5 Facts of South Korea

The capital of South Korea is Seoul

South Korea is an economic powerhouse and an ally of the United States. Every day you probably use products from South Korea without even realizing it; from cell phones designed by Samsung to cars manufactured by Hyundai. The land of South Korea is a mix of old and new. In Seoul, the nation's capital of almost ten million residents the historic pagoda style architecture of the Sungnyemun gateway is surrounded by modern day skyscrapers. Here are some lesser known facts as well.

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1

The demilitarized zone separating North Korea from South Korea, also referred to as the 38th Parallel is the most heavily armed strip of land in the world. South Korea is on constant alert to provocations from their neighbors to the north.

2

South Korea is a member of the G-20 economic group and ranks 14th in the world by size of economy. The economy is heavily export driven with several multinational technology companies residing in South Korea that provide many of the modern conveniences in use today. Due to the nature of South Korea's tech heavy export industry and high secondary education levels unemployment remains low, even in the depths of the recent recession it topped out at only 3,6% in 2009.

3

In 2007 South Korea was the first country to clone a dog, named Snuppy from the genetic material of two endangered female wolves. Genetics and cloning research are big parts of the South Korean science industry.

4

South Korea is home to over 28000 members of the United States armed forces, primarily the Eighth United States Army. They are there under UN command in case of aggression from North Korea and serve as a deterrent to rising hostilities along the demilitarized zone.

5

South Korea is currently acknowledged to have the highest penetration of high speed internet access. In addition the second and third largest cellular phone manufacturers, Samsung and LG respectively, are South Korean companies