Place

Republic of Korea

7 members

Overview

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of about 52 million, of which half live in the Seoul metropolitan area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world, with other major cities being Busan, Daegu, and Incheon.

Notable quotes

“A new generation of Koreans— in a nation where it’s considered shameful to talk about things like depression—are seeking unorthodox approaches to mental health issues.”
— Nadine Ajaka, "In Seoul, Preventing Suicide by Simulating Death" (6 May 2016), The Atlantic
“Korea, on the surface, seems like a very rich and glamorous country now, with K-pop, high-speed internet and IT technology. But the relative wealth between rich and poor is widening. The younger generation, in particular, feels a lot of despair.”
— Bong Joon-ho, "Parasite director Bong Joon-ho: 'Korea seems glamorous, but the young are in despair" in The Guardian (31 January 2020)
“If Descartes had been Korean, he would have said: "I am in charge, therefore I am."”
— Michael Breen, The New Koreans: The Story of a Nation (2017), New York: St. Martin's Press, p. 48
“As Paris was for France, Seoul was not simply Korea's largest town. It was Korea. Government was a great vortex summoning men rapidly into it, placing them briefly near the summitry of ambition and then sweeping them out, often ruthless into execution or exile.”
— Gregory Henderson, Korea: The Politics of the Vortex (1968)
“Usually the South Korean left is blamed for the public's lack of patriotism, but it is the right who made blood nationalism a state religion.”
— Brian Reynolds Myers, "South Korea: The Unloved Republic" (14 September 2010), Asia Society, South Korea.
“They don't like anyone who isn't Korean, and they don't like each other all that much, either. They're hardheaded, hard-drinking, tough little bastards, "the Irish of Asia".”
— P. J. O'Rourke, Holidays in Hell (1989)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

On IJR

No public IJR answers mention Republic of Korea yet. As people ask about it and share their answers, they'll appear here.

Overview

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. South Korea claims to be the sole legitimate government of the entire peninsula and adjacent islands. It has a population of about 52 million, of which half live in the Seoul metropolitan area, the ninth most populous metropolitan area in the world, with other major cities being Busan, Daegu, and Incheon.

Notable quotes

“A new generation of Koreans— in a nation where it’s considered shameful to talk about things like depression—are seeking unorthodox approaches to mental health issues.”
— Nadine Ajaka, "In Seoul, Preventing Suicide by Simulating Death" (6 May 2016), The Atlantic
“Korea, on the surface, seems like a very rich and glamorous country now, with K-pop, high-speed internet and IT technology. But the relative wealth between rich and poor is widening. The younger generation, in particular, feels a lot of despair.”
— Bong Joon-ho, "Parasite director Bong Joon-ho: 'Korea seems glamorous, but the young are in despair" in The Guardian (31 January 2020)
“If Descartes had been Korean, he would have said: "I am in charge, therefore I am."”
— Michael Breen, The New Koreans: The Story of a Nation (2017), New York: St. Martin's Press, p. 48
“As Paris was for France, Seoul was not simply Korea's largest town. It was Korea. Government was a great vortex summoning men rapidly into it, placing them briefly near the summitry of ambition and then sweeping them out, often ruthless into execution or exile.”
— Gregory Henderson, Korea: The Politics of the Vortex (1968)
“Usually the South Korean left is blamed for the public's lack of patriotism, but it is the right who made blood nationalism a state religion.”
— Brian Reynolds Myers, "South Korea: The Unloved Republic" (14 September 2010), Asia Society, South Korea.
“They don't like anyone who isn't Korean, and they don't like each other all that much, either. They're hardheaded, hard-drinking, tough little bastards, "the Irish of Asia".”
— P. J. O'Rourke, Holidays in Hell (1989)

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.