Statistical information South Korea 1989South%20Korea

Map of South Korea | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year:  | More stats

South Korea in the World
South Korea in the World

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South Korea - Introduction 1989
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Background: 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.


South Korea - Geography 1989
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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area

Land 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

Elevation

Natural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower
Land use

Land use: 21% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 67% forest and woodland; 10% other; includes 12% irrigated

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


South Korea - People 1989
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Population: 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 profile
Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 20 births/1000 population (1989)

Death rate: 6 deaths/1000 population (1989)

Net migration rate: - 1 migrants/1000 population (1989)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest; air pollution in large cities

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant 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 rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: over 90%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


South Korea - Government 1989
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Country 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 areas

Independence: 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 participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 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 branch

Political parties and leaders

International 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 representation
In 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 descriptionflag of South%20Korea: 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 symbols

National anthem

National heritage


South Korea - Economy 1989
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Economy 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 parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving
Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture 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)

Labor force

Unemployment rate: 3% (1988)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $28.7 billion; expenditures $28.7 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (FY89)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year Korea, South Korea, SouthKorea, South

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $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 gold

Debt external: $31.4 billion (December 1988)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: South Korean won (W) per US$1 - 682.42 (January 1989; 731.47 (1988), 822.57 (1987), 881.45 (1986), 870.02 (1985)


South Korea - Energy 1989
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Electricity
Capacity: 19,100,000 kW capacity; 74,000 million kWh produced, 1,730 kWh per capita (1988)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


South Korea - Communication 1989
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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


South Korea - Military 1989
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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $9.2 billion, 32.4% of central government budget (1989) Korea, South Korea, South Korea, South

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


South Korea - Transportation 1989
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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 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

Heliports

Pipelines: 294 km refined products

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 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 terminals


South Korea - Transnational issues 1989
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Disputes international: Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs


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