South Korea

South Korea is a country located in Eastern Asia on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea, covering an area of approximately 99,720 square kilometers. As of 2025, South Korea has a population of about 51.49 million, with Korean as the official language alongside English. The country is mostly hills and mountains with wide coastal plains in the west and south, and has a temperate climate with rainfall heavier in summer than winter and cold winters. Seoul serves as the capital, and the government operates as a presidential republic.

South Korea has a high-income, export- and technology-oriented economy with a GDP of $1.71 trillion and a GDP per capita of $50,400, driven by electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, and steel. Key agricultural products include rice, vegetables, cabbages, milk, onions, pork, chicken, eggs, tangerines and mandarins, and potatoes, while natural resources include coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, and hydropower potential. The unemployment rate is 2.7% as of 2025, with a life expectancy of 83.6 years. South Korea’s manufacturing is led by semiconductor and automotive industries, though it faces slow growth amid declining construction investment and an aging workforce.