Something Something South Korea Part One

South Korea- A Very Kool Kountry

Look at this flag: On it, are the four elements- Earth, Fire, Water, and Air. The middle symbol represents unity of the people who live in South Korea.

So, this flag right here was adopted on October 15th, 1949.

Holy Busan

Population of Busan: 3.4 million people.

Mighty Incheon

Population of Incheon: 2.9 million people.

Ulsan

Population of Ulsan: 1.2 million people.

Daejeon

Population of Daejeon: 1.5 million people.

South Korean Government

South Korea is a constitutional democracy with a three-branched government system.

The executive branch is headed by the president, directly elected for a single five-year term. Park Geun Hye was elected in 2012, with his successor to be elected in 2017.

The president appoints a Prime Minister, subject to approval from the National Assembly.

The National Assembly is a unicameral legislative body with 299 representatives. Members serve for four years.

South Korea has a complicated judicial system. The highest court is the Constitutional Court, which decides matters of constitutional law and impeachment of government officials. The Supreme Court decides other top appeals. Lower courts include appellate courts, district, branch, and municipal courts.

Oh great, the South Korean Population (Overall)

South Korea's population is approximately 50,924,000 (2016 estimate). The population is remarkably homogeneous, in terms of ethnicity - 99% of the people are ethnically Korean. However, the number of foreign laborers and other migrants is gradually increasing.

Much to the government's concern, South Korea has one of the world's lowest birthrates at 8.4 per 1,000 population. Families traditionally preferred to have boys. Sex-preference abortion resulted in a large sex imbalance of 116.5 boys born for every 100 girls in 1990. However, that trend has reversed and while the male to female birth rate is still slightly imbalanced, the society now values girls, with a popular slogan of, "One daughter raised well is worth 10 sons!"

South Korea's population is overwhelmingly urban, with 83% living in cities.

Next, the South Korean language

The Korean language is the official language of South Korea, spoken by 99% of the population. Korean is a curious language with no obvious linguistic cousins; different linguists argue that it is related to Japanese or to the Altaic languages such as Turkish and Mongolian.

Until the 15th century, Korean was written in Chinese characters, and many educated Koreans can still read Chinese well. In 1443, King Sejong the Great of the Joseon Dynasty commissioned a phonetic alphabet with 24 letters for Korean, called Hangul. Sejong wanted a simplified writing system so that his subjects could more easily become literate.​

And finally, the economy of South Korea

South Korea is one of Asia's Tiger Economies, ranked fourteenth in the world according to GDP. This impressive economy is based largely on exports, particularly on consumer electronics and vehicles. Important South Korean manufacturers include Samsung, Hyundai, and LG.

Per capita income in South Korea is $36,500 US, and the unemployment rate as of 2015 was an enviable 3.5 percent. However, 14.6 percent of the population lives below the poverty line.

The South Korea currency is the won. As of 2015, $1 US = 1,129 Korean won.

Part one is done.

Hope you liked this.