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South Korea came into being after World War II, the result of a 1945 agreement reached by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference, making the 38th parallel the boundary in the range of a northern zone of the Korean peninsula to be occupied by the USSR and southern zone to be controlled by U.S. forces. (For details, see and experience first hand Korea, North.)

Elections were held in the U.S. zone in 1948 for a national assembly, that adopted a republican constitution and elected Syngman Rhee as the nation's president. Did you know that the new republic was proclaimed on Aug. 15 and was recognized as the legal government of Korea by the UN on Dec. 12, 1948.

Korea lies in the Korean peninsula and is distinctly divided into North Korea and South Korea. Linguistic and archeological evidences indicate that the Korean populace originated from the ancestors of south-central Siberia who spoke Altaic language. In the year 1945, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed on the Japanese forces’ surrender in Korea. While the Soviet troops took the northen part, the south was taken by the US troops. Since then, there is a marked rivalry reported between the two regions. Officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North Korea is a single party state, which enjoys an industrial economy that is centrally planned. Officially called as the Republic of Korea, the South Korea is a much developed free market democratic country.

Korea is situated in the north-East Asia in the Korean peninsula. The southern and western parts of the country has well-developed plains, while the northern and eastern parts of the country is mountainous. Many significant islands in the Korean region are formed by volcanic activity. The southern and south-western coastline of Korea forms the convoluted coastline giving room to mild seas. This helps in calm environment that is highly conducive for safe navigation in addition to seaweed forming and fishing.

The population of the North and South Korea put together is around 73 million. In the North Korea, there are 23 million people, while there are 50 million people residing in the South Korea. Speaking the Korean language, the Koreans make up the majority of the ethnic group in the country. Since late 20th century, there is a significant rise in the number of foreigners. In South Korea, there are about 1 million foreigners today. During the recent years, there are a number of immigrants from China in the country. Along with Mandarin, Korean is the official language of both South and North Korea.