Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Korea
conventional short form: South Korea
local long form: Taehan-min’guk 대한민국 大韓民國
local short form: Han’guk 한국
abbreviation: ROK
Government type: republic. Capital: Seoul
Geographic coordinates: 37 33 N, 126 59 E. Time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions:
9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular and plural); Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto (North Cholla), Cholla-namdo (South Cholla), Ch’ungch’ong-bukto (North Ch’ungch’ong), Ch’ungch’ong-namdo (South Ch’ungch’ong), Inch’on-gwangyoksi (Inch’on), Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi (Kwangju), Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto (North Kyongsang), Kyongsang-namdo (South Kyongsang), Pusan-gwangyoksi (Pusan), Soul-t’ukpyolsi (Seoul), Taegu-gwangyoksi (Taegu), Taejon-gwangyoksi (Taejon), Ulsan-gwangyoksi (Ulsan)
Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
National holiday: Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)
Constitution: 17 July 1948; note – amended or rewritten nine times; current constitution approved on 29 October 1987
Legal system: combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 19 years of age; universal
Motto: 널리 인간을 이롭게 하라 (홍익인간) “Broadly benefit humankind”
National Anthem: Aegukga (애국가) “The Patriotic Song”
