South Korea

A

Principal Cities

The country’s largest city, national capital, and chief industrial center is Seoul, located in the northwest. Other major cities include Busan, the country’s principal seaport, in the southeast; Daegu, the principal commercial and manufacturing center of the south; Incheon, the major port on the Yellow Sea, near Seoul; Gwangju, the principal transportation and commercial center of the southwest; and Daejeon, a transportation hub for the west-central agricultural area and a center of science and technology. Also significant is the southeastern city of Gyeongju, which was the capital of the Silla kingdom that established unified rule of the Korea Peninsula in ad 668.

B

Ethnic Groups

South Korea, like North Korea, is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world. Almost all of its people are ethnically Korean. Koreans are the descendants of Neolithic people who began to migrate to the Korea Peninsula from the northeastern Asia mainland, including the Siberian region, as early as 5000 bc. These people replaced earlier Paleolithic cultures that had inhabited some areas of the peninsula for about 40,000 years. See also Stone Age.

People of Chinese descent make up the country’s largest minority group. The resident population also includes a growing number of foreign nationals, which include migrant laborers from South and Southeast Asia, as well as business people, diplomats, and other professionals from many parts of the world.

C

Language

South Korea’s national language is Korean, a distinct language that linguists have not firmly categorized in any language grouping, although it is most often included in the Altaic language family. Of all languages, Korean is most similar in grammar to Japanese. Because of a long history of contacts with China, the Korean vocabulary contains many Chinese words. Korean is written in a unique phonetic script known as Hangeul (called Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea), which was introduced in 1446 under King Sejong of the Chosŏn dynasty (1392-1910).

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The Korean language did not have its own alphabet before the invention of Hangeul. Until then, the Korean language was written in a modified Chinese script. The Chinese ideographs, or characters, represent words and meanings rather than pronunciation. Because they were developed for a completely different language, they did not reflect the sounds and grammar of Korean. For this reason, King Sejong commissioned a group of scholars to invent Hangeul, a script composed of phonetic symbols that accurately represent spoken Korean.

Although sophisticated, Hangeul is easily learned, as King Sejong had intended in order to increase literacy among all classes in Korea. Chinese characters remained the more prestigious, and preferred, script of the educated elite until the 20th century, when Hangeul was widely adopted in South Korea as a symbol of national identity. Today, written Korean often combines Hangeul symbols with some Chinese characters.

D

Religion

Buddhism and Christianity are the largest religions in South Korea. However, many South Koreans do not adhere to any one religion and in practice often combine different belief systems in their lives. As a result, religious distinctions are often blurred.

Confucianism, more a moral philosophy than a religion, is in many ways more prominent in Korean culture than any organized religion. Confucianism was introduced from China as much as 2,000 years ago. Many of its teachings are an integral thread in the social and moral fabric of South Korea. Confucianism is evident in practices such as giving priority to education and respect to elders, as well as the performance of memorial ceremonies for ancestors.

The Mahayana form of Buddhism was introduced from India by way of China in the 4th century. Successive Korean kingdoms recognized Buddhism as the official religion from the early 500s until 1392, when the Chosŏn dynasty began to promote Neo-Confucianism as the state ideology and discourage the practice of Buddhism. Today Buddhism is prevalent throughout South Korea, and there are many Buddhist monasteries and temples. Sŏn Buddhism, which emphasizes meditation, originated in China as Chan Buddhism and was eventually transferred from Korea to Japan, where it became known as Zen Buddhism.

Daoism (Taoism), known in Korean as To-gyo (the Way), is a mystical philosophy also introduced from China about the same time as Buddhism. Many of its principles emphasizing harmony with nature, simplicity, purity, and longevity are evident in Korean culture.

Korea was officially closed to Christian missionaries until 1882, although knowledge of Christianity was evident well before then. Membership in various Christian denominations has grown considerably since the 1950s, and today South Korea is the most Christianized country in East Asia. About three-quarters of South Korea’s Christians are Protestant, while most of the remainder are Roman Catholic.

Hundreds of so-called new religions have been founded in South Korea. Most of these new religions are syncretic, meaning they blend different belief systems. One of the most prominent is the Unification Church, founded in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon. The oldest of the new religions is Ch’ŏndogyo (Teaching of the Heavenly Way), founded in 1860. It fuses elements of Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity, and shamanism.

Korean shamanism has its roots in the ancient cultures of northeastern Asia. It is the indigenous belief system and is recognized in South Korea as an important aspect of cultural heritage. Based in animistic beliefs, shamanism emphasizes the performance of healing and divination ceremonies (kut) by shamans (spiritual mediums) called mudang, most of whom are women. Although shamanism is not an organized religion, many South Koreans consult shamans when experiencing illness or other difficulties. In addition, shamanism’s precept that every natural object has a soul is a widely held belief in South Korea.

E

Education

South Korea has a high literacy rate, as 98 percent of the adult population can read and write. Primary education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 14. Secondary education consists of three years of middle school and three years of high school. In the 2000 school year some 4 million pupils were enrolled annually in kindergarten and elementary schools and 4 million in middle and high schools, including vocational high schools. Private schools play an important role, especially above the primary level.

There are more than 300 institutions of higher education in the country, with a total annual enrollment of 3.2 million students. The principal universities are Korea University (founded in 1905), Seoul National University (1946), Ewha Women’s University (1886), and Yonsei University (1885), all in Seoul. Major universities, both private and public, are also located in provincial capitals.