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South Korea, officially theRepublic of Korea (ROK), is a country inEast Asia. It constitutes the southern half of theKorean Peninsula and bordersNorth Korea along theKorean Demilitarized Zone, with theYellow Sea to the west and theSea of Japan to the east. Like North Korea, South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula andadjacent islands. It hasa population of about 52 million, of which half live in theSeoul metropolitan area, theninth most populous metropolitan area in the world; other major cities includeBusan,Daegu, andIncheon.
The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as theLower Paleolithic period.Its first kingdom was noted in Chinese records in the early seventh century BC. From the mid first century BC, variouspolities consolidated into the rivalkingdoms ofGoguryeo,Baekje, andSilla. The lattermost eventuallyunified most of the peninsula for the first time in the late seventh century AD, whileBalhae succeeded Goguryeo in the north. TheGoryeo dynasty (918–1392) achieved lasting unification and established the basis for the modernKorean identity. The subsequentJoseon dynasty (1392–1897) generated cultural, economic, and scientific achievements and also establishedisolationism starting from the mid-17th century. The succeedingKorean Empire (1897–1910) soughtmodernization and reform but wasannexed in 1910 into theEmpire of Japan.Japanese rule ended followingJapan's surrender inWorld War II, after which Korea wasdivided into two zones: theSoviet-occupied northern zone and theUnited States-occupied southern zone. After negotiations onreunification failed, the southern zone became the Republic of Korea in August 1948, while the northern zone became thecommunistDemocratic People's Republic of Korea the following month.
In 1950,a North Korean invasion triggered theKorean War, one of the first majorproxy conflicts of theCold War, which saw extensive fighting involving theAmerican-ledUnited Nations Command and theSoviet-backedPeople's Volunteer Army from China. The war ended in 1953 with anarmistice andleft three million Koreans dead and the economy in ruins; due to the lack of apeace treaty, theKorean conflict is still ongoing. South Korea endured a series of dictatorships punctuated by coups, revolutions, and violent uprisings, but also experienced asoaring economy andone of the fastest rises in average GDP per capita, leading to its emergence as one of theFour Asian Tigers. TheJune Democratic Struggle of 1987ended authoritarian rule and led to the establishment of the currentSixth Republic. (Full article...)
Samsung Group (Korean:삼성;pronounced[sʰamsɔŋ]; stylised asSΛMSUNG) is a South Korean multinational manufacturingconglomerate headquartered in theSamsung Town office complex inSeoul. The group consists of numerous affiliated businesses, most of which operate under the Samsung brand, and is the largestchaebol (business conglomerate) in South Korea. As of 2024,[update] Samsung has the world'sfifth-highest brand value.
Founded in 1938 byLee Byung-chul as atrading company, Samsung diversified into various sectors, including food processing, textiles, insurance, securities, and retail, over the next three decades. In the late 1960s, Samsung entered the electronics industry, followed by the construction and shipbuilding sectors in the mid-1970s—areas that would fuel its future growth. After Lee died in 1987, Samsung was divided into five business groups: Samsung Group,Shinsegae Group,CJ Group,Hansol Group, andJoongAng Group.
Key affiliates of Samsung includeSamsung Electronics, the world'slargest information technology company, consumer electronics maker and chipmaker by 2017 revenues;[update]Samsung Heavy Industries, the world's second-largest shipbuilder by 2010 revenues;[update] andSamsung Engineering andSamsung C&T Corporation, ranked 13th and 36th among global construction companies, respectively. Other significant subsidiaries areSamsung Life Insurance, the 14th-largest life insurance company globally, Samsung Everland, operator ofEverland Resort (South Korea's oldesttheme park), andCheil Worldwide, the world's 15th-largest advertising agency by 2012 revenues.[update] (Full article...)
| Credit: original taken from NASA's Visible Earth |
South Korea is located inEast Asia, on the southern half of theKorean Peninsula jutting out from the far east of the Asian land mass. The only country with a land border to South Korea isNorth Korea, lying to the north with 238 kilometres (148 mi) of border running along theKorean Demilitarized Zone. South Korea is mostly surrounded by water and has 2,413 kilometres (1,499 mi) of coast line along three seas; to the west is theYellow Sea, to the south is theEast China Sea, and to the east is the East Sea. Geographically, South Korea's land mass is approximately 100,032 square kilometres (38,623 sq mi). 290 square kilometres (110 sq mi) of South Korea are occupied by water. The approximate coordinates are 37° North, 127° 30 East. Notable islands includeJeju Island (Jejudo),Ulleung Island (Ulleungdo), andLiancourt Rocks (Dokdo).
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Juldarigi (Korean: 줄다리기, alsochuldarigi) is a traditionalKorean sport similar totug of war. It has a ritual and divinatory significance to many agricultural communities in the country, and is performed at festivals and community gatherings. The sport uses two huge rice-straw ropes, connected by a central peg, which are pulled by teams representing the East and West sides of the village (the competition is often rigged in favour of the Western team). A number of religious and traditional rituals are performed before and after the actual competition.
Several areas of Korea have their own distinct variations ofjuldarigi, and similar tug-of-war games with connections to agriculture are found in rural communities acrossSoutheast Asia.
It is inscribed inUNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List from 2015 as "Tugging rituals and games" along with other similar forms in Cambodia, the Philippines and Viet Nam. It is also enlisted asSouth Korean Intangible Cultural Property from 1969. (Full article...)
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SeeWikiProject Korea for collaborating on South Korea topics, and more broadly, on all things Korea-related.
The followingWikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
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