBC</ref> Only in 1987, after a decade of peaceful protests organized by students, intellectuals, and [[Trade union|unions]], was the first free presidential election held. A split among the democratic opposition ensured that Chun's ally Roh Tae-woo won the election with a plurality. It would not be until the election of {{wpl|Kim Dae-jung}} in 1997 that the opposition would win its first election. 

South Korea has one of the largest standing armies in the world (except in rare special cases, every male citizen is subject to [[conscription]]).<ref>[http://icenter.ucsd.edu/ispo/current/forms-guides/guides/korean-military.html Information on South Korean Military Service], UC San Diego</ref> This measure is deemed necessary given relations with its northern neighbor (the two countries are still officially at [[Korean War|war]]). Officially, the country maintains friendly ties with the [[United States]] from the [[Cold War]]. They frequently exchange slaps to the face with [[North Korea]] and vice-versa.

South Korea sees the North’s perpetually "eventual"<ref>[http://www.nknews.org/2014/03/when-north-korea-may-collapse/ At this point it's basically primed to], simply a matter of when.</ref> collapse with some trepidation. Sure they would like to become a unified nation again;<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/28/world/asia/koreas-olympics-reunification.html?partner=rss&emc=rss Although this is increasingly seen as an unwanted outcome, especially among younger Koreans], for the reasons detailed above</ref> however, they’ll be stuck with the bill and humanitarian crisis. [[East Germany]] at least had infrastructure, wasn't starving, was Eastern [[Europe]]'s second-largest economy, and that was expensive enough for [[West Germany]].<ref>If [http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/10/31/the-berlin-wall-fell-25-years-ago-but-germany-is-still-divided/ this is the situation after two decades], just imagine a [http://www.voanews.com/content/south-korea-forming-committee-to-prepare-for-reunifcation-with-north-korea/1858571.html reunified] [http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/northkorea/2010/09/14/38/0401000000AEN20100914002600320F.HTML Korea.]</ref> This is not even mentioning the task of deprogramming 25 million people who have now lived almost a century under the rule of the Kim family.

==Politics==
[[File:윤석열 검찰총장.png|180px|thumb|right|Yoon Suk-yeol, former president]]
South Korea is a presidential country similar to the U.S. The president's single term only lasts for five years. Party systems are classified into multi-party systems; however, there are two main parties in South Korean politics: the [[Minjoo Party of Korea]]{{efn|However, unlike the [[Democratic Party]] of the United States, which encompasses progressives, democratic socialists, and social democrats within the party, the Minjoo Party in South Korea is in a more conservative political position.}}{{efn|{{wpl|Namuwiki}}, the most popular wiki in South Korea, mentions (socially) conservative politicians in [https://namu.wiki/w/%EB%8D%94%EB%B6%88%EC%96%B4%EB%AF%BC%EC%A3%BC%EB%8B%B9#s-2 Democratic Party of Korea] articles, but the [https://namu.wiki/w/%EB%AF%BC%EC%A3%BC%EB%8B%B9(%EB%AF%B8%EA%B5%AD)/%EA%B3%84%ED%8C%8C#s-3.1 U.S. Democratic Party] article does not recognize 'conservative wing' as conservative, it is described as a historical faction (역사적 계파). Moreover, even the most leftist Justice Party in South Korea is distancing itself from socialism (사회주의), unlike the [[Democratic Party#Progressives|Congressional Progressive Caucus]] in the United States. In the Korean [[Wikipedia]], the {{wpl|:ko:민주당(미국)|U.S. Democratic Party}} is categorized as a "{{wpl|:ko:분류:진보주의 정당|progressive political party}}" (진보주의 정당), but {{wpl|:ko:더불어민주당|Democratic Party of Korea}} is not.}}, a liberal party (by South Korean political standards), and the [[United Future Party]], an ultra-conservative party. Other minor parties exist in its National Assembly, including the [[Justice Party (South Korea)|Justice Party]] (moderate social democrats), the {{wpl|Basic Income Party||}}, and the {{wpl|Transition Korea||}} (centrist).

All political parties in South Korea support [[nationalism]], but each camp has a different direction. South Korean nationalism is divided mainly into "conservative nationalism" and "resistance nationalism", which is common among South Korean liberals and leftists. South Korea has historically suffered from imperialism in China and Japan and has been divided by the United States and Russia. South Korea's right-wing conservative vested interests have accepted hierarchical relations by complying with the powers, but they support discriminatory and racist views on minorities rather than South Korean liberals. Cultural nationalism mainly appears in South Korean right-wing conservatives, and diplomatic nationalism mainly appears in South Korean progressives and leftists.

After the {{wpl|2020 South Korean legislative election||}}, the Democratic Party (Minjoo Party) won an election landslide (180 seats out of 300), the largest majority for any party since democracy was restored in 1987, while the conservatives suffered their worst defeat since 1960. This victory can largely be attributed to the government's successful handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, as political opinion polls were quite unfavorable of the Democratic Party until then due to a weak economy and some political scandals.

The {{wpl|2022 South Korean presidential election}} saw the [[right-wing]] {{wpl|Yoon Suk-yeol}} narrowly winning the presidency with 48.56% of the votes against {{wpl|Lee Jae-myung}} with 47.83%. Yoon has pledged that as president, he will abolish the {{wpl|Ministry of Gender Equality and Family}}. He has explicitly publicly stated that he is an [[anti-feminist]], receiving a lot of support among the {{wpl|Idaenam}} (이대남), which can be described as South Korea's 20's men.<ref>{{cite news |last1=차 |first1=은지 |title='여성가족부 폐지' 일곱 글자 남긴 윤석열…이대남 '폭발적 반응' |url=https://www.hankyung.com/politics/article/2022010844607 |work=Kyunghyang Shinmun |date=January 8, 2022 |access-date=19 March, 2022 |language=ko}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=유 |first1=정인 |last2=유 |first2=선희 |last3=문 |first3=광호 |title='여성가족부 폐지' 일곱 글자 남긴 윤석열…이대남 '폭발적 반응' |url=https://www.khan.co.kr/politics/politics-general/article/202201072022001 |work=Kyunghyang Shinmun |date=January 7, 2022 |access-date=19 March, 2022 |language=ko}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= McCurry |first= Justin |date= March 11, 2022 |title= ‘Devastated’: gender equality hopes on hold as ‘anti-feminist’ voted South Korea’s president |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/11/south-korea-gender-equality-anti-feminist-president-yoon-suk-yeol |work= The Guardian |access-date= March 19, 2022}}</ref> Yoon has also advocated for the redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea and a possible pre-emptive strike against North Korea, a view criticized by [[China]] and the [[United States]]. Some experts have identified Yoon's movement as akin to [[Trumpism]].<ref>https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20220228000935</ref>

==Society==
Under the influence of Confucian culture, South Korea has a conservative culture and society. Although much remains desired, women's rights have steadily improved since democratization. Still, the improvement of human rights for sexual minorities, the disabled, and ethnic/racial and cultural minorities is far from being seen. Human rights violations against mentally disabled people are often severe, likely because violence against mentally disabled people is often not punished significantly in a legal context, unlike other violence.

===Seniority===
One defining characteristic of South Korean culture is seniority. Younger people are expected to refer to older people respectfully, especially if the age difference is significant. Older women are referred to as "Nuna" by men and "Unni" by females. For males, older males are called "Hyeong", and for females, "Oppa". People considered too old to use mutual honorifics are often referred to by nonmutual honorifics - the older person gets to use normal modes of speech. It is considered unacceptable for the youngster to reciprocate. There are reports of murder incidents taking place because of age differences.<ref>[https://www.khan.co.kr/article/201101021911275 미묘한 호칭 갈등]</ref> There is also {{wpl|Gapjil}} (갑질), referring to the arrogant and authoritarian attitude or actions of South Koreans who have positions of power over others. Some notable incidents associated with Gapjil include the {{wpl|Nut rage incident|Korean Air Flight 086 Nut rage incident}} involving the airline's vice president Heather Cho and K-pop singer {{wpl|Irene (singer)|Irene}} with her fashion editors.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/13/world/asia/nut-rage-sister-korean-air.html|title=Sister of Korean ‘Nut Rage’ Heiress Accused of Throwing Her Own Tantrum|last=Sang-Hun|first=Choe|date=2018-04-13|work=The New York Times|access-date=2022-03-19|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Many people in South Korea are positive toward its own branch of [[Traditional Chinese medicine]], which is called 한의학 (''Haneuihak'') in Korean. It's also home to some of the best online gamers in the world, particularly competitive {{wpl|StarCraft (video game)|StarCraft}} players.

===Views and traditions===
Traditional [[family values]] are intense in South Korea. For example, corporal punishment in the home used to be common in Korea. Younger couples tend to be opposed to corporal punishment. However, because the legal ramifications for physically abusing a child are still startlingly low, incidents of spates of physical violence lashed out against a child still sporadically pop up across the social strata.

South Korea's culture heavily values sociability concerning sudden changes in behavior. In South Korea, many people with Asperger's and other forms of autism suffer from severe discrimination and prejudice. Unlike others, they are often exposed to abuse, harassment, and sexual violence. [[Neurodiversity]] and the [[Autism rights movement]] have not even been discussed in South Korea, and autism is often referred to as a treatment target. No criticism of [[Applied behavior analysis]] is raised.<ref>Even the Hankyoreh, a leading progressive journalist in South Korea, publishes an article advocating ABA, or follows the view of American social conservatives that the [[autism rights movement]] is only for high-functional autistic people.
* [http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/health/571708.html Motivating the treatment of autistic children is important...Appropriate compensation changes behavior.] (2013-01-28)
* [http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/science/science_general/915978.html The controversy over "gaze violence"...The problem is the gaze itself.] (2019-11-06)

In addition, there are no autistic rights movement groups in South Korea, and there are few surveys or statistics related to autistic persons.</ref><ref>The Kyunghyang Shinmun, a liberal journalist, also said BULLSHIT that autism can be treated with ''"[[Traditional Korean medicine|Haneuihak]]"''. [http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?art_id=201602241547265 #], [http://www.k-health.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=36036 #] Of course, not to mention the right-wing conservative media's inappropriate perception of autism. The human rights issue of autistic people in South Korea has not been properly discussed.</ref> Furthermore, in South Korea, people with disabilities cannot file a lawsuit alone without a guardian.

Social and institutional discrimination against LGBT in South Korea is severe. The "ILGA-Europe Rainbow Map" evaluates that the human rights level of LGBT in South Korea is lower than that of [[Russia#LGBT_rights|Russia]] (Russia is infamous for gay "propaganda" laws). In fact, many sexual minorities in South Korea are openly exposed to much hate and violence and suffer considerable disadvantages in socioeconomic activities.<ref>[https://sogilaw.org/77 한국 LGBTI 인권현황 2019 (Korea LGBTI Human Rights Status)]</ref>

===Korean wave===
South Korea's entertainment industry (i.e., {{wpl|K-pop}} and {{wpl|K-dramas}}) has developed greatly over the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Its pop culture has been exported worldwide, heavily backed by government funding to improve the country's image. This is a part of a phenomenon known as the Korean wave, with such content being the object of either much love or loathing by non-South Koreans, in particular drawing the ire of Chinese and Japanese nationalists,<ref>[https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/20/china-south-korea-bts-kpop-nationalism-soft-power/ China Backs Off From Fight With K-Pop Fans], ''Foreign Policy''</ref><ref>[https://www.cnbc.com/2016/03/16/descendants-of-the-sun-smash-hit-prompts-beijing-to-warn-on-south-korean-dramas.html Descendants of the Sun smash hit prompts Beijing to warn on South Korean dramas], ''CNBC''</ref><ref>[https://apnews.com/article/bts-china-insult-kpop-south-korea-c4ba05d10dd6d415287ca2d1d8d3d29a Korean boy band BTS faces uproar in China over war comments], ''AP''</ref><ref>[https://www.globaltimes.cn/features/metroshanghai/topnews/2010-06/540159.html 'Holy War' seeks revenge on SJ fans], ''Global Times''</ref> eventually culminating in the de facto ban of Korean cultural products by China in 2016<ref>[https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2016/11/202_218799.html China's ban on hallyu], ''The Korea Times''</ref><ref>[https://www.vox.com/latest-news/2017/3/3/14795636/china-south-korea-pop-culture-kpop-attacks-thaad The surprising reason why China is blocking South Korean music videos and TV], ''Vox''</ref> and the creation of {{wpl|Manga Kenkanryu}} (literally "Hating the Korean Wave" or "Hating the Korean Boom") in Japan.

However, the Korean wave has also been criticized for its [[racism]] and [[sexism]] and the {{wpl|Slave contract|exploitation and treatment of artists and musicians}} within the Korean entertainment industry.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stiles |first1=Matt |title=Death of K-pop star shines a spotlight on South Korea's suicide problem |url=https://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-south-korea-suicide-20171219-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=19 December 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Williamson |first1=Lucy |title=The dark side of South Korean pop music |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-pacific-13760064 |website=[[BBC News]] |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=14 June 2011}}</ref> Such pressures have led to high-profile suicides such as {{wpl|Song Yoo-jung||,}} {{wpl|Choi Jin-sil||,}} {{wpl|Kim Jong-hyun||,}} {{wpl|Goo Hara||,}} {{wpl|Cha In-ha||,}} {{wpl|Sulli||,}} and {{wpl|Oh In-hye||,}} among others.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dae-o |first1=Kim |title=I have reported on 30 Korean celebrity suicides. The blame game never changes |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/jan/04/i-have-reported-on-30-korean-celebrity-suicides-the-blame-game-never-changes |website=the Guardian |access-date=19 March 2022 |language=en |date=4 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Tai |first1=Crystal |title=Exploding the myths behind K-pop |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global/2020/mar/29/behind-k-pops-perfect-smiles-and-dance-routines-are-tales-of-sexism-and-abuse |website=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=19 March 2022 |language=en |date=29 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=L |first1=Sophia |title=Underneath the Glamour of K-Pop Idols: A Tale of Abuse and Exploitation |url=https://emorywheel.com/underneath-the-glamour-of-k-pop-idols-a-tale-of-abuse-and-exploitation/ |website=The Emory Wheel |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=17 February 2021}}</ref> In 2019, the {{wpl|Burning Sun scandal}} highlighted the widespread [[sex trafficking]] involving Korean celebrities and idols that had been going on for years and the resulting cover-up attempts.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Matthew |last2=Kim |first2=Sohee |title=The Dark Side of K-Pop: Assault, Prostitution, Suicide, and Spycams |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-11-06/k-pop-s-dark-side-assault-prostitution-suicide-and-spycams |website=www.bloomberg.com |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=6 November 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wilder |first1=Gabriel |title=The Burning Sun scandal that torched South Korea’s elites |url=https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/burning-sun-scandal-torched-south-korea-s-elites |website=www.lowyinstitute.org |access-date=19 March 2022 |language=en |date=7 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=August |title=K-pop’s innocent image is shattered by the ‘Burning Sun’ scandal |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-burning-sun-20190319-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=5 April 2019}}</ref> Various Korean dramas have also been accused of their its attempts to take advantage of the Korean wave to distort, rewrite or whitewash Korea's history, especially during South Korea's dictatorship era or the nation's historical periods.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smail |first1=Gretchen |title=This K-Drama Is One Of The Most Controversial Shows On Disney+ |url=https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/snowdrop-controversy-explained-disney |website=Bustle |access-date=19 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Jeong |first1=Sho |title=4 Korean Dramas Fiercely Criticized For Distorting History |url=https://kstartrend.com/2021/12/21/4-korean-dramas-fiercely-criticized-for-distorting-history/ |website=KStarTrend |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=21 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Koo |first1=Se-Woong |title=History Becomes Unmentionable in Historical K-Dramas |url=https://koreaexpose.com/korea-history-dramas-and-demands-for-factual-accuracy/ |website=Korea Expose |access-date=19 March 2022 |language=en |date=9 January 2022}}</ref>

== Poor welfare and labor rights==
Labor rights remain at horrendous levels. While a recent law forbidding more than 52 hours of labor per week has been passed by the Moon administration, many small companies outside the sphere of public monitoring engage in working practices that haven't been seen in the West since the industrial revolution. Forstalling of wages, refusing to transfer payment for extra hours worked, forced participation in "Hwaesik" (회식), a company meeting after work that almost always entails involuntary consumption of large quantities of alcohol, verbal and physical abuse, sexual harassment, and absence of welfare plagues South Korea's industrial landscape. 

What's more horrific is that many of the malpractices above are frequently observed in other industry segments. The situation is even worse for foreign workers from developing countries as judicial protection for these people is absent. This is by large due to the compressed modernity experienced by South Korea during its rapid development under military dictatorships. Combined with Confucianist Korean hierarchical worldviews, it led to the general acceptance of abuse as a sort of rite of passage into true adulthood. The generation who considered this rite 'normal' hadn't relinquished such beliefs even when Korean society started to more strongly desire improved standards in labor. Many in their 40~60s do not even understand why such human rights violations should be taken seriously. That is a mindset shared even by the policymakers of modern-day South Korea. 

Unlike the United States, South Korea has pursued economic interventionism regardless of left and right, but apart from that, social welfare is known to be very weak. According to OECD's "Social Spending" statistics in 2016 and 2019, the OECD average is 20.0, slightly lower is 18.7 in the U.S., but 12.2 in South Korea, much lower than in the U.S.<ref>https://data.oecd.org/socialexp/social-spending.htm</ref> In South Korea, all social welfare systems are worse than in the United States, except for the health insurance system.

Economic right-wing media, such as the Wall Street Journal, see the Moon Jae-in administration's aggressive market intervention policy and misunderstand it as a radical left.<ref>Bird, Mike (February 20, 2019) [https://www.wsj.com/articles/asias-most-radical-left-wing-economic-program-faces-a-harsh-reality-11550652596 "Asia's Most Radical Left-Wing Economic Program Faces a Harsh Reality"]. ''The Wall Street Journal''. Retrieved February 23, 2019.</ref> Moon Jae-in's government's economic intervention is to support large companies. Almost all regimes in South Korea have never shown much interest in the problem of poverty.<ref>박정도 (October 23, 2019) [http://www.infostockdaily.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=75193 문재인 정부 친기업 행보, ‘경제 올인’ 드라이브 거나 (Moon Jae-in government pro-business move, Is to all focus on economic issues.)] 인포스탁. Retrieved June 17, 2021</ref><ref>곽정수 (July 27, 2018) [https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/economy/economy_general/855175.html?_fr=mt0 문재인 정부의 규제개혁은 이명박·박근혜와 달라야 한다. (Moon Jae-in the government's regulatory reform must differ from Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.)] ''The Hankyoreh'' Retrieved June 17, 2021</ref>

In addition, the 2020 Global workers’ rights Index released by the ITUC shows that the reality of South Korea is very disastrous. Statistics show that labor rights in South Korea are much worse than in the United States. In other words, the United States is more progressive than South Korea regarding socio-cultural, welfare, and labor rights.<ref>https://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/ituc_globalrightsindex_2020_en.pdf</ref>

South Korea's medical system is more conservative than the United States. Their system lacks various levels of healthcare professionals such as Physician Assistants, leading to more burdens on nurses, several specialist doctors, and guardians. It leads to longer working hours for doctors, about 13 hours per day in the case of cardiac surgeons, often being an excuse for medical accidents.<ref>http://www.monews.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=213530</ref> Of course, the healthcare system is more progressive in South Korea than in the United States, for the majority of the cost is covered by the National Health Insurance (국민건강보험). However, in the United States, the proportion of public hospitals is '''22%''' of all hospitals, but in South Korea, the proportion of South Korea is only '''5.6%'''. According to the OECD national average, the proportion of public hospitals in all hospitals is as high as '''70%'''. Regardless of the foundation of the healthcare institution, the majority of the cost, which is already controlled by the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (건강보험심사평가원), is covered by the National Health Insurance. Still, the low proportion of public hospitals caused issues during the pandemic, for most private hospitals lacked infrastructures for COVID patient care.<ref>http://omn.kr/1w96f</ref>

==Human rights situation==
For much of its history, South Korea has had quite an abysmal situation with human rights that was swept under the carpet due to the [[Cold War]] and its proximity to the North. From its founding as a state shortly after the end of [[World War II]] until the {{wpl|June Struggle||,}} South Korea was highly [[autocracy|autocratic]] and high amounts of political and civil rights {{wpl|Political repression|repression}} existed under a military dictatorship. South Koreans for decades have lived under successive authoritarian military regimes, under the leadership of {{wpl|Syngman Rhee}}, {{wpl|Park Chung-hee||,}} [[Chun Doo-hwan]], and {{wpl|Roh Tae-woo}}. Civil liberties, especially freedoms of expression and association, were severely curtailed, and opponents of the regime risked torture, imprisonment, and {{wpl|summary executions||.}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Park |first1=Chong-Min |title=Authoritarian Rule in South Korea: Political Support and Governmental Performance |journal=Asian Survey |date=1 August 1991 |volume=31 |issue=8 |pages=743–761 |doi=10.2307/2645227 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645227 |access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref>

Uprisings such as the {{wpl|Jeju uprising}} were violently crushed, wiping out more than 10% of the island's population, and massacres orchestrated by the regime such as the {{wpl|Mungyeong massacre}} and {{wpl|Bodo League massacre}} resulted in up to 200,000 citizens being killed in total.<ref name="apphoto">{{cite news |url= http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/jul/10/korea-bloodbath-probe-ends-us-escapes-much-blame/ |title=Korea bloodbath probe ends; US escapes much blame |agency=Associated Press |publisher=San Diego Union Tribune |author=Charles J. Hanley & Hyung-Jin Kim | date =10 July 2010 |access-date=2011-05-23}}</ref> In 1980, demonstrations against {{wpl|Coup d'état of May Eighteenth#Martial law of 1980s South Korea|martial law}} and authoritarianism in general by the citizens in the city of Gwangju, as part of the wider {{wpl|Minjung}} movement, were fired upon, killed, raped, and beaten by government troops, now known as the {{wpl|Gwangju Uprising||.}}<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2172098/gwanju-apology-south-korea-sorry-rape-and-torture-committed|title=Gwangju apology: South Korea sorry for 'rape and torture' by troops|work=South China Morning Post|access-date=2018-11-07|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181107185320/https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2172098/gwanju-apology-south-korea-sorry-rape-and-torture-committed|archive-date=November 7, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Sallie Yea, "Rewriting Rebellion and Mapping Memory in South Korea: The (Re)presentation of the 1980 Kwangju Uprising through Mangwol-dong Cemetery," ''Urban Studies'', Vol. 39, no. 9, (2002): 1556–1557</ref>

Today, significant limitations still remain to outright discrimination and {{wpl|Slavery on salt farms in Sinan County|slavery}} against certain groups and individuals, as well as for those with different political ideologies. Groups that have been certified as at-risk comprise women, [[LGBT]], racial and ethnic minorities such as from {{wpl|Jeju Island|Jeju|,}} refugees, migrants including former North Korean citizens, young {{wpl|Slave contract|K-pop}} idols and trainees, the homeless, people with [[disabilities]], as well as those who publicly espouse [[leftist]] ideals, where they can be prosecuted under the controversial [[National Security Act]], the same law that was previously used to imprison and execute political prisoners.<ref>{{Cite web|title=World Report 2020: Rights Trends in South Korea|url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2020/country-chapters/south-korea|date=2020-01-15|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en|access-date=2020-05-14}}</ref><ref name="국보법">[http://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=116750&efYd=20120701#0000 국가보안법], Korea Ministry of Government Legislation Accessed 6 Oct, 2014.</ref>

==Education==
South Korea is much more socially conservative than the United States, and politics, similar to the United States, has some negative aspects. However, South Korea is much more advanced regarding public perception of education. Due to the influence of traditional Confucian culture, the enthusiasm for education is very high. It has the second-highest university enrollment rate in the OECD due to the high educational line. That's why, unlike the United States, liberals criticize South Korea for its excessive enthusiasm for education (at this level of education, non-scientific nonsense such as vaccine conspiracy theory does not spread as popular as in the United States). However, there are criticisms that South Korea's education system is uniform and lacks respect for minority groups.<ref>https://www.mk.co.kr/news/society/view/2021/01/46266/</ref>

South Korea's educational environment and institutions are not similar to those of Northern Europe and are based on Confucian conservatism, so they cannot be considered progressive. South Korea is known for having a highly competitive educational environment, which is often credited as the reason suicide is the leading cause of death for young people in the country. According to the {{wpl|Programme for International Student Assessment||,}} students in South Korea are among the most unhappy of all students around the globe.

==Religion==
A majority of South Koreans have no official religion (56.1%). The largest religion in South Korea is Christianity, with around 27.6% of the population adhering to Christianity. The second largest religion is Buddhism, with about 23% of South Koreans being Buddhists in 2005 and 15.5% in 2015. Less than 20% of the population adheres to Protestantism, but the [[Christian right|religion is heavily]] [[Liberty Korea Party|politicized]] and controversial in the country.<ref>[http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/12/20/2016122000155.html Official stats from Statistics Korea, 2015.]</ref>

Roughly 10% of the population is Catholic.

==Non-citizen suffrage==
South Korea is the only country in Asia to grant all foreigners the right to vote in local elections. South Korea is more open than other developed Asian countries, including Japan, on the issue of immigration (although conservative on other social issues).<ref>https://www.sisaweek.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=224276</ref> This policy has been in effect since 2005, and the conditions require you to live in South Korea for at least three years.

This policy has traditionally been supported by South Korean liberals, and has been criticized by relatively anti-immigrant South Korean conservatives since the 2020s.

==Famous South Koreans==
[[File:Ban Ki-moon February 2016.jpg|thumb|right|165px|Ban Ki-Moon, former UN Secretary General. Note that Ki-Moon is his ''given name''--he is absolutely unrelated to the founder of the [[Unification Church]].]]
*It is the adoptive country of the [[Unification Church|Reverend Moon]] (he was born in the North)
*[[Fun:Fútbol|Footballer]] Ahn Jung-Hwan (안정환) scored the winning goal against [[Italy]] in the 2002 World Cup. Unfortunately, he was signed to an Italian club at the time &mdash; they fired him.
*Kim Yu-Na (김연아), a famous female ice skater.
*John Cho, a Korean-American actor. You may know him as Harold from ''Harold and Kumar'' or as [[George Takei|Hikaru Sulu]] from the 2009 ''[[Star Trek]]'' reboot.
*Rain (비), a singer, dancer, actor (in both South Korea and the US), and a well-known humanitarian.  Had a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqNNrQbOn48 dance-off] with [[Stephen Colbert]].
*BoA (권보아), a Korean singer
*Kendrick Kang-Joh "Ken" Jeong" (정강조), a Korean-American physician, comedian, and actor. He is known for his role as Ben Chang in the comedy series ''Community'' and for his other movie roles such as Leslie Chow in ''The Hangover'', Dr. Kuni in ''Knocked Up'', and Ken in ''The Pineapple Express''.
*Park Chan-wook (박찬욱) directed the 2003 film ''Oldboy''.
*PSY, the guy with billions of [[YouTube]] hits.
*Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations (2007-2016).
*BTS, an internationally famous Korean band.
*Bong Joon-ho, director of ''Snowpiercer'' and ''Parasite''.

==Gallery==
<center><gallery widths=225px heights=225px>
File:Lotte world tower.jpg|View of Lotte World Tower in Seoul.
File:Korean.cuisine-Ganjang gejang and banchan-01.jpg|Gejang, a Korean seafood meal with raw fermented crab, with banchan, small side dishes.
File:Korean food-Packed kimchi-01.jpg|Packed kimchi (salted and fermented vegetables involving napa cabbage and Korean radish) in a supermarket
File:Haeundae Beach in Busan.jpg|Haeundae Beach in Busan.
File:Kayagumplayer2.jpg|Korean musician playing the ''gayageum''.
File:KOCIS Korea YeonDeungHoe 20130511 05 (8733836165).jpg|Buddha's Birthday celebration in Seoul.
</gallery></center>

==See also==
*[[North Korea|The more northern ''Democratic People's Republic'' of Korea]]
*''[[Hwandan Gogi]]''
*[[Recipe:Kimchi jiggae|Yummy!]]
*[[Mugyo]]
*[[Moonie]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}
{{nationbox}}

[[Category:Ableism]]
[[Category:Asian countries]]
[[Category:Homophobia]]
[[Category:Korea]]
[[Category:South Korea| ]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:Transphobia]]
[[Category:Authoritarian regimes]]

Categories: Ableism, Asian countries, Homophobia, Korea, South Korea, Technology, Transphobia, Authoritarian regimes