South Korea
Seoul · East Asia
South Korea is a country in Asia. Its capital city is Seoul, the official currency is the South Korean Won, and the main language is Korean.
With a population of roughly 51.7 million people spread over 100,210 km², South Korea is the 29th most populous country in the world and the 107th largest by area. That works out at about 516 people per square kilometre.
South Korea shares land borders with North Korea — its only land neighbour. Its largest urban centres are Seoul, Busan and Incheon. The highest point in the country is Hallasan, at 1,947 metres.
For scale, it covers almost exactly the same area as Iceland, while its population is closest to that of Colombia.
- Capital
- Seoul
- Region
- East Asia
- Population
- 51,700,000
- Area
- 100,210 km²
- Currency
- South Korean Won
- Main language
- Korean
- Highest point
- Hallasan
1,947 m - Land borders
- 1
South Korea: things worth knowing
- Around half of South Korea's population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area.
- It went from one of the world's poorest countries in the 1950s to a leading industrial economy within four decades.
- Hangul, its alphabet, was purpose-designed in the 15th century rather than evolving gradually.
South Korea in context
Asia has 48 sovereign countries in total. South Korea ranks 13th among them by population.
See the full list of Asia countries, or browse all 195 countries.