Korean is the native language for about 81 million people, mostly of Korean descent. It is the national language of both North Korea and South Korea.
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The country's western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eastern border is defined by the Sea of Japan. Like North Korea, South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of 51.96 million, of which half live in the Seoul Capital Area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world. Other major cities include Busan, Daegu, and Incheon.
The history of South Korea begins with the Japanese surrender on 2 September 1945. At that time, South Korea and North Korea were divided, despite being the same people and on the same peninsula. In 1950, the Korean War broke out. North Korea overran South Korea until US-led UN forces intervened. At the end of the war in 1953, the border between South and North remained largely similar. Tensions between the two sides continued. South Korea alternated between dictatorship and liberal democracy. It underwent substantial economic development.
Syngman Rhee was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee is also known by his art name Unam. Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea from 1919 to his impeachment in 1925 and from 1947 to 1948. As president of South Korea, Rhee's government was characterised by authoritarianism, limited economic development, and in the late 1950s growing political instability and public opposition.
Seoul National University is a public research university located in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities.
Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the Camellia sinensis that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millennium BC, and since then its production and manufacture has spread to other countries in East Asia.
The Korean conflict is an ongoing conflict based on the division of Korea between North Korea and South Korea, both of which claim to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea. During the Cold War, North Korea was backed by the Soviet Union, China, and other communist allies, while South Korea was backed by the United States, United Kingdom, and other Western allies.
Joseon, officially Great Joseon, was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom was founded following the aftermath of the overthrow of Goryeo in what is today the city of Kaesong. Early on, Korea was retitled and the capital was relocated to modern-day Seoul. The kingdom's northernmost borders were expanded to the natural boundaries at the rivers of Amnok and Tuman through the subjugation of the Jurchens.
Hongik University is a private university in Mapo, Seoul, South Korea. It was founded in 1946. The university also maintains a branch campus in Sejong City.
The Sinosphere, also known as the Chinese cultural sphere, East Asian cultural sphere, or the Sinic world, encompasses multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia that were historically heavily influenced by Chinese culture. The Sinosphere comprises Greater China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Other definitions may include the regions of modern-day Mongolia and Singapore, due either to historical Chinese influence or a contemporary overseas Chinese population. The Sinosphere is different from the Sinophone world, which indicates regions where the Chinese language is spoken.
Shin Sang-Ho is a South Korean ceramicist. His works can be found in museums around the world especially the Shin Sang-ho Art Museum. He is the former Dean, College of Fine Arts at Hongik University in Seoul, and former Director of the Clayarch Gimhae Museum.
Lee Seung-Heun, better known as Ilchi Lee, is a South Korean author and the founder of a variety of mind-body training methods, including Body & Brain, Brain Wave Vibration, Kookhak Qigong, and DahnMuDo, all falling under the umbrella name "Brain Education". Lee started teaching his methods in a park in the 1980s, and since then, the practice has developed into an international network of for-profit and non-profit entities. Lee's practices have been criticized as pseudoscience, and his organizations as a cult.
Peter Francis Kornicki FBA is an English Japanologist. He is Emeritus Professor of Japanese at Cambridge University and Emeritus Fellow of Robinson College, Cambridge. He is particularly known for his studies of the history of the book and of languages in Asia.
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's sixth largest metropolitan economy in 2022, trailing behind Paris, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and New York, and hosts more than half of South Korea's population. Although Seoul's population peaked at over 10 million, it has gradually decreased since 2014, standing at about 9.6 million residents as of 2024. Seoul is the seat of the South Korean government.
The territorial conquests of the Japanese Empire in the Western Pacific Ocean and East Asia began in 1895 with its victory over Qing China in the First Sino-Japanese War. Subsequent victories over the Russian Empire and the German Empire expanded Japanese rule to Taiwan, Korea, Micronesia, Southern Sakhalin, several concessions in China, and the South Manchuria Railway. In 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria, resulting in the establishment of the puppet state of Manchukuo the following year; thereafter, Japan adopted a policy of founding and supporting puppet states in conquered regions. These conquered territories became the basis for the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in 1940.
Donald Kirk is a veteran correspondent and author on conflict and crisis from Southeast Asia to the Middle East to Northeast Asia. Kirk has covered wars from Vietnam to Iraq, focusing on political, diplomatic, economic and social as well as military issues. He is also known for his reporting on North Korea, including the nuclear crisis, human rights and payoffs from South to North Korea preceding the June 2000 inter-Korean summit.[1]
Moon Jae-in is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and Chief of Staff to President Roh Moo-hyun, Member of the National Assembly, and Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.
Lee Seung-taek is a Korean interdisciplinary artist. He is a sculptor, an installation artist, and a performance artist—conceptualizing in the notion of "anti-concept" or "anti-art" in the Korean art scene.
Chinese influence on Korean culture can be traced back as early as the Goguryeo period; these influences can be demonstrated in the Goguryeo tomb mural paintings. Throughout its history, Korea has been greatly influenced by Chinese culture, borrowing the written language, arts, religions, philosophy and models of government administration from China, and, in the process, transforming these borrowed traditions into distinctly Korean forms.
Moon Chung-in is a Special Advisor to President Moon Jae-in of South Korea for Foreign Affairs and National Security. He is also a Distinguished University Professor of Yonsei University, Krause Distinguished Fellow, School of Policy and Global Strategy, University of California, San Diego, and co-Convener of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN). He is currently serving as the editor-in-chief of Global Asia. On 21 May 2017, Moon Chung-in was nominated by President Moon Jae-in as a special advisor on unification, diplomacy and national security affairs.
