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South Korea - GENERAL INFORMATION
 
Population - Local time - Languages - Religion - Political system - Climate - Tourism - Food



Population



Main Cities Population
Seoul   11,800,000  
Pusan   4,100,000  
Taegu   2,500,000  
Inchon   2,400,000  
Kwangju   1,500,000  
Taejon   1,300,000  



Total population (millions): 48.1
Source: World Bank 2004

Urban population: 81%
Source: World Bank 2004

Average annual population growth: 0.5%
Source: World Bank 2004

Surface area (km²) : 99,260


Population origin

Origin of the population% Of the population
Koreans 99.7 %
Other 0.3 %




Local time


It is %T:%M %A in Seoul


GMT+9


Languages


Official language: Korean
Business foreign language: English
It is strongly recommended to be accompanied by an interpreter on the first business trip

Free translation tools in South Korea :
Systran
Free English-Korean-English translator of texts and web pages

Babel Fish
Free English-Korean-English translator of texts and web pages



Religion


Religious practises : Christians 48.5%
Buddhists 47%
Confucianists 3.2%
Others 1.3%.


Political system


South Korea is a presidential democratic republic. The President of the Republic is elected for a single five-year term. The Republic is made up of only one Chamber, the National Assembly which counts 299 seats of which 243 are directly elected. Deputies are elected for four years. Moreover, the Republic of South Korea is divided into nine provinces, six cities with over 1 million people and the capital, Seoul.
Capital City: Seoul
Head of State: President Roh Moo-hyun, since February 25, 2003
Prime Minister: Goh Kun, appointed in 2003.


Climate

 


Tourism

Number of visitors in South Korea 2002 2003 2004 World rank
Number of visitors (1000) 5347   4753   5818   n.a.
Source : World Tourisme Organization, data available in November 2005

 

Tourist sites


- In Seoul: Toksugung Palace, Kyongbokkung Palace
- In Kiongju: Tumuli Park (royal grave)
- In Pusan: Tongdosa (temple)

For more information about tourism in South Korea , check out the following web site(s) :
Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO)


Food


Traditional dishes


The Korean food belongs, without any doubt to the big Asian family, drawing from the same culinary roots: based on rice, soya sauce (kanjang), fermented soya dough, fish brine, etc. with chilli, ginger, sesame and chives flavours.
Tomi Gun: Fish fried with sesame seeds. According to the Korean presentation, every plate is first garnished with lettuce leaves where slices of onion and slices of cucumbers are put, with salt and pepper sprinkled on top. The fried fish is placed on top served with sesame seeds. It will then be served with a mug of rice and a sauce.
Bokum Bahb: Shrimp rice fried (or crab) and small strips of pork
Bulgogi: Korean beef in the barbecue. It is a classic of the Korean food that is served with a mug of white rice, some sesame seeds sauce and a salad of soya shoots.
Grapefruit with ginger: An excellent way to prepare this traditional citrus fruit. In Korea, it is served as dessert and not during lunch.
Kong namulh: Soya roots salad.

Food-related taboos


Culinary taboos vary with the religion.

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Last modified in October 2005
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