Plan your trip to South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name Korea is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the Middle Ages. It shares land borders with North Korea to the north, and oversea borders with China to the west and Japan to the east. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. Roughly half of the country's 50 million people reside in the metropolitan area surrounding its capital, the Seoul Capital Area, which is the second largest in the world with over 25 million residents.Archaeology indicates that the Korean Peninsula was occupied by the Lower Paleolithic period. The history of Korea begins with the founding of Gojoseon in 2333 BC by the legendary Dangun. Following the unification of the Three Kingdoms of Korea under Silla AD 668, Korea was ruled by the Goryeo Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty. It was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910. At the end of World War II, Korea was divided into Soviet and U.S. zones of occupation. An election held in the U.S. zone in 1948 led to the creation of the Republic of Korea. Although the United Nations passed a resolution declaring the Republic to be the only lawful government in Korea, a communist government was soon set up in the North that invaded the South in 1950, leading to the Korean War that ended de facto in 1953.Between 1962 and 1994, the South Korean economy grew at an average of 10% annually, fueled by annual export growth of 20%, in a period called the Miracle on the Han River that rapidly transformed it into an affluent G-20 major economy and the world's seventh largest country in international trade. Civilian government replaced military rule in 1987 and the country has since become Asia's most advanced democracy as rated by The Economist's Democracy Index. In 2009, South Korea became the world's first former aid recipient to join the OECD's Development Assistance Committee, graduating to a major donor. Today, it is Asia's second largest donor, sending $1.74 billion of aid to the developing world in 2013.South Korea is a developed country with the world's 12th highest living standard, having a HDI of 0.909. South Koreans are the wealthiest in Asia in terms of average earnings and household income and the South Korean economy is Asia's fourth largest and the world's 15th or 12th largest. A world leader in innovation as measured in the Global Innovation Quotient, South Korea is the world's sixth largest exporter, driven by chaebols such as Samsung, Hyundai-Kia and LG. The country is notable for its advanced technology - It has the world's fastest internet connection speed, ranking first in the ICT Development Index, 4G LTE penetration and second in smartphone penetration.