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Korea
Slightly
larger than Indiana, South Korea lies below the
38th parallel on the Korean peninsula, bordering the East Sea and
theYellow
Sea. It is mountainous in the east; in the west and the south there are
many harbors on the mainland and offshore islands. South
Korea is one of the most dynamic economies in
Asia. After being hard hit in the Asian Financial crises,
business is once again growing. South Korea occupies the southern
portion of the Korean
peninsula. The country is predominantly hilly and mountainous
with forests and
woodlands
occupying nearly two thirds of land use. Seoul is the
capital
city. Other major cities include Pusan, Kwangiu and Taegu.
Climate
Korea has four
distinct seasons. There are monsoon, hot and wet in the summer.
The weather is very cold there in the weinter, especailly from
Novermber to March.
The best itme
to visit Korea
is in the fall, which is September to November. It is beautiful
in the summer in Korea with sunshine days.
Current weather:
Korea (CNN) | Seoul | Kyongju
| Pusan
| Taegu
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Other Sources for Useful Information about Hong Kong:
Business
Guideline
Insight Korea
First Contacts
Research on Korea
Plan Your
trip to Korea
CIA
Factbook (Korea)
World
Bank Country Reports (pdf)
World
Bank Korea at a Glance
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General
Information
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Full country
name: Republic
of Korea
Area: 99,373 sq km
Population: 48 million
Capital City: Seoul
Government: republic
Head of State: President Roh Moo-hyun
Head of Government: Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan
GDP: US$475 billion
GDP per capita: US$19,600
Annual Growth: 2%
Inflation: 4%
Language: Korean
Religion: 25% Christianity, 25% Buddhism,
Confucianism, Shamanism, 50%
Time of
Day: Click here
Telephone:
Country Code: 82
Seoul city
code: 2
Current
exchange:
Current
exchange rate: Click here
Information on
Airports in Korea, click here
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Natural
Resources
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Natural resources in Korea include
coal, tungsten, graphite,
molybdenum, lead and hydropower potential.
Major industries include electronics,
automobile production,
chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear and food
processing. The main agricultural products are rice, root
crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs
and fish.
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Major
Exports and Imports
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Major
Industries: Shipbuilding, cars, machinery,
electronics, chemicals, textiles
Major Trading Partners: USA, Japan, China
Major
exports:
electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel,
ships; textiles, clothing,footwear and fish.
Major imports:
machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport
equipment,
textiles, organic chemicals and grains.
The
US, Japan and China are Korea's major import and export
partners.
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Major Holidays
January 1 &
2: New Years Holiday
February 5:
Lunar New Year
March 1:
Independence Movement Day
April 5:
Arbor Day
May 5:
Children's Day
May 14:
Buddha's Birthday
June 6:
Memorial Day (Hyun Choong II)
July 17:
Constitution Day (Je Hun Jul)
August 15:
Independence Day (Kwang Bok Jul)
September 24 &
25: Korean Thanksgiving (Chusok) Day
October 3:
National Foundation Day (Kae Chun Jul)
December 25:
Christmas Day
Note:
All
holidays are annually fixed calendar days with the exception of Lunar
New Year
and Korean Thanksgiving (Chusok) Day which change in timing and
duration
depending on the Chinese lunar calendar.
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