FAST FACTS
Area: 120,540 sq km
1997 population: 22,618,000
Capital (population): Pyongyang (2,639,000)
Government: Single party communist dictatorship
Ethnic groups: Korean 99%
Languages: Korean (official)
Religions: Traditional beliefs 16%, Chondogyo 14%, Buddhist 2%
and Christianity 1%
Currency: Won = 100 chon
1997 GDP per capita: US$ 1,100

Korea is an ancient kingdom, which for most of its history was an isolated vassal state under the protection and virtual control of the Chinese emperor. As such, not only was its Chinese influence very strong, but its isolation meant that exposure to the west, and western commerce, came later to Korea than it did to the rest of Asia.

Part of this isolation was the Korean peninsula's geography, being mostly mountainous, with a harsh climate in the interior. The high mountains along the Manchurian border made the peninsula a virtual island, only easily accessed by sea.

Imperialist traders from the west, having opened-up China, were in a position also to open-up Korea, though to a lesser extent, and in the face of very strong local resistance. The Japanese invasion during the Second World War, followed by the Korean War (1950-1953) which left the country split between the communist north, and capitalist south, left Korea in need of rebuilding, a burden taken on by the US in the south, China in the north.

North Korea remains a totalitarian communist state, and still one of the world's most isolated countries. The south, however, has flourished under the tutelage of the US, into an increasingly potent industrial force, despite paranoia regarding its communist brother to the north, and a level of governmental corruption which has been exposed as being as deep rooted and pervasive as in any other Asian country.

Koreans have become sophisticated consumers, their increasing wealth allowing them to afford the kind of goods they have long been exposed and aspired to thanks to their US connections (the US still has military bases in the country).Koreans have been quick to travel abroad too, showing a strong inclination to find out how the rest of the world works. This outward view is mirrored by its large corporations (chaebols), such as Lucky Goldstar (now know as LG), which is competing strongly in the electrical appliances market in western Europe.

KOREAN LINKS

http://www.chosun.com
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr