South Korea

C

Climate

South Korea has a temperate climate, with four distinct seasons. Winters are cold and windy, and snow falls in all but the southernmost regions. Summers are hot, humid, and rainy. The weather in South Korea is affected by the Asian continent and the surrounding seas. The Asian monsoon (large-scale wind systems that reverse direction seasonally) brings frigid air from the Arctic in winter and warm, moisture-laden air from the South China Sea in summer.

In Seoul the average January temperature range is -7° to 1°C (19° to 33°F), and the average July temperature range is 22° to 29°C (71° to 83°F). Winter temperatures are higher along the southern coast and considerably lower in the mountainous interior.

The average annual precipitation in Seoul is 1,370 mm (54 in), and in Busan it is 1,470 mm (58 in). Rainfall is concentrated in the summer months (June to September). The southern coast is subject to late summer typhoons that bring strong winds and heavy rains.

D

Plants and Animals

Mixed deciduous and coniferous forests cover about three-quarters of the land. Most of the country’s old-growth forests were cleared over many centuries for use as firewood and building materials, but they have rebounded since the 1970s as the result of intensive reforestation efforts. The country’s few remaining old-growth forests are protected in nature reserves.

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Protected areas make up about 4 percent of South Korea and include more than a dozen national parks. One of the world’s most interesting wildlife sanctuaries has developed in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a border zone that has separated South Korea and North Korea since 1953. The uninhabited zone, about 4 km (about 2.5 mi) wide for most of its length, has become a haven for many kinds of wildlife, particularly migrating birds.

Principal species of trees in South Korea include pine, fir, acacia, maple, elm, poplar, and aspen. Bamboo, laurel, and evergreen oak are found in the mild southern coastal areas. Fruit trees include apple, pear, and persimmon. Woody, evergreen shrubs such as azaleas and rhododendrons are found throughout the peninsula. Another shrub, rose of Sharon, is a hardy species of hibiscus that blooms continually from July through October. It is the national flower of South Korea, where it is known as mugunghwa (Korean for “eternal flower”).

Large mammals such as tigers, bears, and lynx were once abundant throughout the Korea Peninsula but have virtually disappeared due to human settlement, loss of forest habitat, and overhunting. The Siberian tiger has not been sighted in the wild in South Korea since the 1920s; the Asiatic black bear can still be found in some remote mountain areas. Several species of deer are indigenous to the peninsula, including the roe deer, water deer, and Siberian musk deer. The musk deer, which has been overhunted for its musk glands, is legally protected as a threatened species. Smaller mammals indigenous to the peninsula include the wild boar, red fox, badger, rabbit, squirrel, and chipmunk.

Many species of birds inhabit South Korea. The crested lark and several types of woodpecker are found only on the Korea Peninsula. The black-billed magpie is the national bird and commonly sighted. Other common birds include the jay, sparrow, robin, cuckoo, dove, pheasant, snowy egret, sea hawk, and seagull. The country is located on the migratory routes of birds such as geese, ducks, and swans that summer in northern China and Siberia and winter in warm southern climates. Most of these birds stop in South Korea on their way to or from more southern destinations, but the red-crowned crane (also known as the Siberian crane) winters in South Korea’s rice-paddy fields and grassy tidal flats from November or December through March. (Some of these birds also winter in China.) The crane is classified as endangered and is strictly protected.

E

Mineral Resources

In contrast to North Korea, South Korea is relatively poor in mineral resources. The principal resources are coal (mostly anthracite), iron ore, and graphite. Other minerals include zinc, tungsten, lead, copper, gold, silver, and molybdenum. Limestone is abundant.

F

Environmental Issues

South Korea’s rapid industrialization during the second half of the 20th century dramatically increased pollution levels in the country. Heavy industries became the primary contributors to air and water pollution. Industrial development entailed massive land-reclamation projects, drainage of wetlands, and damming of rivers. Population densities increased rapidly in cities where industries were located, creating urban congestion and demand for additional development. All of these factors put enormous pressures on the natural environment.

In South Korea, as in many other newly industrialized nations, environmental regulations and monitoring lagged behind the pace of development. A grassroots environmental movement emerged in South Korea in the 1980s to respond to growing public concern over health issues related to industrial pollution. In the 1990s the government became more responsive to public health concerns and began to enforce higher environmental standards.

The country’s waterways became highly polluted in the 1970s from industrial effluents, untreated sewage, and widespread soil erosion. Deforested mountainsides eroded at an alarming rate, silting rivers and streams. The health of many waterways improved dramatically by the mid-1990s, mainly due to the construction of modern sewage-treatment plants and an intensive reforestation effort. The Han River, which flows through Seoul, was once extremely polluted but is now a symbol of successful environmental cleanup and a popular recreational site.

In the 1990s automobiles outpaced industrial complexes as the principle source of urban air pollution. Smog, a mixture of airborne pollutants and fog, is a chronic problem in Seoul and other large cities. To help improve air quality in urban areas, the government has promoted the replacement of diesel-fueled buses with those that burn natural gas.

At the regional level, South Korea faces issues arising from environmental degradation throughout East Asia. South Korea and many of its regional neighbors suffer from acid rain, a type of air pollution that can occur hundreds of miles away from its source. The impact of increasing desertification and industrialization in China is of growing concern in South Korea. In recent years, huge dust storms from China’s expanding Gobi and Takla Makan deserts blew through China’s rapidly industrializing cities, mixing with toxic pollutants, and into South Korea, causing severe air-quality problems.

South Korea has ratified international treaties protecting biodiversity, endangered species, wetlands, and the ozone layer. The country has also signed treaties limiting hazardous waste and marine pollution.

III

People of South Korea

The population of South Korea is 49,232,844 (2008 estimate). The country’s population density of 501 persons per sq km (1,299 per sq mi) is one of the highest in the world. The majority of the population lives in the southern and western parts of the country.

The annual rate of population increase in South Korea has dropped steadily from more than 3 percent in the late 1950s to 0.37 percent in 2008. Urbanization of the country has proceeded rapidly since the 1960s, with substantial migration from rural to urban areas; 81 percent of the population is now classified as urban.

Following the official division of the Korea Peninsula in 1948, about 4 million people from North Korea crossed the border to South Korea. This sudden population increase was partly offset over the next 40 years by emigration from South Korea, especially to Japan and the United States. However, South Korea’s burgeoning economy and improved political climate in the early and mid-1990s slowed the high emigration rates typical of the late 1980s. Many of those who emigrated chose to return to South Korea.