History UsefulNotes / SouthKorea

The most recent Korean media export, in a phenomenon known as the "''Korean Wave''" or "''Hallyu Wave''" (韓流 or 한류 in Korean), is their [[KoreanDrama dramas]], short {{Soap Opera}}s that are either about contrived, tragic love, or pure romantic comedy. Sometimes combining both. The most famous from this wave was the metaseries ''Endless Love'', which consisted of four dramas ambiented each one in a season of the year, namely ''Autumn in my Heart'', ''Series/WinterSonata'', ''Summer Scent'' and ''Spring Waltz''. Most tragic dramas will inevitably (or, at least, used to) invoke one or more of the following: EasyAmnesia, IllGirl (usually cancer), BrotherSisterIncest, a car accident of some sorts, and blindness.

** Prime Minister: Chung Sye-kyun

** President: Moon Jae-in

* Main/KoreanMovies (Live action)

** KoreanDramas (tropes common to South Korean series)

* UsefulNotes/ThirtyDivisionsOfThePennisula

* UsefulNotes/ThirtyOneDivisionsOfThePennisula

[[folder:Administrative Divisions of South Korea]]
!! Provinces (도, ''Do'')
* Gyeonggi (경기)
-->Capital: Suwon (수원)
-->Population: 13,104,696 (1st)
* Gangwon (강원)
-->Capital: Chuncheon (춘천)
-->Population: 1,540,445 (12th)
* North Chungcheong (충청북, ''Chungcheongbuk'')
-->Capital: Cheongju (청주)
-->Population: 1,598,868 (11th)
* South Chungcheong (충청남, ''Chungcheongnam'')
-->Capital: Hongseong (홍성)
-->Population: 2,125,372 (8th)
* North Jeolla (전라북, ''Jeollabuk'')
-->Capital: Jeonju (전주)
-->Population: 1,832,227 (10th)
* South Jeolla (전라남, ''Jeollanam'')
-->Capital: Muan (무안)
-->Population: 1,875,862 (9th)
* North Gyeongsang (경상북, ''Gyeongsangbuk'')
-->Capital: Andong (안동)
-->Population: 2,671,587 (6th)
* South Gyeongsang (경상남, ''Gyeongsangnam'')
-->Capital: Changwon (창원)
-->Population: 3,371,016 (4th)
!! Special self-governing province (특별자치도, ''Teukbyeoljachido'')
* Jeju (제주)
-->Capital: Jeju
-->Population: 667,522 (16th)
!! Special city (특별시, ''Teukbyeolsi'')
* UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}} (서울)
-->Population: 9,770,638 (2nd)
!! Metropolitan cities (광역시, ''Gwangyeoksi'')
* UsefulNotes/{{Busan}} (부산)
-->Population: 3,436,230 (3rd)
* Daegu (대구)
-->Population: 2,458,138 (7th)
* Incheon (인천)
-->Population: 2,956,063 (5th)
* Gwangju (광주)
-->Population: 1,459,208 (14th)
* Daejeon (대전)
-->Population: 1,487,605 (13th)
* Ulsan (울산)
-->Population: 1,153,735 (15th)
!! Metropolitan autonomous city (특별자치시, ''Teukbyeoljachisi'')
* Sejong (세종)
-->Population: 320,326 (17th)
[[/folder]]

!!Other notes about South Korea:
%%The "Main/"s are needed to make the index work. Do not remove them.
[[index]]

South Korea produces quite a few movies and shows of its own, not counting the considerable amount of American and [[{{Anime}} Japanese]] stuff animated there to save costs. [[KoreanMovies Korean cinema]] has become very popular all across eastern Asia for much of the past ten years and has enjoyed a small following in the west. The most notable recent film from the country to make it to the west is ''Film/Parasite2019''. Other prior exports include ''Film/{{Oldboy 2003}}'' and ''Film/TheHost''.

* '''Highest point:''' Halla-san (1950 m/6,398 ft) (139th)

* '''Highest point:''' Halla-san (1950 m/6,398 ft) (124th)

* '''Highest point:''' Halla-san (1950 m/6,398 ft) (142nd)

* '''Lowest points:''' East Sea[[note]]As the South Koreans called the sea[[/note]]/Sea of Japan (12,276 ft/3,742 m) (-) and Yellow Sea (152 m/499 ft) (-)

* '''Country calling code:''' 82

* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' KR

It's a truism that dog meat was a popular delicacy in South Korea. A quick way to get an "Oooohhh!" from the audience in a PanelShow is to joke about it. [[YourNormalIsOurTaboo Animal welfare groups scream "animal cruelty"; Koreans scream "cultural imperialism" back.]] Any argument goes nowhere fast (and hey, UsefulNotes/{{Hindu|ism}}s feel the same way about other people eating beef, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_vigilante_violence_in_India_since_2014 sometimes with messy results in recent years]]). The Western aversion to eating dogs is so ingrained that it's ripe for StealthParody, as [[http://www.joeyskaggs.com/html/dog.html Joey Skaggs]] proved in a famous prank. On the other hand, there is evidence that younger Koreans are turning against it. Nowadays dog meat is mostly eaten by the older population, as the opinion that it is animal cruelty is getting more and more popular. Note that non-dog eating Koreans will be offended if another person implies that all or most Koreans like dog meat.

* '''Area:''' 100,363 sq km (38,750 sq mi) (107th)

* ''VideoGame/Battlefield2042'': One of the map in the base game, Kaleidoscope are set in South Korean smart city of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songdo_International_Business_District Songdo]] not too far from Incheon.

* One of the revealed maps in the announced ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' ''2042'' are set in South Korean smart city of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songdo_International_Business_District Songdo]] not too far from Incheon.

* One of the revealed maps in the announced ''VideoGame/Battlefield'' ''2042'' are set in South Korean smart city of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songdo_International_Business_District Songdo]] not too far from Incheon.

* '''Area:''' 100,363 km (38,750 sq mi) (107th)

** President of the Constitutional Court: Yoo Nam-seok

---

->''As the pines atop Namsan Peak stand firm\\
Unchanged through frost and wind,\\
As if wrapped in armour,\\
So shall our resilient spirit.''

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/south_korea_flag_2924.png

----

!!''Administrative Divisions of South Korea''
* Provinces
** Gyeonggi
** Gangwon
** North Chungcheong
** South Chungcheong
** North Jeolla
** South Jeolla
** North Gyeongsang
** South Gyeongsang
* Special self-governing province
** Jeju
* Cities
** Special city
*** UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}
** Metropolitan city
*** UsefulNotes/{{Busan}}
*** Daegu
*** Incheon
*** Gwangju
*** Daejeon
*** Ulsan
** Metropolitan autonomous city
*** Sejong

South Korea spent a while after that war under various authoritarian governments, most notably the 17-year presidency of Park Chung-hee, which was simultaneously responsible for not only major socioeconomic reform that practically rebuilt the impoverished country from the ground-up, but also some of the most brutal suppression of civil liberties that the country ever saw, which escalated in severity as Park's tenure went on thanks to his growing belief that he was the sole linchpin of Korean stability. To this day, Park remains the longest-serving president in South Korea's history, and under extremely dubious circumstances, to the point where he's characterized in retrospect as more of a dictator than an actual president. After Park's assassination in 1979, the authoritarianism continued under a different form at the hands of president Chun Doo-hwan, who was already the ''de-facto'' head of state for nine months before his ascension to the presidency in September of 1980, but people kept protesting, demanding democracy and freedom (some of which, like the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_massacre 1980 Gwangju Massacre]], caused the loss of many innocent civilian lives). Finally, thanks to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Democracy_Movement the 1987 June Democracy Movement]] (which was aided in part by the global exposure brought about by the lead up to the 1988 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, which were to be held at the capital, UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}), Chun's hand-picked successor, Roh Tae-woo, implemented significant reforms to democratize Korea upon his inauguration in 1988 (with the preceding elections marking the country's first peaceful transition of power ''ever''). In hindsight, the democratization of Korea also acted as a prelude to the downfall of the similarly authoritarian Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc between 1989 and 1991, as the games acted as an icon of the greatness of democracy and freedom from dictatorship.