South Korea

South Korea is a country in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, in the north east region of Asia. The capital city is Seoul. The official name of South Korea is the Republic of Korea in English, 대한민국 in Korean writing (Hangeul), and 大韓民國 in Chinese characters (Hanja). About half of the country's people live in its capital city, Seoul, or near the city in the metropolitan area. Korea's Seoul metropolitan area is one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. In fact, some sources say it is the second most populous after Tokyo, Japan).

Politics and government
South Korea is a democracy, meaning that people can vote for their government. The President of South Korea is elected to a five-year term, and cannot stand in a Presidential Election for a second time. The current President is Park Geunhye, the first female President of South Korea, and is in this position since February 25, 2013, when she succeeded Lee Myung-bak.

Sciences and technologies
South Korea is a very rich country and is known for a lot of technology. This includes the car-maker Hyundai, which is a South Korean company. Also, the well-known global brand Samsung, which makes mobile phones, semi-conductors and electric devices, is a South Korean company.

Geography
South Korea is in East Asia, bordering North Korea, and is surrounded by water on three sides, as it makes up the southern part of the Korean peninsula. It is separated from Japan, by the Pacific Ocean's East Sea. Central South Korea is mainly mountainous, and there are many islands off the south coast. The capital city, Seoul, is fairly close to the North Korean border.

Education
South Korea was the first country to provide high-speed internet access to every primary, junior, and high school.

Cities and provinces
South Korea has 1 special city (Teukbyeolsi; 특별시; 特別市), 1 special self-governing city (Teukbyeol-Jachisi; 특별자치시; 特別自治市) 6 metropolitan cities (Gwangyeoksi; 광역시; 廣域市), and 9 provinces (do; 도; 道). The names below are given in English, Revised Romanization, Hangeul, and Hanja.

Special city

 * Seoul Special City (Seoul-teukbyeolsi; 서울특별시; 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 Hànchéng 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.

Special self-governing city

 * Sejong special self-governing city (Sejong-teukbyeol-jachasi 세종특별자치시; 世宗特別自治市)

Metropolitan cities

 * Busan Metropolitan City (Busan-gwangyeoksi; 부산광역시; 釜山廣域市)
 * Daegu Metropolitan City (Daegu-gwangyeoksi; 대구광역시; 大邱廣域市)
 * Daejeon Metropolitan City (Daejeon-gwangyeoksi; 대전광역시; 大田廣域市)
 * Gwangju Metropolitan City (Gwangju-gwangyeoksi; 광주광역시; 光州廣域市)
 * Incheon Metropolitan City (Incheon-gwangyeoksi; 인천광역시; 仁川廣域市)
 * Ulsan Metropolitan City (Ulsan-gwangyeoksi; 울산광역시; 蔚山廣域市)

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)

Culture and religion
In South Korea, 19.7% of people are Protestant, 6.6% are Catholic, 23.2% are Buddhist, 49.3% have no religion, and 1.3% either are a part of other religions or have beliefs that are unknown.