South Korea
Asia ยท Capital: Seoul
How it is run: South Korea is a member of the United Nations, so it gets one vote in the General Assembly. Use the research links below to find out exactly who makes the laws there.
South Korea is home to 51.7 million people in Eastern Asia, where people speak Korean.
Numbers that tell a story ๐ข
๐ฅ People
51.7 million people
That is 0.6% of everybody alive (counted in 2025).
๐บ๏ธ Land
100,210 kmยฒ
Roughly the size of Italy or the state of Arizona.
๐๏ธ How crowded
About 516 people share every square kilometre โ very crowded, so cities grow upward with apartments.
๐ Size in its region
13th most people in Asia
30th largest by land in Asia.
๐ฃ๏ธ Official languages
Korean
๐ฐ Money
South Korean won (โฉ)
Life here today ๐ฉบ
These come from World Bank open data โ the same numbers governments use when they argue about budgets.
โค๏ธ How long people live
83.6 years on average
One of the healthier countries โ good hospitals and clean water make a big difference.
๐ผ Money made per person each year
about US$36,227
An upper-middle-income country: growing cities, and more families joining the middle class.
๐ข Living in cities
81.2% of people
Mostly a city country โ think buses, trains and apartment blocks.
๐ Kids under 15
10.2% of the population
An older country โ there are more grandparents than schoolchildren.
Everyday details ๐งญ
๐ Phone code
+82
Dial this before the number to call from another country.
๐ Websites end in
.kr
๐ง People here are called
South Korean
๐ท๏ธ Name at home
ํ๊ตญ
Also written: Korea, Republic of, Republic of Korea.
๐ Coast or inland
Has a coastline
๐๏ธ UN voting group
Asia and the Pacific Group
Countries in the same group often plan votes together.
Neighbours & borders ๐ค
South Korea touches 1 neighbour by land. Neighbours share rivers, roads and usually a lot of trade.
Say its name around the world ๐ฃ๏ธ
Countries have different names in different languages. Try these with a penpal.
Spanish
Corea del Sur
French
Corรฉe du Sud
Arabic
ููุฑูุง ุงูุฌููุจูุฉ
Chinese
้ฉๅฝ
Japanese
้ๅฝ
Russian
ะฎะถะฝะฐั ะะพัะตั
Portuguese
Coreia do Sul
German
Sรผdkorea
Put it in perspective ๐
- India โ the most populated country in Asia โ has about 28.3ร as many people as South Korea.
- South Korea covers roughly 954 times the area of Hong Kong Island.
- If everyone in South Korea lined up shoulder to shoulder, the line would stretch about 25,842 km.
Flags through time ๐
A flag is a country telling you what it believes. Scroll the timeline and watch South Korea change.
Joseon dynasty
The taegeuk circle for balance appeared under the old kingdom.
Government in exile
Flown by Koreans campaigning for freedom during Japanese rule.
Taegeukgi
Four black trigrams stand for sky, earth, fire and water.
Fast facts ๐ง
Fact of the day: Because of where South Korea sits, the school day there starts many hours before or after yours does.
๐ท๏ธ Official name
Republic of Korea
๐๏ธ Capital
Seoul
๐ Region
Asia ยท Eastern Asia
๐ค Country code
KR
๐๏ธ UN status
UN member state
๐ฉ Independence
Independent country
More about South Korea ๐
Gyeongbokgung Palace
The main royal palace from 1395. Guards in bright robes still perform the changing-of-the-guard ceremony at the gate.
See it in Street View๐งญ Where on the map
37.0ยฐ N, 127.5ยฐ E
๐ Half of the world
Northern & Eastern hemisphere
๐ฐ๏ธ Clock check
Roughly UTC+9 โ when it is noon in London it is about 21:00 in Seoul.
- ๐ฐ๐ท is the flag of South Korea. Its country code โ the short name used on the internet and at the Olympics โ is KR.
- South Korea is a full member of the United Nations, so it gets one vote in the General Assembly โ the same as every other member, big or small.
- Because of where South Korea sits, the school day there starts many hours before or after yours does.
- South Korea sits in the temperate zone, the belt where most of the world's farms and big cities are.
- South Korea sits in Eastern Asia, in the northern and eastern half of the globe.
Countries nearby ๐ค
Talk about it ๐ฌ
- South Korea has 1 official language. How would your school day change if lessons were taught in more than one language?
- South Korea can trade by sea. What should a country protect first: its ports, its fishing waters, or its beaches?
- If South Korea spoke at the General Assembly tomorrow, what one problem should its delegate ask the world to help fix?
Quick quiz ๐งช
Guess first, then tap to check your answer.
What is the capital of South Korea?
Seoul
Which money do people spend in South Korea?
South Korean won (โฉ)
How many countries share a land border with South Korea?
1 โ North Korea.
Roughly how many people live in South Korea?
51.7 million people
Keep researching ๐
Everything here is a starting point. These trusted sites, databases and libraries will take you further โ and they are the kind of sources a teacher will accept in a report.
Start here โ kid-friendly encyclopedias ๐
Short articles written for students, with maps and photos you can use in a report.
Official data & government sources ๐๏ธ
Primary sources. Cite these when your teacher asks for real data.
News & current policy ๐ฐ
Use two different outlets before you decide what you think.
Your library card ๐ซ
Libraries give you books, databases and librarians โ all free.
Library tip: Ask your school or public librarian for their online databases (like Gale in Context or EBSCO Explora). Your library card unlocks them for free at home, and they are already checked by adults for school use.