Statistical information South Korea 1989

South Korea in the World
top of pageBackground: At the end of World War II, the US and the Soviet Union agreed that US troops would accept the surrender of Japanese forces south of the 38th parallel and the Soviet Union would do so in the north. In 1948, the UN proposed nationwide elections; after P'yongyang's refusal to allow UN inspectors in the north, elections were held in the south and the Republic of Korea was established. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was established the following month in the north. Communist North Korean forces invaded South Korea in 1950. US and other UN forces intervened to defend the South and Chinese forces intervened on behalf of the North. After a bitter three-year war, an armistice was signed in 1953, establishing a military demarcation line near the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved amazing economic growth, with per capita output rising to 13 times the level in the North.
top of pageLocationGeographic coordinatesMap referenceAreaLand boundaries: 238 km with North Korea
Coastline: 2,413 km
Maritime claims: Territorial sea:12 nm (3 nm in the Korea Strait)
Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
Terrain: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
ElevationNatural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower
Land use: 21% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 67% forest and woodland; 10% other; includes 12% irrigated
Irrigated landMajor riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographytop of pagePopulation: 43,347,231 (July 1989), growth rate 1.3% (1989)
Nationality: noun - Korean(s; adjective - Korean
Ethnic groups: homogeneous; small Chinese minority (about 20,000)
Languages: Korean; English widely taught in high school
Religions: strong Confucian tradition; vigorous Christian minority (28% of the total population; Buddhism; pervasive folk religion (Shamanism; Chondokyo (religion of the heavenly way), eclectic religion with nationalist overtones founded in 19th century, claims about 1.5 million adherents
Demographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rateBirth rate: 20 births/1000 population (1989)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1000 population (1989)
Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1000 population (1989)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest; air pollution in large cities
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 24 deaths/1000 live births (July 1989)
Life expectancy at birth: 66 years male, 73 years female (July 1989)
Total fertility rate: 2.2 children born/woman (1989)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: over 90%
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry name: conventional long form: Republic of Korea; abbreviated ROK
Government type: republic
Capital: Seoul
Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural; Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-jikhalsi*, Kangwon-do, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-jikhalsi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-jikhalsi*; note - there may be a new special city of Kwangju-jikhalsi
Dependent areasIndependence: 15 August 1948
National holiday: Independence Day, 15 August (1948)
Constitution: approved by voters on 27 October 1987 to take effect on 25 February 1988; requires direct presidential elections and protects human rights
Legal system: combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: universal over age 20
Executive branch: Chief of State - President ROH Tae Woo (since 25 February 1988; Head of Government - Prime Minister LEE Hyun Jae (since 25 February 1988; Deputy Prime Minister RAE Woong Bae (since NA 19 )
Legislative branch: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps
Judicial branchPolitical parties and leadersInternational organization participation: ABD, AfDB, Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee, Asian Parliamentary Union, APACL - Asian People's Anti-Communist League, ASPAC, CCC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, Geneva Conventions of 1949 for the protection of war victims, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, IWC - International Whaling Commission, IWC - International Wheat Council, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNIDO, UN Special Fund, UPU, WACL - World Anti-Communist League, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO; official observer status at UN
Diplomatic representationIn the us: Ambassador Tong-Jin PARK; Chancery at 2,320 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20,008; telephone (202) 939-5,600; there are Korean Consulates General in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle; US - Ambassador-Designate Donald GREGG; Embassy at 82 Sejong-Ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96,301; telephone Õ82å (2) 732-2,601 through 2,618; there is a US Consulate in Pusan
Flag description
: white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field Korea, South Korea, South Korea, South
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy overview: The driving force behind the economy's phenomenal growth has been the planned development of an export-oriented economy. South Korea is now one of the fastest growing and most dynamic of the industrializing countries in the world. GNP increased 13% in both 1986 and 1987 and 12% in 1988. Such a rapid rate of growth was achieved with an inflation rate of only 3% in the period 1986-87, rising to 7% in 1988. Unemployment is also low, and some labor bottlenecks have appeared in several processing industries. A booming economy and soaring export earnings have enabled the nation to make early repayment of some of its large foreign debt.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rateReal gdp per capitaGross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: 9 million people (21% of the population) live in farm households, but agriculture, forestry, and fishing constitute only 15% of GNP; main crops - rice, barley, vegetables, and legumes
Industries: textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing, chemicals, steel, electronics, automobile production, ship building
Industrial production growth rate: 16.8% (1987)
Labor force:
16,900,000; 52%
services and other; 27% mining and manufacturing; 21% agriculture, fishing, forestry (1987)
Unemployment rate: 3% (1988)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudget: revenues $28.7 billion; expenditures $28.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY89)
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year Korea, South Korea, SouthKorea, South
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $60.7 billion (f.o.b., 1988)
Commodities: textiles, clothing, electrical machinery, footwear, steel, automobiles, ships, fish
Partners: US 35%, Japan 20%
Imports: $51.8 billion (c.i.f., 1988)
Commodities: machinery, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains
Partners: Japan 31%, US 25% (1988)
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $31.4 billion (December 1988)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: South Korean won (W) per US$1 - 682.42 (January 1989; 731.47 (1988), 822.57 (1987), 881.45 (1986), 870.02 (1985)
top of pageElectricityCapacity: 19,100,000 kW capacity; 74,000 million kWh produced, 1,730 kWh per capita (1988)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: $9.2 billion, 32.4% of central government budget (1989) Korea, South Korea, South Korea, South
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 115 total, 108 usable; 63 with permanent-surface runways; 20 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 18 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
HeliportsPipelines: 294 km refined products
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways: 1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft
Merchant marine: 425 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,857,943 GRT/11,566,433 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 139 cargo, 38 container, 12 refrigerated cargo, 11 vehicle carrier, 50 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 8 chemical tanker, 12 liquefied gas, 10 combination ore/oil, 135 bulk, 7 combination bulk, 1 heavy-lift carrier
Ports and terminalstop of pageDisputes international: Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs