The Best of South Korea

South Korea, (Korean 대한민국, Daehan minguk), officially, Republic of Korea (ROK), to make the difference with North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia, populating the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing its northern land border with its neighbor of the north, North Korea. South Korea counts a population of over 51 million out of which more than the half live in the country´s capital area, which makes of Seoul the fifth-largest metropolitan area in the world. Historically, the Korean Peninsula is believed to be inhabited since as early as the Lower Paleolithic or Early Stone Age. After the World War II, the country was divided into former Soviet and U.S.-administered zones, with currently South Korea becoming the Republic of Korea in August 1948.

Hallyu, the “Korean Wave

South Korea is nowadays a highly developed country, ranking as the third-highest country in terms of Human Development Index in Asia and, currently ranks amongst the world's tenth-largest by nominal GDP and the world's fifth-largest exporter. South Korea became recently renowned also for its influential pop culture, known as the K-pop, particularly music, TV dramas and cinema, a phenomenon referred to as Hallyu, the “Korean Wave”.South Korea attracted over the recent years more than 11 million foreign tourists yearly, making it the 20th most visited country in the world, and ranking #6 most visited in Asia. International tourists come mainly from Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan that account for up to 75% of the total number of international tourists. Over the last few years, South Korea became also famous for its popular culture, often referred to as Hallyu, “Korean Wave”, which resulted in increased domestic and international tourist arrivals into the country. Seoul is the country´s main  tourist destination, followed by the major coastal city of Busan, the Seorak-san national park, the historic city of Gyeongju and subtropical Jeju Island. Traveling to North Korea is not normally allowed without a special permission, but in recent years organized group tours have allowed groups of South Korean citizens to visit Mount Kumgang.