Teach English in South Korea
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Quick Facts

  • The population of Korea is 47 Million. Just over 20 million people live in Seoul.
  • 82% of Koreans live in heavily urbanized cities from 100,000-10 million population. Very few live rural lifestyles.
  • Seoul is only 64 km from the North Korean Border. The northern areas of Seoul and Gyonggi do province are also more mountainous and include many army bases.
  • There are 38,000 US military personnel based permanently in Korea. The US bases are in the process of being moved (in the next few years) to the southern side of Seoul, with major bases in Pyongtaek and Osan. The US military bases are self-contained and the Americans involved in the military mainly stay on base. These bases are like small self-sufficient American towns.
  • It takes only 5 hours to go from coast to coast and 6 hours from top to bottom (by car).
  • Korea is 8 hours behind the UK in British Summer Time and 9 in winter (GMT).
  • The coast line in Korea is mostly highly fortified because of the North Korean factor, thus barbed wire pleasantly surrounds northern beaches. All people must be off coastal areas by 7pm at night as patrols start then.
  • The Korean peninsula peninsula is roughly 1,030 km (612 miles) long and 175 km (105 miles) wide at its narrowest point.
  • Mountains cover 70% of Korea's land mass, making it one of the most mountainous regions in the world.
  • The Republic of Korea consists of nine provinces ; the capital Seoul; and the six metropolitan cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon and Ulsan.
  • There are 77 cities in South Korea.
  • The majority of Koreans have one of the following surnames: Kim (21%), Lee (14%), Park (8%), Choi, Jeong, Jang, Han, and Lim.
  • A Korean name consists of a family name, in almost every case one syllable, plus a given name usually of two syllables. The surname comes first.
  • A Korean woman does not take her husband's family name, but their children take their father's family name.
  • The Korean flag is called "Taegeukgi" in Korean.
  • The Taegeukgi symbolizes the principles of the yin and yang in Oriental philosophy.
  • The circle in the centre of the flag is divided into two equal parts. The upper red section represents the proactive cosmic forces of the yang. Conversely, the lower blue section represents the responsive cosmic forces of the yin.
  • The two forces together embody the concepts of continual movement, balance and harmony that characterize the sphere of infinity
  • The circle is surrounded by four trigrams, one in each corner. Each trigram symbolizes one of the four universal elements: heaven, earth, fire and water

With thanks to www.tour2korea.com

 


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