The Korean War was a war between North Korea and South Korea. The war began on 25 June 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea following a series of clashes along the border.
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula, with Pyongyang as its capital and the largest city in the country. To the north and northwest, the country is bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok and Tumen rivers, and to the south, it is bordered by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two. Nevertheless, North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands.
South Korea is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. The name Korea is derived from Goguryeo which was one of the great powers in East Asia during its time, ruling most of the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria, parts of the Russian Far East and Inner Mongolia under Gwanggaeto the Great. Its capital, Seoul, is a major global city and half of South Korea's over 51 million people live in the Seoul Capital Area, the fourth largest metropolitan economy in the world.
Korean Americans are Americans of Korean heritage or descent. The Korean American community comprises about 0.6% of the United States population, or about 1.8 million people, and is the fifth largest Asian American subgroup, after the Chinese American, Filipino American, Indian American, and Vietnamese American communities. The U.S. is home to the largest Korean diaspora community in the world.
K-pop is a genre of popular music originating in South Korea. While the modern form of K-pop can be traced back to the early 90s, the term itself has been popularized since the 2000s, replacing the term Gayo (가요), which also refers to domestic pop music in South Korea. Although it generally indicates "popular music" within South Korea, the term is often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop that is influenced by styles and genres from around the world, such as experimental, rock, jazz, gospel, hip hop, R&B, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, and classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots. The more modern form of the genre emerged with the formation of one of the earliest K-pop groups, Seo Taiji and Boys, in 1992. Their experimentation with different styles and genres of music and integration of foreign musical elements helped reshape and modernize South Korea's contemporary music scene.
The Korea Republic national football team, also known as the South Korea national football team, represents Republic of Korea in international football and is controlled by the Korea Football Association.
Korean dramas, or K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea.
The 2014 Asian Games, officially known as the 17th Asian Games, was a pan-Asian multi-sport event held in Incheon, South Korea. This was the third time South Korea hosted the Asian Games, and its first time since 2002. Previously, it had also hosted the 1986 edition of the games.
Kim Jong-un is a North Korean politician who has been the supreme leader of North Korea since 2011 and chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea since 2012. He is the second child of Kim Jong-il (1941–2011), who was North Korea's second leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui (1952–2004). He is the grandson of Kim Il-sung, who was the founder and led North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994.
Park Jin-young (Hangul: 박진영; born December 31, 1971, also known by his stage names J. Y. Park and The Asiansoul or the initials JYP, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, record executive, and reality television show judge. Park rose to stardom as a singer following the release of his 1994 debut album, Blue City. In 1997, he became the founder and CEO of JYP Entertainment, one of the most profitable entertainment agencies in South Korea. As the head of JYP Entertainment, Park has developed and managed highly successful K-pop acts including Rain, Wonder Girls, 2PM, Miss A, Got7, Suzy, Stray Kids, Day6, Itzy and Twice.
Girls' Generation, also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece group, Jessica departed from the group in September 2014. One of the prominent figures of the Korean Wave, the group has won numerous accolades and the honorific nickname "The Nation's Girl Group" in their home country.
Seoul, officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. With surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, Seoul forms the heart of the Seoul Capital Area. Ranked as an alpha world city, Seoul was the world's 4th largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of US$635 billion in 2014 after Tokyo, New York City and Los Angeles. International visitors generally reach Seoul via AREX from the Incheon International Airport, notable for having been rated the best airport for nine consecutive years (2005–2013) by the Airports Council International. In 2015, it was rated Asia's most livable city with the second highest quality of life globally by Arcadis, with the GDP per capita (PPP) in Seoul being around $40,000. In 2017, the cost of living in Seoul was ranked 6th globally. In 2018, Seoul's real estate market was ranked 5th in the world for the price of apartments in the downtown center.
{{Infobox officeholder | honorific-prefix = | name = Kim Il-sung | native_name = 김일성 | image = Kim Il-sung in 1950.jpg | caption = Kim Il-sung's official portrait in 1950 | office1 = President of North Korea | term_start1 = 28 December 1972 | term_end1 = 8 July 1994
| predecessor1 = Office established | successor1 = Office abolished | premier1 = Pak Song-chol
Ri Jong-ok
Kang Song-san
Ri Kun-mo
Yon Hyong-muk
Lee Min-ho is a South Korean actor, singer, and model. He gained widespread fame in Korea and some parts of Asia with his role as Gu Jun-pyo in Boys Over Flowers in 2009. The role won him a Best New Actor award at the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards. His notable lead roles in television series include City Hunter (2011), The Heirs (2013) and Legend of the Blue Sea (2016). The success of Lee's television series in Asia established him as a top Hallyu star. Apart from his television career, Lee featured in the first lead role in the film Gangnam Blues (2015), followed by his first China-produced film Bounty Hunters (2016).
Lee Ji-eun, professionally known as IU (Korean: 아이유), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actress. While still in middle school, IU auditioned for various talent agencies with ambitions of becoming a singer. She signed with Kakao M in 2007 as a trainee and began her music career at the age of 15 with her debut album, Lost and Found. Her follow-up albums, Growing Up and IU...IM, brought her mainstream success, but it was through "Good Day", the lead single from her 2010 album Real, that she achieved national stardom. "Good Day" spent five consecutive weeks at the top position of South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, a joint record along with Psy's "Gangnam Style", and in 2019, it was ranked number one on Billboard magazine's 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s.
Running Man is a South Korean variety show, forming part of SBS's Good Sunday lineup. It first aired on July 11, 2010.
Son Heung-min is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur and captains the South Korea national team. Considered as one of the best wingers in the world, Son is often cited as an icon of South Korean culture.
Exo is a South Korean–Chinese boy band based in Seoul, with nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai and Sehun. The band was formed by SM Entertainment in 2011 and debuted in 2012. Their music incorporates genres like pop, hip-hop, and R&B, alongside electronic dance music genres like house, trap, and synth-pop. Exo releases and performs music in Korean, Mandarin, and Japanese. The band ranked as one of the top five most influential celebrities on the Forbes Korea Power Celebrity list each year from 2014 to 2018, and have been named "the biggest boy band in the world" and the "kings of K-pop" by media outlets.
BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band formed in Seoul in 2013. The septet co-writes and produces much of their output. Originally a hip hop group, their musical style has evolved to include a wide range of genres. Their lyrics, often focused on personal and social commentary, touch on the themes of mental health, troubles of school-age youth, loss, the journey towards loving oneself, and individualism. Their work features references to literature and psychological concepts and includes an alternative universe storyline. The group have staged several world tours.
The sinking of MVSewol, also called the Sewol ferry disaster, occurred on the morning of 16 April 2014, when the passenger/ro-ro ferry was en route from Incheon towards Jeju in South Korea. The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) north of Byeongpungdo at 08:58 KST. Out of 476 passengers and crew, 304 died in the disaster, most notably around 250 students from Danwon High School. Of the approximately 172 survivors, more than half were rescued by fishing boats and other commercial vessels that arrived at the scene approximately 40 minutes after the Korea Coast Guard.
