60 Fun Facts About South Korea

What is the country's official name?

The North is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; the Korean name Daehan Minguk recalls the short-lived Korean Empire.

Roughly what share of South Korea's 52 million people live in the Seoul metropolitan area?

That makes greater Seoul one of the most populous metropolitan areas on Earth; Busan, Daegu and Incheon are the next biggest cities.

The name "Korea" derives from which historical kingdom?

The Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) unified the peninsula and laid the basis for modern Korean identity.

Which three kingdoms made up Korea's Three Kingdoms period?

Silla, the smallest, allied with Tang China and unified the peninsula in 676.

The dynasty that created Hangul and later closed the country off ruled from 1392 until which year?

In 1897 King Gojong renamed the state the Korean Empire, which Japan annexed in 1910.

Which king created the Korean alphabet, Hangul, to promote literacy among ordinary people?

The script was announced around 1443 and published in 1446 in a text called Hunminjeongeum.

Hangul Day, a public holiday in South Korea, is celebrated on which date?

It marks the 1446 publication of the Hunminjeongeum; North Korea marks its own version on 15 January.

Which admiral's "turtle ships" helped halt the Japanese invasions of Korea in the 1590s?

Civilian "righteous armies" and Ming Chinese troops also helped repel Toyotomi Hideyoshi's forces.

In which year was the southern zone of the peninsula established as an independent state?

Syngman Rhee won its first presidential election that May; the North declared its own state a month after the South.

The Korean War ended in 1953 with what?

Because no peace treaty was ever signed, the two Koreas are technically still at war.

How wide is the Korean Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South?

It runs 250 km across the peninsula and has become an accidental wildlife refuge.

The DMZ intersects which line of latitude?

The Joint Security Area at Panmunjom, near the western end, is where the two sides still meet.

General Park Chung Hee took power in a coup in which year?

His rule oversaw the export-led boom later called the Miracle on the Han River; he was assassinated in 1979.

South Korea's rapid post-war economic transformation is known by what nickname?

The economy was one of the fastest-growing in the world from the early 1960s to the late 1990s.

The 1987 pro-democracy protests that ended authoritarian rule are known as what?

They led to the current Sixth Republic and its directly elected president.

Which South Korean president won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize for his "Sunshine Policy" towards the North?

He had held a landmark summit with Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang that June.

In which year did Seoul host the Summer Olympics?

The host nation finished fourth in the medal table with 12 golds.

At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted with Japan, how far did South Korea get?

It was the first Asian team ever to reach the last four.

Which South Korean county hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics?

South Korea has won more Winter Olympic medals than any other Asian country.

Which Korean fighting art became an official Olympic sport in 2000?

Its modern rules were standardised in the 1950s and 1960s.

Which two video games are the most popular in South Korea's huge esports scene?

Competitive gaming is followed like a mainstream sport, especially among the young.

Which 2012 song by Psy first pushed K-pop into the global mainstream?

It topped charts worldwide after going viral in August 2012.

The 1992 debut of which group is regarded as the turning point that created modern K-pop?

The genre has since absorbed hip-hop, R&B, EDM and more on top of Korean roots.

In 2020 BTS became the first all-South Korean act to top the Billboard Hot 100 with which single?

The group debuted under Big Hit Entertainment in 2013.

What does the name BTS, Bangtan Sonyeondan, literally mean?

The seven-member group later also adopted the English backronym Beyond the Scene.

Bong Joon-ho's Parasite made history in 2020 as the first what?

It had already won the Palme d'Or, only the fourth film to take both prizes.

How many players compete in the deadly children's games of Squid Game?

The prize was 45.6 billion won; the show became Netflix's most-watched series at launch.

The global boom in music, dramas and film from the country is known by what name?

Unusually, these cultural exports are part of a formal state development strategy.

What is South Korea's fermented, usually spicy vegetable side dish served at almost every meal?

Meals come with numerous side dishes, or banchan, around a bowl of short-grain rice.

Korea is unique among East Asian countries in eating with chopsticks made of what?

Metal chopsticks have been dug up at Goguryeo archaeological sites.

The name of the grilled dish bulgogi literally means what?

It is thin marinated slices of meat, usually beef, cooked on a barbecue or griddle.

Soju, Korea's best-known spirit, was traditionally distilled from what?

Producers now often use cheaper starches such as cassava; makgeolli and bokbunja ju are other popular drinks.

Chuseok, the Korean harvest festival, falls on the 15th day of which lunar month?

Families return to their ancestral hometowns and eat songpyeon under the full moon.

How many black trigrams surround the taegeuk on the South Korean flag?

One sits in each corner; the flag was adopted in 1948.

Which flower, mentioned in the national anthem, is South Korea's national flower?

In Korean it is the mugunghwa; the anthem is called Aegukga.

What is South Korea's largest island, about 100 km off the southern coast?

Its own dialect is listed by UNESCO as critically endangered.

South Korea's highest point, the dormant volcano Hallasan, rises to roughly what height?

It sits at the centre of Jeju Island.

The Liancourt Rocks, disputed with Japan, are known in South Korea by what name?

Japan calls them Takeshima; the dispute regularly sours relations.

Samsung, the country's largest conglomerate, was founded in 1938 as what kind of business?

Lee Byung-chul's firm moved into food, textiles, insurance and retail before electronics.

What is the Korean term for the family-controlled conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG?

Zaibatsu and keiretsu are the Japanese equivalents.

How long is compulsory military service for South Korean men, typically?

About 28,500 US troops are also stationed in the country.

South Korea's fertility rate, the lowest in the world, hit what figure in 2023?

Replacement level is 2.1; the population is ageing faster than any other OECD country.

Which is South Korea's largest organised religion?

About 31% are Christians and 17% Buddhists, while roughly half are unaffiliated.

Which planned city, founded in 2007, is South Korea's de facto administrative capital?

It was carved out of Chungcheong Province to ease congestion in Seoul.

In June 2023 South Korea formally abolished which traditional practice?

Under the old system babies were born aged one and everyone got a year older each New Year.

Which South Korean diplomat was UN Secretary-General from 2007 to 2016?

He had been foreign minister from 2004 to 2006.

In 2022 Son Heung-min became the first Asian player to win which Premier League award?

He shared it with 23 goals for Tottenham; he is the top Asian scorer in Premier League history.

Yuna Kim, the first South Korean figure skater to win an Olympic medal, took gold at which Games?

She never finished off the podium in her competitive career and took silver in 2014.

Lotte World Tower in Seoul, the tallest building in South Korea, has how many storeys?

At 555 metres it was the sixth-tallest building in the world when completed.

In December 2024 President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly declared what, leading to his impeachment and removal?

The National Assembly voted 190-0 to nullify it within hours; he was removed from office in April 2025.

Gyeongbokgung, established in 1395, was the first royal palace of which dynasty?

It remains one of Seoul's most visited sights.

According to founding mythology, who founded Gojoseon, Korea's first kingdom, in 2333 BC?

Gojoseon later controlled the northern peninsula and parts of Manchuria.

Which two US officers proposed the 38th parallel as Korea's dividing line in 1945?

They chose it because it kept Seoul in the US zone, and were surprised when the Soviets agreed.

Who won the first presidential election of the newly declared Republic of Korea in 1948?

He had headed the Korean Provisional Government in exile and was backed by the United States.

Which 1960 student uprising forced the resignation of South Korea's autocratic first president?

Thirteen months of instability followed before the military coup of 1961.

In which year did Chun Doo-hwan's special forces crush the Gwangju Democratization Movement?

Estimates put civilian deaths between 500 and 2,000; Chun had seized power in a coup the previous December.

Who united the Later Three Kingdoms in 936, founding the dynasty that gave Korea its name?

He welcomed the last crown prince of fallen Balhae into his ruling family.

Which of Korea's Three Kingdoms has been called the 'Phoenicia of East Asia' for its maritime reach?

Its seafaring helped spread Buddhism and continental culture to Japan.

Former president Park Geun-hye was sentenced in April 2018 to how many years in jail?

She was convicted of abuse of power and corruption after her 2017 impeachment and removal.

Who won the 2025 election to succeed the removed Yoon Suk Yeol, taking office in June?

Yoon had lost to Lee by a record-narrow margin in 2022 before his martial law decree ended his presidency.