South KoreaSouth Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
is located in
East AsiaEast Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms. Geographically and geo-politically, it covers about , or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang,...
, on the southern half of the
Korean PeninsulaThe Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan on the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two...
jutting out from the far east of the Asian land mass.
The only country with a land border to South Korea is
North KoreaNorth Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer area between North Korea and South Korea...
, lying to the north with 238 km of border running along the
DMZThe Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and...
. South Korea is mostly surrounded by water and has 2,413 km of coast line along three seas. To the west, is the
Yellow SeaThe Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
, to the south is the
East China SeaThe East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km². In China, the sea is called the East Sea....
, and to the east is the Ulleung-do, and
Liancourt RocksThe Liancourt Rocks, also known as Dokdo or Tokto in Korean or in Japanese, are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan . Sovereignty over the islets is disputed between Japan and South Korea...
(Dokdo in Korean) in the
Sea of JapanThe Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, bordered by Japan, South Korea, North Korea and Russia. It is referred to in North Korea as the Korea East Sea and in South Korea as the East Sea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure...
(
also calledThere is a dispute over using the name "Sea of Japan" to refer to the sea bordered by Russia, Japan, North Korea, and South Korea. Although Sea of Japan, or equivalent translations, are commonly used in international productions, North and South Korea are proposing different names.North Korea...
East Sea).
Geographically, South Korea's land mass is approximately 100,032 square kilometres 290 square kilometres of South Korea are occupied by water. The approximate coordinates are 37° North, 127° 30 East.
Land area and borders
The Korean Peninsula extends southward from the northeast part of the Asian continental landmass. The Japanese islands of
Honshūor Honshu is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Strait...
and
Kyūshūor Kyushu is the 3rd-largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include Kyūkoku , Chinzei , and Tsukushi-no-shima...
are located some 200 kilometers to the southeast across the
Korea StraitThe Korea Strait is a sea passage between South Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean...
; the
Shandong PeninsulaThe Shāndōng Peninsula also known as the Jiāodōng Peninsula is a peninsula in the Shāndōng province of northeastern China...
of
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
lies 190 kilometers to the west. The west coast of the peninsula is bordered by the
Korea BayKorea Bay , also called West Korea Bay, is located at the north of the Yellow Sea, between Liaoning Province of China and North P'yŏngan Province of North Korea....
to the north and the
Yellow SeaThe Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
to the south; the east coast is bordered by the Sea of Japan. The 8,640-kilometer coastline is highly indented. Some 3,579 islands lie adjacent to the peninsula. Most of them are found along the south and west coasts.
The original border between two Korean states was the thirty-eighth parallel of latitude. After the
Korean WarThe Korean War is a war that started between North Korea and South Korea on 25 June 1950 and paused with an armistice signed 27 July, 1953...
, the
Korean Demilitarized ZoneThe Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and...
(DMZ) formed the boundary between the two. The DMZ is a heavily guarded, 4,000-meter-wide strip of land that runs along the line of cease-fire, the Demarcation Line, from the east to the west coasts for a distance of 241 kilometers (238 kilometers of that line form the land boundary with North Korea).
The total land area of the peninsula, including the islands, is 223,170 square kilometers. Some 44.6 percent (98,477 square kilometers) of this total, excluding the area within the DMZ, constitutes the territory of the Republic of Korea. The combined territories of North Korea and South Korea are about the same size as the state of Minnesota. South Korea alone is about the size of Portugal or Hungary.
The largest island,
Jeju-doJeju-do is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946...
, lies off the southwest corner of the peninsula and has a land area of 1,825 square kilometers. Other important islands include Ulleung in the Sea of Japan and
GanghwaGanghwa may refer to:* Ganghwa County, administrative region of South Korea* Ganghwa Island, island in South Korea...
Island at the mouth of the Han River. Although the eastern coastline of South Korea is generally unindented, the southern and western coasts are jagged and irregular. The difference is caused by the fact that the eastern coast is gradually rising, while the southern and western coasts are subsiding.
Lacking formidable land or sea barriers along its borders and occupying a central position among East Asian nations, the Korean Peninsula has served as a cultural bridge between the China and the Japanese archipelago. Korea contributed greatly to the development of Japan by transmitting both
ChineseChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
Confucian and Buddhist culture, art, and religion.
Topography and drainage
Early European visitors to Korea remarked that the land resembled "a sea in a heavy gale" because of the large number of successive mountain ranges that crisscross the peninsula. The tallest mountains are in North Korea. The tallest mountain in South Korea is
HallasanHallasan is a shield volcano on Jeju Island of South Korea. Hallasan is the highest mountain of South Korea. The area around the mountain is a designated national park, the Hallasan National Park...
(1,950 m), which is the cone of a volcanic formation constituting Jeju Island. There are three major mountain ranges within South Korea: the
Taebaek MountainsThe Taebaek Mountains are a mountain range in both North and South Korea. They form the main ridge of the Korean peninsula.The Taebaek mountains are located to the east of the peninsula and run along the Sea of Japan . Hwangnyong Mountain in North Korea forms the northern end of the range. Busan...
, and Sobaek ranges, and the Jiri Massif.
Unlike
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
or the northern provinces of
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, the Korean Peninsula is geologically stable. There are no active volcanoes and there have been no strong earthquakes. Historical records, however, describe volcanic activity on Mount Halla during the
GoryeoThe Goryeo Dynasty or Koryŏ was a sovereign state established in 918 by King Taejo. It united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936 and ruled most of the Korean peninsula until it was removed by the Joseon dynasty in 1392...
Dynasty (918–1392 AD).
Over the centuries, Korea's inhabitants have cut down most of the ancient Korean forests, with the exception of a few remote, mountainous areas. The disappearance of the forests has been a major cause of soil erosion and flooding. Because of successful reforestation programs and the declining use of firewood as a source of energy since the 1960s, most of South Korea's hills in the 1980s were amply covered with foliage. South Korea has no extensive plains; its lowlands are the product of mountain erosion. Approximately 30 percent of the area of South Korea consists of lowlands, with the rest consisting of uplands and mountains. The great majority of the lowland area lies along the coasts, particularly the west coast, and along the major rivers. The most important lowlands are the
Han RiverThe Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Tumen, and Nakdong rivers. It is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River , which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River , which originates on the slopes of Mount...
plain around
SeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea. With a population of over 10 million, it is one of the world's largest cities. The Seoul National Capital Area, which includes the major port city of Incheon and most of Gyeonggi-do, has 24.5 million...
, the Pyeongtaek coastal plain southwest of Seoul, the Geum River basin, the
Nakdong RiverThe Nakdong River is the longest river in South Korea, and passes through major cities such as Daegu and Busan.-Geography:...
basin, and the Yeongsan and the
HonamHonam is a region coinciding with the former Jeolla Province in what is now South Korea. Today, the term refers to North and South Jeolla Provinces....
plains in the southwest. A narrow littoral plain extends along the east coast.
The
NakdongThe Nakdong River is the longest river in South Korea, and passes through major cities such as Daegu and Busan.-Geography:...
is South Korea's longest river (521 kilometers). The
Han RiverThe Han River is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Tumen, and Nakdong rivers. It is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River , which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River , which originates on the slopes of Mount...
, which flows through Seoul, is 514 kilometers long, and the
Geum RiverThe Geum-gang River is located in South Korea. It is a major river that originates in Jangsu-eub, North Jeolla Province. It flows northward through North Jeolla and North Chungcheong Provinces and then changes direction in the vicinity of Greater Daejeon and flows southwest through South...
is 401 kilometers long. Other major rivers include the
ImjinThe Imjin River is a river of North and South Korea. It flows from North to South, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, very near the Yellow Sea.-History:...
, which flows through both North Korea and South Korea and forms an estuary with the Han River; the
BukhanThe Bukhan River is a tributary of the Han River that flows through both North and South Korea. It traverses Kangwon province in North Korea and Gangwon and Gyeonggi provinces in South Korea....
, a tributary of the Han that also flows out of North Korea; and the Somjin. The major rivers flow north to south or east to west and empty into the
Yellow SeaThe Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
or the
Korea StraitThe Korea Strait is a sea passage between South Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean...
. They tend to be broad and shallow and to have wide seasonal variations in water flow.
News that North Korea was constructing a huge multipurpose dam at the base of Geumgangsan (1,638 m) north of the DMZ caused considerable consternation in South Korea during the mid-1980s. South Korean authorities feared that once completed, a sudden release of the dam's waters into the Pukhan River during north-south hostilities could flood Seoul and paralyze the capital region. During 1987 the Geumgangsan Dam was a major issue that Seoul sought to raise in talks with
PyongyangPyongyang is the capital of North Korea, located on the Taedong River. According to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,388.The city was split from the South P'yŏngan province in 1946...
. Though Seoul completed a "Peace Dam" on the Pukhan River to counteract the potential threat of Pyongyang's dam project before the 1988 Olympics, the North Korean project apparently still was in its initial stages of construction in 1990.
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone:
24
nmiThe nautical mile is a unit of length corresponding approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian....
continental shelf:
not specified
exclusive economic zone:
200 nmi
territorial sea:
12 nmi; between 3 nmi and 12 nmi in the
Korea StraitThe Korea Strait is a sea passage between South Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean...
Elevation extremes:
lowest point:
Sea level 0 m
highest point:
HallasanHallasan is a shield volcano on Jeju Island of South Korea. Hallasan is the highest mountain of South Korea. The area around the mountain is a designated national park, the Hallasan National Park...
1,950 m
Climate
Part of the East Asian
monsoonal regionA pennis is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by seasonal changes in precipitation, but now is used to describe seasonal changes atmospheric circulation and precipitation The major monsoon systems of the world consist of the African and Asia-Australian monsoons...
, South Korea has a temperate climate with four distinct seasons. The movement of air masses from the Asian continent exerts greater influence on South Korea's weather than does air movement from the Pacific Ocean. Winters are usually long, cold, and dry, whereas summers are short, hot, and humid. Spring and autumn are pleasant but short in duration. Seoul's mean temperature in January is −5°C to −2.5°C; in July the mean temperature is about 22.5°C to 25°C. Because of its southern and seagirt location, Jeju Island has warmer and milder weather than other parts of South Korea. Mean temperatures on Jeju range from 2.5°C in January to 25°C in July.
The country generally has sufficient rainfall to sustain its agriculture. Rarely does less than 75 centimeters of rain fall in any given year; for the most part, rainfall is over 100 centimeters. Amounts of precipitation, however, can vary from year to year. Serious droughts occur about once every eight years, especially in the rice-producing southwestern part of the country. About two-thirds of the annual precipitation occurs between June and September.
South Korea is less vulnerable to typhoons than
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
,
TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
, the east coast of
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, or the
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
. From one to three typhoons can be expected per year. Typhoons usually pass over South Korea in late summer, especially in August, and bring torrential rains. Flooding occasionally causes considerable damage. In September 1984, record floods caused the deaths of 190 people and left 200,000 homeless. This disaster prompted the North Korean government to make an unprecedented offer of humanitarian aid in the form of rice, medicine, clothes, and building materials. South Korea accepted these items and distributed them to flood victims.
Resources and land use
Natural resources:
South Korea produces
coalCoal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock normally occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
,
tungstenTungsten , also known as wolfram , is a chemical element with the chemical symbol W and atomic number 74.A steel-gray metal, tungsten is found in several ores, including wolframite and scheelite...
,
graphiteThe mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Greek γραφειν : "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead, as distinguished from the actual metallic element lead...
,
molybdenumMolybdenum , is a Group 6 chemical element with the symbol Mo and atomic number 42. The free element, which is a silvery metal, has the sixth-highest melting point of any element. It readily forms hard, stable carbides, and for this reason it is often used in high-strength steel alloys...
,
leadLead is a main-group element with symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal, also considered to be one of the heavy metals. Lead has a bluish-white color when freshly cut, but tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed to air...
, and has potential for hydropower.
Land use:
arable land:
19%
permanent crops:
2%
permanent pastures:
1%
forests and woodland:
65%
other:
13%
rivers and lakes:
10% (2003 est.)
Irrigated land:
13,350 km² (1993 est.)
Environmental concerns
Natural hazards:
There are occasional typhoons that bring high winds and floods. There is also low-level seismic activity, which is common in the southwest.
Environment - current issues:
Habitat loss and degradation, especially of wetlands, through coastal reclamation (e.g. Saemangeum, Shiwa, Song Do, Namyang Bay, Asan Bay, in the south-west, Gwangyang Bay and the Nakdong Estuary) have caused huge declines in fisheries and of biodiversity. Most riverine wetland in Korea is now threatened by the proposed
Grand Korean WaterwayThe Grand Korean Waterway, officially known as the Pan Korea Grand Waterway , is a proposed 540-kilometer long canal connecting Seoul and Busan, two of South Korea's largest cities...
project. There are also some problems
air pollutionAir pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment, into the atmosphere....
in large cities; as well as
water pollutionWater pollution is the contamination of water bodies such as lakes, rivers, oceans, and groundwater. All water pollution affects organisms and plants that live in these water bodies and in almost all cases the effect is damaging either to individual species and populations but also to the natural...
from the discharge of
sewageSewage is water-carried wastes, in either solution or suspension, that flow away from a community. Also known as wastewater flows, sewage is the used water supply of the community. It is more than 99.9% pure water and is characterized by its volume or rate of flow, its physical condition, its...
and industrial effluents. Drift net fishing is another issue.
Environment - international agreements:
party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution (
MARPOL 73/78Marpol 73/78 is the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution From Ships, 1973 as modified by the Protocol of 1978....
), Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified:
Climate Change
Kyoto ProtocolThe Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at combating global warming...
See also
- List of Korea-related topics
- Geography of North Korea
North Korea is located in east Asia on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea shares a border with three states, including China along the Amnok River, Russia along the Duman River, and South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone...