Korea

12/12/08 Country Name **: Republic of Korea **Capital City**: Seoul (10.1 million) **National flag**: Taegeukgi **National flower**: Mugunghwa (Rose of Sharon) **Currency**: won **Language**: Korean (Written form: Hangeul) **Major cities**: Seoul (10.1 million), Busan (3.5 million), Incheon (2.6 million), Daegu (2.5 million), Dajeon (1.5 million), Gwangju (1.4 million), Ulsan (1.1 million) **Population**: 48.46 million (2007) ※  Foreign residents: 1.1 million   ·  ** Political System ** : Democracy with president elected to a single 5-year term by direct popular vote. Division of power among the executive, legislature (unicameral National Assembly) and judiciary  ·  ** President ** : Lee Myung-bak since 2008  ·  **  Elections  ** - Presidential: every 5 years - National Assembly: every 4 years - Local Councils: every 4 years  ·  ** Political parties ** : Grand National Party, United Democratic Party, Liberal Forward Party, Democratic Labor Party, Pro-Park Geun-hye Alliance, Renewal of Korea Party  ·  ** Major Industrial Products ** : Semiconductors, automobiles, ships, consumer electronics, mobile telecommunication equipment, steel and chemicals  ·  ** FTAs ** : Korea has signed free trade agreements with Chile, Singapore, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), ASEAN and the U.S. - 16 countries in all. Currently, negotiations with the EU, Canada and India are under way with the aim of concluding these FTAs negotiations by the end of 2008.  ·  ** Korea ** is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the  [|Korean Peninsula]  in  [|East Asia]. It borders [|China]  to the west and  [|Russia]  to the north, with  [|Japan]  situated to the east. The Korean Peninsula is divided into two separate states, [|North Korea]  and  [|South Korea].  ·   Reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il has suffered a stroke raised hopes among the families that an end to his repressive regime might be near. Kim's failure to appear last week at celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of communist North Korea's founding sparked a frenzy of speculation about the health of the leader last seen in public in mid-August. The South Korean government has since confirmed that the 66-year-old Kim — who is believed to have diabetes and heart disease — suffered a stroke and has undergone brain surgery.(Herald Tribune, September 14th, 2008)  ·   The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Thursday (Sept. 11) that the Korean government will invest 1 trillion won over the next five years in nurturing 100,000 talented workers to spearhead the advancement of the nation's next-generation industries.  ·   To turn the green energy industry into a new growth engine, the government will invest a total of 3 trillion won (US$1=W1,107) into nine sectors, including solar energy, wind energy, electrical information technology, hydrogen fuel cells and energy storage technology, over the next five years to secure advanced technologies by 2012. If the government's investment project proceeds as planned, the output of the green energy industry will likely reach US$17 billion by 2012 and $300 billion by 2030. Besides that, about 105,000 new jobs will be created by 2012 and 1.54 million by 2030.  ·   While the  [|North Korean economy]  is more developed than most  [|African]  nations with a  [|GDP per capita]  standing at about $2,000, its strong isolation policy means that international trade is highly restricted, hampering a significant potential for future  [|economic growth].  ·   Both Koreas share a  [|Buddhist]  and  [|Confucian]  heritage and a recent history of  [|Christian]  and  [|Cheondoism]  ("religion of the Heavenly Way") movements. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·   In North Korea autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·   North Korean industries: military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·   North Korean import allies: China 27%, South Korea 16%, Thailand 9%, Russia 7% (2006) <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol;"> ·   Traficking: //current situation:// North Korea is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; the most common form of trafficking involves North Korean women and girls who cross the border into China voluntarily; additionally, North Korean women and girls are lured out of North Korea to escape poor social and economic conditions by the promise of food, jobs, and freedom, only to be forced into prostitution, marriage, or exploitative labor arrangements once in China
 * <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: #4d4d4d; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman';"> Korea