1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter
Coastline
2,413 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than Indiana
Disputes
Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan
Environment
occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest; air pollution in large cities
Land boundary
238 km with North Korea
Land use
arable land 21%; permanent crops 1%; meadows and pastures 1%; forest and woodland 67%; other 10%; includes irrigated 12%
Maritime claims
Continental shelf: not specific Territorial sea: 12 nm (3 nm in the Korea Strait)
Natural resources
coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower
Notes
strategic location along the Korea Strait, Sea of Japan, and Yellow Sea
Terrain
mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south
Total area
98,480 km2; land area: 98,190 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
15 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
homogeneous; small Chinese minority (about 20,000)
Infant mortality rate
23 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
16,900,000; 52% services and other; 27% mining and manufacturing; 21% agriculture, fishing, forestry (1987)
Language
Korean; English widely taught in high school
Life expectancy at birth
67 years male, 73 years female (1991)
Literacy
96% (male 99%, female 94%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Nationality
noun--Korean(s); adjective--Korean
Net migration rate
- 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
about 10% of nonagricultural labor force in government-sanctioned unions
Population
43,134,386 (July 1991), growth rate 0.8% (1991)
Religion
strong Confucian tradition; vigorous Christian minority (28% of the total population); Buddhism; pervasive folk religion (Shamanism); Chondokyo (religion of the heavenly way), eclectic religion with nationalist overtones founded in 19th century, claims about 1.5 million adherents
Total fertility rate
1.6 children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 6 special cities* (jikhalsi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-jikhalsi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-jikhalsi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-jikhalsi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-jikhalsi*, Taejon-jikhalsi*
Capital
Seoul
Communists
Communist party activity banned by government
Constitution
25 February 1988
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador HYUN Hong Joo; Chancery at 2320 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-5600; there are Korean Consulates General in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle; US--Ambassador Donald P. GREGG; Embassy at 82 Sejong-Ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96301); telephone [82] (2) 732-2601 through 2618; there is a US Consulate in Pusan
Elections
President--last held on 16 December 1987 (next to be held December 1992); results--ROH Tae Woo (DJP) 35.9%, KIM Young Sam (RDP) 27.5%, KIM Dae Jung (PPD) 26.5%, other 10.1%; National Assembly--last held on 26 April 1988 (next to be held April 1992); results--DJP 34%, RDP 24%, PPD 19%, NDRP 15%, other 8%; seats--(299 total) DJP 125, PPD 70, RDP 59, NDRP 35, other 10; note--on 9 February 1990 the DJP, RDP, and NDRP merged to form the DLP; also the PPD became the NDP; as a result the distribution of seats changed to DLP 218, NDP 70, other 11 (June 1990)
Executive branch
president, prime minister, deputy prime minister, State Council (cabinet)
Flag
white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field
Independence
15 August 1948
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Leaders
Chief of State--President ROH Tae Woo (since 25 February 1988); Head of Government--Prime Minister CHUNG Won Shik (since 24 May 1991); Deputy Prime Minister CHOI Kak Kyu (since 19 February 1991)
Legal system
combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly (Kuk Hoe)
Long-form name
Republic of Korea; abbreviated ROK
Member of
AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, 15 August (1948)
Other political or pressure groups
Korean National Council of Churches; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Council of College Student Representatives; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Council of Labor Unions; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Veterans' Association; Federation of Korean Industries; Korean Traders Association
Political parties and leaders
ruling party--Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), ROH Tae Woo, president, KIM Young Sam, chairman; note--the DLP resulted from a merger of the Democratic Justice Party (DJP), Reunification Democratic Party (RDP), and New Democratic Republican Party (NDRP) on 9 February 1990; opposition--New Democratic Party (NDP, formerly Party for Peace and Democracy or PPD), KIM Dae Jung, president; Democratic Party (DP), YI Ki Taek; several smaller parties
Suffrage
universal at age 20
Type
republic
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 11% of GNP and employs 21% of work force (including fishing and forestry); principal crops--rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; livestock and livestock products--cattle, hogs, chickens, milk, eggs; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat; fish catch of 2.9 million metric tons, seventh-largest in world
Budget
revenues $38 billion; expenditures $38 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1991)
Currency
South Korean won (plural--won); 1 South Korean won (W) = 100 chon (theoretical)
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.9 billion; non-US countries (1970-89), $3.0 billion
Electricity
21,000,000 kW capacity; 85,000 million kWh produced, 1,970 kWh per capita (1990)
Exchange rates
South Korean won (W) per US$1--718.14 (January 1991), 707.76 (1990), 671.46 (1989), 731.47 (1988), 822.57 (1987), 881.45 (1986), 870.02 (1985)
Exports
$65 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--textiles, clothing, electronic and electrical equipment, footwear, machinery, steel, automobiles, ships, fish; partners--US 30%, Japan 19%
External debt
$31.7 billion (1990)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$238 billion, per capita $5,600; real growth rate 9% (1990 est.)
Imports
$70 billion (c.i.f., 1990); commodities--machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains; partners--Japan 27%, US 24% (1990)
Industrial production
growth rate 8.6% (1990 est.); accounts for about 45% of GDP
Industries
textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing, chemicals, steel, electronics, automobile production, ship building
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
8.6% (1990)
Overview
The driving force behind the economy's dynamic growth has been the planned development of an export-oriented economy in a vigorously entrepreneurial society. Real GNP--which grew by 6.7% in 1989 after an average annual growth of over 12% between 1986-88--grew about 9% in 1990. Labor unrest--which led to substantial wage hikes in 1987-88--was noticeably calmer in 1990, unemployment averaged a low 2.5%, and investment was strong. Inflation rates, however, are beginning to challenge South Korea's strong economic performance. Consumer prices rose 8.6%, the highest rate in nine years. Policymakers are concerned higher prices could lead to a resurgence of labor unrest.
Unemployment rate
2.5% (1990)
Communications
Airports
110 total, 102 usable; 60 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 21 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 17 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
93 major transport aircraft
Highways
62,936 km total (1982); 13,476 km national highway, 49,460 km provincial and local roads
Inland waterways
1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft
Merchant marine
439 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,182,519 GRT/11,906,897 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 138 cargo, 45 container, 11 refrigerated cargo, 11 vehicle carrier, 48 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 10 chemical tanker, 13 liquefied gas, 7 combination ore/oil, 146 bulk, 7 combination bulk, 1 multifunction large-load carrier
Pipelines
455 km refined products
Ports
Pusan, Inchon, Kunsan, Mokpo, Ulsan
Railroads
3,106 km operating in 1983; 3,059 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 47 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, 712 km double track, 418 km electrified; government owned
Telecommunications
adequate domestic and international services; 4,800,000 telephones; stations--79 AM, 46 FM, 256 TV (57 of 1 kW or greater); satellite earth stations--2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy (including Marines), Air Force
Defense expenditures
$10.4 billion, 4.5% of GNP (1991) _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 12,859,511; 8,294,624 fit for military service; 429,088 reach military age (18) annually