Images of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) 1993-1994

South Korea

At the time of this writing, these facts about South Korea are accurate:

East Asian nation occupying the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula with North Korea to the north & Japan to the east

15th-largest economy & 25th-largest population in the world

second-largest military per capita (after North Korea) & 12th-largest defense budget in the world

capital city is Seoul & the Seoul Metropolitan Area is the second-most populous in the world

Christianity is the leading religion with Buddhism a close second

Jeju-do island, with an area of 712 square miles, is South Korea’s largest island & home to Hallasan, an extinct volcano, which, at 6,398 ft, is the highest point in South Korea

slightly larger in area than Indiana; slightly smaller than Kentucky

population is just 10 million less than those of California & Texas combined

highly mountainous with only 30% of its land area fit for human habitation

nominally, the 22nd-most densely populated country in the world, but this figure rises to second-highest (after Bangladesh) when considering only nations of greater than 17,000 square miles

native language is Korean

Hangul, the Korean phonemic alphabet, was developed under King Sejong the Great

Camp Humphreys, Anjung-Ri, Republic of Korea

Notes:

Panmunjom, Republic of Korea

Notes:

Panmunjom in Gyeonggi province is a village on the border between North and South Korea where the 1953 cease-fire that halted the Korean War was signed. In the photo on the above left, I am actually standing on North Korean soil, & the soldier visible through the window is a North Korean soldier. The Korean War is the longest war of the Twentieth Century as it technically did not end in 1953, since South Korea refused to sign the peace treaty. The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between the nations is the most heavily fortified area in the world.