1981 Edition

Area

Government and party leaders: KIM Il-s6ng, President DPRK and General Secretary of the Korean Workers Party; YI Chong-6k, Premier

98,913 km8; 23% arable (22% cultivated), 10% urban and other, 67% forested

Coastline

2,413 km

Elections

election to SPA every four years, but this constitutional provision not necessarily followed — last election February 1982

Land boundaries

241 km

Limits of territorial waters

12 rim (fishing 200 nm)

Member of

FAO, IAEA, ICAO, IPU, IRCS, ITU, UN (observer status only), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Political party

Korean Workers (Communist) Party; claims membership of about 2 million, or about 11% of population

Suffrage

universal at age 17

Ethnic divisions

homogeneous; small Chinese minority (approx. 20,000)

Labor force

14.2 million (1979); 36% agriculture, fishing, forestry; 24% mining and manufacturing; 40% services and other; average unemployment 3.8% (1979)

Language

Korean

Literacy

about 90%

Nationality

noun — Korean(s); adjective — Korean

Organized labor

about 13% of nonagricultural labor force

Population

41,092,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.6%

Religion

strong Confucian tradition; pervasive folk religion (Shamanism); vigorous Christian minority (16.6% Christian population); Buddhism (including estimated 20,000 members of Soka Gakkai); Chondokyo (religion of the heavenly way), eclectic religion with nationalist overtones founded in 19th century, claims about 1.5 million adherents

Branches

executive, legislative (unicameral), judiciary

Capital

Seoul

Communists

Communist activity banned by government; an estimated 37,000-50,000 former members and supporters

Elections

under new constitution of October 1980, President elected every seven years indirectly by a 5,000-man electoral college; last election February 1981; four-year National Assembly, elected in March 1981, consists of 276 representatives, 184 directly elected and 92 chosen through proportional representation Political parties and leaders: major party is the government's Democratic Justice Party (DJP), Chun Doo Hwan (president) and Yi Chae-hyong (chairman); opposition parties are Democratic Korea Party (DKP), Yu Chi-Song (president); Korean National Party (KNP), Kim Chong-Chol (president); Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), Ko Chong-hun (president); and several smaller parties

Government leaders

President CHUN Doo Hwan; Prime Minister YOO Chang Soon

Legal system

combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical SOUTH KOREA (Continued) thought; constitution approved 1980; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Member of

AALCC (Afro-Asian League Consultative Committee), ADB, Asian Parliamentary Union, APACL — Asian People's Anti-Communist League, ASPAC, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, Geneva Conventions of 1949 for the protection of war victims, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, IMCO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, IWC— International Whaling Commission, IWC— International Wheat Council, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNIDO, UN Special Fund, UPU, WACL— World Anti-Communist League, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO; official observer at UN; does not hold UN membership

National holiday

15 August

Official name

Republic of Korea

Other political or pressure groups

Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Veterans' Association; Korean National Christian Council; large, potentially volatile, student population concentrated in Seoul

Political subdivisions

9 provinces, 2 special cities; heads centrally appointed

Suffrage

universal over age 20

Type

republic; power centralized in a strong executive

Agriculture

main crops — corn, rice, vegetables; food shortages — meat, cooking oils; production of foodstuffs adequate for domestic needs at low levels of consumption

29% of the population live on the land, but agriculture, forestry, and fishery constitute 16% of GNP; main crops — rice, barley; food shortages — wheat, dairy products, corn

Aid

economic and military aid from the USSR and China

economic— US (FY46-80), $6.0 billion committed; Japan (1965-75), $1.8 billion extended; military— US (FY4680) $7.6 billion committed

Budget

$11.8 billion (1981)

Crude steel

3.5 million metric tons produced (1979), 187 kg per capita

Electric power

5,428,000 kW capacity (1980); 35.915 billion kWh produced (1980), 1,829 kWh per capita

9,000,000 kW capacity (1980); 37.611 billion kWh produced (1979), 886 kWh per capita

Exports

$1,320 million (1979); minerals, chemical and metallurgical products

$17.2 billion (f.o.b., 1980); textiles and clothing, electrical machinery, footwear, steel, ships, fish

Fiscal year

calendar year

calendar year

Fishing

catch 2,410,346 metric tons (1980)

GNP

$14.1 billion (1979), $750 per capita

$56.6 billion (1980, in 1980 prices), $1,481 per capita; real growth -6.2% (1980); real growth 7.2% (1976-80 average)

Imports

$1,300 million (1979); machinery and equipment, petroleum, foodstuffs, coking coal

$22.3 billion (c.i.f., 1980); machinery, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains

Major industries

machine building, electric power, chemicals, mining, metallurgy, textiles, food processing

textiles and clothing, food processing, chemicals, steel, electronics, shipbuilding

Major trade partners

total trade turnover $2.6 billion (1979); 43% with non-Communist countries, 57% with Communist countries

exports — 26% US, 17% Japan; imports— 26% Japan, 22% US (1979)

Monetary conversion rate

1.79 won=US$l

controlled float, 700.5 won=US$l (31 December 1981)

Shortages

complex machinery and equipment, coking coal, petroleum

base metals, petroleum, lumber, and certain food grains

Airfields

127 total, 118 usable; 63 with permanentsurface runways; 21 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

41 major transport aircraft

Freight carried

rail (1980) 49 million metric tons; highway 145 million metric tons; air (1979) 14 billion metric tons (domestic)

Highways

about 20,280 km (1980); 98.5% gravel, crushed stone, or earth surface; 1.5% concrete or bituminous

46,800 km total (1980); 9,290 km national highway, 37,510 km provincial and local roads

Inland waterways

2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only

Military budget

proposed for fiscal year ending 31 December 1982, $4.6 billion; about 34% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 4,658,000; 2,852,000 fit for military service; 231,000 reach military age (18) annually

males 15-49, 11,201,000; 7,560,000 fit for military service; 455,000 reach military age (18) annually

Pipelines

515 km refined products

Ports

6 major, 26 minor DEFENSE FORCES

10 major, 18 minor

Railroads

4,535 km total operating in 1980; 3,870 km standard gauge (1.435 m), 665 km narrow gauge (0.762 m); 159 km double tracked; about 2,940 km electrified; government owned

Telecommunications

adequate domestic and international services; 2.0 million telephones (5.2 per 100 popl.); 95 AM, 19 FM, and 25 TV stations; 1 ground satellite station DEFENSE FORCES