South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a nation in eastern Asia with a long history of conflict that occupies the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula.

Liberated from Japan in 1945 at the end of World War II, South Korea was invaded by communist forces in North Korea a few years later. Aid requested by the United Nations helped end the three-year war and support the south on its way to democracy. A critical divide between the two nations along the center of the peninsula remains.

In the decades following independence, strict authoritarian rule took over the recovery of an embattled nation and its sinking economy. The first free national elections took place in 1987, passing control from a dictatorship to the people. In 2016, the country’s first female president was the focus of a corruption scandal, leading to her removal from office in March 2017.

South Korea’s high-tech, service-based economy, is a foreign investment success story, becoming the first recipient of OECD Development Assistance Committee funds to later become a donor of the funds. The nation has seen steady growth and poverty reduction since the 1960s and is now the world’s seventh-largest exporter and 11th-largest economy overall.

The country’s capital, Seoul, is located near the center of the Korean Peninsula, chosen as such during the Joseon dynasty (1392-1897) for its impressive feng shui - the idea that the positioning of objects ensures health and harmony. It is home to the headquarters of Samsung, Hyundai and Kia, representing two of South Korea’s important exports: technology and cars.