South Korea
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Republic of Korea 대한 민국 (Daehan Minguk) |
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South Korea is a country in East Asia, in the southern part of the Korean peninsula. The capital city is Seoul. The official name of South Korea is the Republic of Korea (Hangul (native Korean script): 대한민국; Hanja (Chinese characters in Korean): 大韓民國).
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[edit] History
See also: History of Korea
The history of South Korea begins in 1946. From 1905 to 1946, Japan ruled all of Korea. But in 1945, Japan fell to the United States of America and other Allied Powers. When Japan fell, the Russian army was fighting Japan in the north. Because the Russians fought against Japan too, the Russian army and the American army each took part of Korea. The Russians took all of Korea north of the 38th Parallel, and the Americans took all of Korea south of the 38th Parallel. Many Koreans are still angry that their country was cut in half.
Because the country was cut in half, the north half became communist and South Korea became capitalist. In 1948, there were elections in South Korea. The country's first president was Seungman Lee (이승만).
On June 25, 1950, North Korea started the Korean War. America helped the South Koreans, and China helped the North Koreans. The war finally ended in 1953, but there was never any real peace. The land between North Korea and South Korea became the Demilitarized Zone. No-one can go into the Demilitarized Zone, so the wildlife is well preserved. There are thousands of soldiers and weapons on each side of the Demilitarized Zone, including to this day a massive American presence.
[edit] Politics
The political system of South Korea has changed a lot. Here we will talk about the South Korean political system of today. Korea is a republic. The people elect the president. The president is the head of the government. He is also head of state. One person can be president for only five years. Together with parliament, the president chooses who will be prime minister. He also chooses who will be in the cabinet.
The South Korean parliament is the National Assembly or Gukhoe (국회). People elect the National Assembly every four years. There are 299 people on the National Assembly. 243 are elected by regional vote and the remainder are elected by proportional representation.
The highest court is the Supreme Court. The president chooses who will be on the Supreme Court. The National Assembly can vote "yes" or "no" on the president's choice.
There are three important political parties in South Korea today. They are the Hannara Party, Woori Party, and Millennium Democratic Party. There are also many small parties.
[edit] Cities and provinces
South Korea has 1 Special City (Teukbyeolsi; 특별시; 特別市), 6 Metropolitan Cities (Gwangyeoksi; 광역시; 廣域市), and 9 Provinces (do; 도; 道). The names below are given in English, Revised Romanization, Hangul, and Hanja.
[edit] Special City
- Seoul Special City (Seoul Teukbyeolsi; 서울 특별시; 서울 特別市)
- Note: 서울 (Seoul) itself has no corresponding Hanja. The city has been known in the Chinese language as 漢城 (read as Hancheng in Chinese, Hanseong in Korean). As 漢城 is a former name of the city, the City Government announced on January 18, 2005 that the Chinese name of the city shall be Shou'er (首爾), which is a close transliteration of Seoul, but 首爾 does not correspond to 서울 (Seoul) in Korean. Chinese people have not widely accepted the name 首爾.
[edit] Metropolitan Cities
- Busan Metropolitan City (Busan Gwangyeoksi; 부산 광역시; 釜山廣域市)
- Daegu Metropolitan City (Daegu Gwangyeoksi; 대구 광역시; 大邱廣域市)
- Incheon Metropolitan City (Incheon Gwangyeoksi; 인천 광역시; 仁川廣域市)
- Gwangju Metropolitan City (Gwangju Gwangyeoksi; 광주 광역시; 光州廣域市)
- Daejeon Metropolitan City (Daejeon Gwangyeoksi; 대전 광역시; 大田廣域市)
- Ulsan Metropolitan City (Ulsan Gwangyeoksi; 울산 광역시; 蔚山廣域市)
[edit] Provinces
- Gyeonggi Province (Gyeonggi-do; 경기도; 京畿道)
- Gangwon Province (Gangwon-do; 강원도; 江原道)
- North Chungcheong Province (Chungcheongbuk-do; 충청 북도; 忠清北道)
- South Chungcheong Province (Chungcheongnam-do; 충청 남도; 忠清南道)
- North Jeolla Province (Jeollabuk-do; 전라 북도; 全羅北道)
- South Jeolla Province (Jeollanam-do; 전라 남도; 全羅南道)
- North Gyeongsang Province (Gyeongsangbuk-do; 경상 북도; 慶尚北道)
- South Gyeongsang Province(Gyeongsangnam-do; 경상 남도; 慶尚南道)
- Jeju Province (Jeju-do; 제주도; 濟州道)
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