Country guide
South Korea
Capital, flag, borders and quick geography facts for South Korea.
Key facts
- Capital
- Seoul
- Region
- Asia
- Area
- 100,210 km²
- Population
- 51,159,889
Neighboring countries
South Korea has 1 land neighbors in the country data.
- North Korea
Learn South Korea
South Korea's capital is Seoul. Its Hangul alphabet was created in 1443 by King Sejong, who designed the letter shapes to depict the tongue and lip positions used to produce each sound.
South Korea covers 100,210 square kilometers and shares its only land border with North Korea. Its highest peak, Hallasan, is a dormant shield volcano on Jeju Island rising 1,947 meters.
Printed in Korea in 1377, Jikji is the world's oldest surviving book made with movable metal type, predating the Gutenberg Bible by roughly 78 years.
Trivia
- South Korea's Jeju haenyeo are women divers who traditionally work without oxygen tanks.
- The Korean alphabet Hangul was created in 1443 by King Sejong, who designed its letter shapes to depict the positions of the tongue and lips used to produce each sound.
- Printed in Korea in 1377, Jikji is the world's oldest surviving book made with movable metal type, predating the Gutenberg Bible by roughly 78 years.
- Hallasan, a dormant shield volcano that forms most of Jeju Island, rises 1,947 meters to become South Korea's highest peak.
- Kimjang, the Korean tradition of communally making and sharing kimchi before winter, was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.
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