Korea

From Andong Kim

Korea is a modern nation with a history of over 5,000 years. The history of its culture can be seen in the Korean art and [[architecture] that remains today.

Korea, being a peninsula and being surrounded by the great powers of the Orient, has been subject to invasions throughout its history by warring nations from China and Manchuria to the north and from Japan to the east.

Being isolated from the north, Silla was the last kingdom to be influenced by foreign ideas. Due to this isolation, their art and architecture became distinctly Korean.

The cultures of the Three Kingdoms became very refined with an aristocratic society where the aristocrats became the leaders. With the development of Silla and Baekche, friction developed between the three kingdoms.

The Korean Peninsula, located in Northeast Asia, is bordered on the north by China and Russia and juts toward Japan to the southeast. The northernmost point is Yup'ojin in Onsong-gun, Hamgyongbuk-do Province, and the southernmost point is Marado island, Cheju-do Province.

The westernmost point of Maando island in Yongch'on-gun, Pyonganbuk-do Province, and the easternmost is Tokdo island in Ullung-gun, Kyongsangbukdo Province.

The Korean Peninsula is 222,154 square kilometers, almost the same size as the UK or Romania. The administrative area of the Republic of Korea is 99,392 square kilometers, slightly larger than Hungary or Portugal and a little smaller than Iceland.

The Republic of Korea is composed of nine provinces, with Seoul as the capital city. Other metropolitan cities include Pusan, Taegu, Inch'on, Kwangju, Taejon, and Ulsan. The landscape of the country is spectacular in its variations and about 70 percent of it is mountainous, with more than 3,000 islands dotting the coastline. There are several major rivers in the south, one of which is the Hangang river which cuts through Seoul.