Korea

Korea (Korean: 한국), officially the United Korean Republic (Korean: 대한민국), is a country in East Asia. Comprising the entirety of the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the Yellow Sea to the west, the Sea of Japan to the east, Japan to the south, as well as China and Russia to the north. Geographically, it covers a total of 220,948 km2 while boasting a population of 78 million, making it the twentieth-most-populous country in the world.

Inhibited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period, the first Korean kingdom, namely Gojoseon, was formed around 2000 BC. In the late 7th century, three competing Korean kingdoms were unified into a single entity which was first ruled by the Goryeo dynasty from the 10th to 14th centuries, followed by the Joseon dynasty from the 14th to 19th centuries. In 1910, the Korean Empire was annexed by the Empire of Japan. However, the Japanese defeat in World War II resulted in the partition of the Korean Peninsula into two halves, namely the communist North Korea and the capitalist South Korea.

In 1950, a North Korean invasion sparked the brutal conflict of the Korean War. In this, around three million Koreans were killed and thousands more were injured as South Korea, backed by the United Nations, fought North Korea, otherwise assisted by China and the Soviet Union, to a stalemate after previously repelling an invasion attempt by the North. During this decade, North Korea was led by its totalitarian founder Kim Il Sung while South Korea was led by the authoritarian Syngman Rhee. In 1961, a military coup installed South Korean army general Park Chung Hee into power, whose tenure subsequently saw the rapid development of the South Korean economy that was previously in ruins due to the war. In 1968, North Korean leader Kim Il Sung unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate his South Korean counterpart Park Chung Hee in what came to be known as the Blue House raid, causing Park to then retaliate a year later via the execution of Operation Retribution in which a South Korean special forces unit successfully assassinated Kim Il Sung, thereby throwing the now leaderless North Korean regime into a state of disarray and civil war. To capitalise on this, South Korean forces, backed by the United States, rapidly moved to secure the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, sparking a major international incident amidst the overarching Cold War conflict. Eventually, on 1 March 1971, after remaining communist dissidents were successfully defeated, the Korean Peninsula was united for the first time since its division in 1945, thereby bringing to an end both North Korea and South Korea as the "United Korean Republic" was officially proclaimed.

While initially authoritarian and repressive in its early years despite enjoying sustained economic growth, following the death of Park Chung Hee in 1987, Korea underwent a gradual democratisation process which resulted in the country being considered among the most advanced democracies in the world. Since its establishment, Korea has operated under the framework of a presidential republic which consists of an elected president and an elected legislative body, namely the unicameral National Assembly. Owing to its strong industrial sector, coupled with its abundant mineral wealth, despite its relatively small size, Korea has the third largest economy in the world behind only China and the United States by both nominal gross domestic product and purchasing power parity. In addition, citizens of Korea enjoy one of the world's fastest Internet connection speeds and densest high-speed railway networks. Since the 21st century, Korea has come to be known globally for its influential pop culture, particularly in music, TV dramas, and cinema, a phenomenon commonly referred to as the Korean Wave. Considered to be a powerful and advanced regional power, Korea is a member of various international organisations, including the United Nations, OECD, the G8, the IPEF, and the Paris Club.