South Korea is an East Asian state found on the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. With about a 5000-year-old history it belongs to other Asian countries with rich cultural background. At the same time, South Korea is one of the most technically and digitally advanced leaders in the world and is member of the Four Asian Tigers.

Most of the people live in the cities, mainly in Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu and Daejeon. Although South Korea is mainly an industrial country and thank to the post-war economic boom many South Koreans left from the countryside to towns and cities, there is still some 20 percent of the population working in agriculture.

Roughly the same amount of land is arable as there are a lot of mountain ranges in South Korea. Unfortunately, the enormous growth of urban areas happens at the expense of the nature. Besides that, all the country is densely covered with networks of highways, railways and bus routes. Tourists are often attracted by the unusual combination of up-to-date conveniences and comforts and traditional culture.

Landscape

Southern half of the Korean Peninsula is warmer than the north and has moderate climate with hot summers and sometimes bitterly cold winters. Typhoons may appear on the southern coast during summers. South Korea does not consist only of the mainland but also of about three thousand islands, mostly small and uninhabited. The highest mountain called Hallasan (1,950 m) is found on Jeju Island of volcanic origin. The three major mountain ranges in South Korea are Taebaek Mountains that are about 500 km long, Sobaek Ranges and Jiri Massif. South Korea´s biggest river is called Nakdong and played an important role in the past since a lot of Neolithic remains have been found along its sides.

History

An old Korean mythology says that many years ago a god named Hwanung turned a bear into a woman and married her. Their son Tangun is believed to have established the first capital of Korean nation – Joseon. In the 5th century buddhism started to expand from the west and later extended to Japan, too. The arrival of buddhism was connected with building temples, creating stone Buddhas and other sculptural masterpieces.

In the 16th century Korea was attacked by Japan, which meant destruction of many buildings and killing many people. After Japan became the military power in eastern Asia, it annexed Korea as a Japanese colony in 1910 and its supremacy lasted for 35 years until the end of World War II.

Ten years later Korea was divided into two parts that are known today as North and South Korea. The split was the result of the political influence of two countries, the Soviet Union and the United States, that took control over the northern and southern halves of the country respectively. Sadly famous Korean War broke up in 1950 when North Korea invaded South and reached nothing but millions of dead people. In 1988 Seoul hosted Summer Olympic Games.

People and culture

It could be stated that buddhism is the core of South Korean culture. Buddhist architecture is easily recognizable in numerous objects of worship; of course, architecture is not the only sphere where buddhism is apparent because it pervades all the society and things connected with living. Korean life is also substantially influenced by astrology that differs from the Western one since it is represented by 12 animals symbolising people´s personalities.

As both buddhism and astrology are closely related to nature, various patterns and symbols used on clothing, buildings and other objects of everyday life are no exception. They usually express longing for paradise, happines, love and good luck. Koreans also have their national food and drink: kimchi is a spicy meal made of seasoned vegetables eaten with rice and soju, rice liquor similar to vodka.

Why is South Korea worth visiting?

Both big cities and dozens of national parks provide breathtaking sceneries and experiences. Modern urban life combines with spiritualism and nature, which makes South Korea very attractive to the tourists. Unique flavours of Korean cuisine, day and night shopping, politness of Korean people, traditional medicine and saunas, ginsengs and many more interesting things and places are waiting there for you.