Zuid-Korea is een land in het noordoostelijke deel van het Aziatische continent op het zuidelijk deel van het Koreaans schiereiland dat
na de splitsing van het land Korea in 1945 officieel bekend werd als de Republiek Korea.

Zuid-Korea grenst aan de gedemilitariseerde zone met Noord-Korea, de Gele Zee, de Straat Korea en de Japanse Zee.

Zuid-Korea heeft ongeveer 3000 eilanden die met name voor de zuidelijke en westelijke kust liggen.

De bevolking van Korea is etnisch zeer zuiver, dit ondanks (of juist dankzij) de overheersing door vreemde volkeren. 99,8% van de Koreaanse bevolking is etnisch Koreaan.
In april 2005 waren er 378.000 buitenlanders in Korea.
 Dit zijn voornamelijk industriearbeiders, die uit Zuid-Aziatische landen als Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, etc. stammen.

Economy of South Korea
Currency	1 South Korean Won (W) = 100 Jeon(Chŏn) (theoretical)
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organizations	APEC, WTO and OECD
Statistics [1]
GDP ranking	10th by volume (at nominal) (2006); 11th by volume (at PPP) (2006);
GDP (Nominal)	$981.9 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (PPP)	$1.206 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP growth	5.1% (2007)
GDP per capita	$26,277 (2007)
GDP by sector	agriculture (3.2%), industry (39.6%), services (57.2%) (2007 est.)
Inflation	2.5% (2007 est.)
Pop below poverty line	2% (2006 est.)
Labour force	23.99 million (2007 est.)
Labour force by occupation	agriculture (7.5%), industry (17.3%), services (75.2%) (2007 est.)
Unemployment	3.2% (2007 est.)
Main industries	electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing

The economy of South Korea is the third-largest in Asia and the 13th-largest in the world by GDP (PPP) as of 2007.

In the aftermath of the Korean War, South Korea grew from a poor developing country to a wealthy developed country.

The South Korean economy focused on heavy industry and automotive industry during the 1970s and 1980s.
 With government support, POSCO, a steel-production company, was established in less than three years, forming the first backbone of the South Korean economy for decades to come.

Today, POSCO is the world's third-largest steel producer.
South Korea has a strong reputation for being the world's largest shipbuilder, with multinational enterprises such as Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries consistently dominating the global shipbuilding market.

The car manufacturing industry has grown equally rapidly and is rivalling the top established global car brands today, lead by Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, making South Korea the world's fifth-largest car manufacturing nation.

The rapid economic growth of the late 1980s was boost by the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul and the co-hosting of 2002 FIFA World Cup, which gave international recognition for the nation, as well as South Korean goods and services.
 
In 1996, South Korea became a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a milestone in its development history.

South Korea has been referred to as one of the Four Asian Tigers and a Newly-industrialized country during its exponential growth periods in the late 20th century but the country gained developed status since the 21st century and is now defined as a High Income Nation according to the World Bank.

Upon entering the 21st century, South Korea produced a 'National IT Project' to become the world's leading IT nation in just 5 years.
 With public funds, the government began to actively support South Korea's native IT industry, led by flagships Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics

International success was seen in the following years, with South Korea surpassing the United States and Japan in becoming the world's leader in the semiconductor (eg. RAM & Flash Memory) and digital display (eg. LCD & Plasma Panels) industries, as well as consumer electronics such as TVs or Mobile Phones.
Telecommunication technology thrived in South Korea as it became the most wired & wirelessly connected country in the world, having the 2nd highest broadband users worldwide.

In addition to its highly advanced IT infrastructure, the government is now beginning to invest in the robotics industry.
 With the aim of becoming the "World's Number 1 Robotics Nation" by 2025, there are plans to put one robot in every household by 2020.
  There are other ambitious plans to expand or create other sectors of the economy, including the financial, biotechnology, aerospace and entertainment industries.

23-06-2008 om 12:00 geschreven door zuidkorea