Korea From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For the peninsula where the territory is situated, see Korean

Peninsula. Page semi-protected Korea ?? (S. Korean) ?? (N. Korean) Largest city Seoul Language(s) Korean Sovereign states North Korea South Korea Leaders President of the ROK Park Geun-hye Supreme Leader of the DPRK Kim Jong-un Area Total 219,140 km2[1][2] 84,610 sq mi Water (%) 2.8 Population 2010 estimate 74,000,000[3] Density 328.49/km2 850.7/sq mi Currency Won (?) (N/S) Time zone KST (UTC+9) ISO 3166 code KR/KP This article contains Korean text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Hangul and hanja. Korea (Korean: ??; Hanja: ??), pronounced as Hanguk in South Korean and Choson i n North Korean, is an East Asian territory that is divided into two distinct sov ereign states, North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Kor ea is bordered by China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast. It is sepa rated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea) ; it is separated from Taiwan to the south by the East China Sea. The adoption of the Chinese writing system ("Hanja" in Korean) in the 2nd centur y BC and the introduction of Buddhism in the 4th century AD had profound effects on the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which was first united during the Silla (57 BC AD 935) under the King Munmu. The united Silla fell to Goryeo in 935 at the end of the Later Three Kingdoms. Goryeo was a highly cultured state and created the Jikji in the 14th century. The invasions by the Mongolians in the 13th century, however, greatly weakened the nation, which was forced to become a tributary sta te. After the Mongol Empire's collapse, severe political strife followed. The Mi ng-allied Joseon emerged supreme in 1388. The first 200 years of Joseon were marked by relative peace and saw the creation of the Korean Hangul alphabet by King Sejong the Great in the 14th century and the increasing influence of Confucianism. During the later part of the dynasty, however, Korea's isolationist policy earned it the Western nickname of the "Herm it kingdom". By the late 19th century, the country became the object of the colo nial designs by Japan. In 1910, Korea was annexed by Japan and remained a colony until the end of World War II in August 1945. In 1945, the Soviet Union and the United States agreed on the surrender of Japan ese forces in Korea in the aftermath of World War II, leaving Korea partitioned along the 38th parallel, with the north under Soviet occupation and the south un der U.S. occupation. These circumstances soon became the basis for the division of Korea by the two superpowers, exacerbated by their inability to agree on the

terms of Korean independence. The two Cold War rivals then established governmen ts centered around their own respective ideologies, leading to Korea's division into two political entities: North Korea and South Korea. Contents [hide] 1 Etymology 2 History 2.1 Prehistory and Gojoseon 2.2 Proto Three Kingdoms 2.3 Three Kingdoms 2.4 North and South States period 2.5 Goryeo 2.6 Joseon dynasty 2.7 Korean Empire 2.8 Japanese occupation 2.9 Korean War 2.10 Division of Korea 3 Geography 4 Wildlife 5 Demographics 5.1 Language 6 Culture and arts 6.1 Literature 6.2 Music 6.3 Religion 6.4 Cuisine 7 Education 8 Science and technology 9 Sport 9.1 Taekwondo 9.2 Hapkido 9.3 Ssireum 10 See also