South Korea(대한민국 )By: Jenny Lee, Grace Cai, Samy Grenon

Population

• about 48,860,500 (census from July 2012)• Population growth- 0.204% (2012 estimate)• Age structure -0-14 years:15.7% -15-64 years: 72.9% -65 years and over: 11.4%• Korea’s fertility rate is the lowest in the world. Population of Korea is rapidly ageing.

Capital: Seoul • Population: over 10 million• Located on the Han River.• Ranked eighth in the Global

Cities Index for 2012 and is considered to be a leading global city.

• A great number of international companies are located in Seoul.

• Hosted the 1986 Asian Games, 1988 Summer Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup and the 2012 G-20 Seoul summit.

Language• Korean -type of writing system: alphabet -direction of writing: left to write -number of letters: 14 consonants and 10 vowels -sounds of some consonants change depending on whether they are placed at the beginning, middle, or at the end. -Korean in North Korea is not completely the same as the one in South Korea. • English is also greatly taught during middle and high school.

Korean Characters

Ethnic Groups& Religion

• Ethnic Groups- Homogeneous with the exception of some Chinese(about 20,000)

-One of the most ethnically and linguistically homogenous countries in the world. • Religion- Christian 26.3%(Protestant 19.7%, Roman

Catholic 6.6%), Buddhist (23.2%), other or unknown 1.3%, none 49.3%

-Buddhism in Korea came from the Mahayana branch of Buddhism like China and Japan. -Christianity was first introduced to Koreans through the Jesuits from China.

Government Structure

• Structure: Republic• Executive Branch -Chief of state: Lee Myung Bak(since Feb 25th, 2008) -A president is elected by popular vote for a single five-year term.• Legal System- mixed legal

system combined of European civil law, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought President Lee Myung-bak

http://www.africa-asia-confidential.com/whos-who-profile/id/3280/

Interesting Facts #1• Taekwondo is a traditional

sport in South Korea and also is very popular.

• What is Taekwondo? - It is a combination of various combat skills including self-defense, sports, exercise and sometimes even meditation and philosophy. -It also has been chosen as an Olympic event since the year 2000.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taekwondo

Interesting Facts #2

• Korea has the the world’s highest national IQ as declared by the OECD(Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development)

• It showed particularly leading rankings in subjects such as mathematics, science, problem solving and reading.

Interesting Facts #3• South Korean elementary, middle, and

high school students were ranked the lowest in terms of happiness compared to other OECD countries, according to OECD.

• Why? -The overloading amount of schoolwork and exam preparations can harm students physically and mentally. -The competition for better universities and success is extremely fierce. -Students also needs to study for private tutors or hagwons, which are basically academies held outside of schools.

Picture- http://www.globalpost.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/gp3_small_article/south-korea-education-digital-textbooks-2011-07-06.jpg

Interesting Facts #4• The interest towards K-

POP(Korean pop) is increasing throughout the world.

• K-pop? - A music genre that contains dance, electronic, electro-pop, hip hop, and R&B music. • The fashion and style of K-

Pop singers are also becoming very popular.

• Movie actors and actresses from Korean dramas and movies are also very popular.

Pictures- http://images.ados.fr/stars-people/photo/hd/3147611314/korean-boys/bigbang-27055915e0.jpghttp://cn.last.fm/group/Girls'+Generation+(SNSD)

Citations• Ager, S.. "Korean alphabet, pronunciation and language." Omniglot. Simon

Ager, n.d. Web. 22 Aug 2012. <http://www.omniglot.com/writing/korean.htm>.

• U.S. Department of State, . U.s. department of state. U.S Department of State, 2012. 0. 22 Aug 2012. <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2800.htm>.

• CIA, . "South Korea." Central intelligence agency. The World Factbook, 2012. Web. 22 Aug 2012. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html>.

• Ripley, A.. "Teacher, Leave Those Kids Alone." Time. N.p., 2011. Web. 22 Aug 2012. <http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2094427,00.html>.

• Hodgson, A.. Ageing south korea. N.p., 2007. Web. 22 Aug 2012. <http://blog.euromonitor.com/2007/10/ageing-south-korea.html>.

• . Encyclopedia of the Nations. 2012 Advameg,Inc., n.d. Web. 22 Aug 2012. <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Korea-Republic-of-ROK.html