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.
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia constituting the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. The country is bordered to the north by China and by Russia along the Amnok and Tumen rivers, and to the south by South Korea, with the heavily fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two. North Korea, like its southern counterpart, claims to be the legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. Pyongyang is the country's capital and largest city.
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national association football teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea and Japan, with its final match hosted by Japan at International Stadium in Yokohama.
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.
Korean dramas, more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea.
Bong Joon-ho is a South Korean filmmaker. His films feature social themes, genre-mixing, black humor, and sudden tone shifts. In 2017, Metacritic ranked Bong 13th on its list of the 25 best film directors of the 21st century.
Kim Jong-un is a North Korean politician serving as Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader 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 Supreme Leader from 1994 to 2011, and Ko Yong-hui (1952–2004). He is the grandson of Kim Il-sung, who was the founder and first supreme leader of North Korea from its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994.
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 earned 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. Seoul has a population of 9.7 million people, and forms the heart of the Seoul Capital Area with the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province. 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. Seoul was one of the host cities for the official tournament of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan.
Lee Min-ho is a South Korean actor, singer, and model. Lee has significant following worldwide, including Asia and western countries, most notably the U.S, France, Australia, Canada, Spain and Italy. 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 comedy-drama Personal Taste (2010), City Hunter (2011) in which he established himself as an action hero, The Heirs (2013), Legend of the Blue Sea (2016) and The King: Eternal Monarch (2020). The success of Lee's television series globally established him as a top Hallyu star and a global celebrity. Hollywood magazine reported that Lee has attained "Superstar" status.
Lee Ji-eun, known professionally as IU (Korean: 아이유), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actress. She signed with Kakao M in 2007 as a trainee and debuted as a singer at the age of fifteen with her album, Lost and Found. Although her follow-up albums, Growing Up and IU...IM, brought mainstream success, it was after the release of "Good Day", the lead single from her 2010 album Real, that she achieved national stardom. "Good Day" went on to spend five consecutive weeks at the top position of South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart, 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' Good Sunday lineup. It was first aired on July 11, 2010.
Son Ye-jin is a South Korean actress. She rose to fame in romance-themed films and television series such as The Classic (2003), Summer Scent (2003), A Moment to Remember (2004), and April Snow (2005). She has won acting recognition for her versatility in diverse genres, notably in Alone in Love (2006), My Wife Got Married (2008), The Pirates (2014) and the 2016 films The Truth Beneath and The Last Princess. She is also known for her lead roles in romance dramas such as Something in the Rain (2018) and Crash Landing on You (2019–2020).
Kim Soo-hyun is a South Korean actor best known for his roles in the television dramas Dream High (2011), Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), My Love from the Star (2013) and The Producers (2015), as well as the films The Thieves (2012), Secretly, Greatly (2013) and Real (2017).
Lee Jong-suk is a South Korean actor and model. He debuted in 2005 as a runway model, becoming the youngest male model ever to participate in Seoul Fashion Week. Lee's breakout role was in School 2013 (2012) and he is also well known for his roles in I Can Hear Your Voice (2013), Doctor Stranger (2014), Pinocchio (2014), W (2016), While You Were Sleeping (2017), The Hymn of Death (2018) and Romance Is a Bonus Book (2019).
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 2010. 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 has staged several world tours.
Red Velvet is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group debuted on August 1, 2014, with the digital single "Happiness" and four group members: Irene, Seulgi, Wendy and Joy. In March 2015, Yeri joined the group.
Samsung is a South Korean multinational conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the Samsung brand, and is the largest South Korean chaebol.
