History

Central Asians migrated to the Korean Peninsula about 5000 years ago. According to Korean legend, the "Grandson of Heaven" Dangun Wanggeom founded Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom, in 2333 B.C.

South Korea was initially unified in the 7th century from three different Korean states. It was annexed by the Empire of Japan in 1910, and remained that way until formal Japanese rule ended in 1945 with Japan's surrender during World War II.

South Korea separated from North Korea in 1953, following the end of the Korean War.

The Land & Climate

The area of South Korea is approximately 38,023 square miles (the size of Indiana). South Korea is bordered only by North Korea; Japan is its southern neighbor, across the Korea Strait, and the Yellow Sea borders the western coast. The terrain is mostly hilly and mountainous, with wide coastal plains in the west and in the south. The southwestern and southern plain have rich lands suitable for farming.

The Taebaek and Sobaek Mountains are the two main mountain ranges on the Korean continent; Taebaek forms the eastern ridge of the peninsula, and Sobaek trends southwest from it.

The Han and Nakdong Rivers - two of South Korea's main rivers - originate in these mountains.

There are over 3000 small islands off the coasts of South Korea, the largest being Jeju Island, a popular tourist destination.

South Korea has a temperate climate, which means heavy rainfall in the summer and cold, snowy winters. Monsoon months are June and July, and the average temperature during the summer in Seoul, is 72 to 85 F and 21 to 35 F in the winter.