There are also many airports that were built as part of the infrastructure boom but are barely used. The national carrier, Korean Air served over 26,, passengers, including almost 19,, international passengers in Combined, South Korean airlines serve international routes. South Korea is the world's fifth-largest nuclear power producer and the second-largest in Asia as of [update].
Fuel production and waste handling technologies have also been developed locally. It is also a member of the ITER project. South Korea is an emerging exporter of nuclear reactors , having concluded agreements with the UAE to build and maintain four advanced nuclear reactors, [] with Jordan for a research nuclear reactor, [] [] and with Argentina for construction and repair of heavy-water nuclear reactors.
South Korea is not allowed to enrich uranium or develop traditional uranium enrichment technology on its own, because of US political pressure, [] unlike most major nuclear powers such as Japan, Germany, and France, competitors of South Korea in the international nuclear market. This impediment to South Korea's indigenous nuclear industrial undertaking has sparked occasional diplomatic rows between the two allies.
While South Korea is successful in exporting its electricity-generating nuclear technology and nuclear reactors, it cannot capitalize on the market for nuclear enrichment facilities and refineries , preventing it from further expanding its export niche. South Korea has sought unique technologies such as pyroprocessing to circumvent these obstacles and seek a more advantageous competition. South Korea is the third highest ranked Asian country in the World Economic Forum's Network Readiness Index NRI after Singapore and Hong Kong respectively — an indicator for determining the development level of a country's information and communication technologies.
South Korea ranked number 10 overall in the NRI ranking, up from 11 in In , 17 million foreign tourists visited South Korea [] [] With rising tourist prospects, especially from foreign countries outside of Asia, the South Korean government has set a target of attracting 20 million foreign tourists a year by South Korean tourism is driven by many factors, including the prominence of Korean pop culture such as South Korean pop music and television dramas , known as the Korean Wave or Hallyu , has gained popularity throughout East Asia. The Hyundai Research Institute reported that the Korean Wave has a direct impact in encouraging direct foreign investment back into the country through demand for products, and the tourism industry.
According to an analysis by economist Han Sang-Wan, a 1 percent increase in the exports of Korean cultural content pushes consumer goods exports up 0. The South Korean pension system was created to provide benefits to persons reaching old age, families and persons stricken with death of their primary breadwinner, and for the purposes of stabilizing its nations welfare state. In there was a total of 18,, insured individuals with only around , persons excluded from mandatory contribution.
Eligibility for the national pension scheme is not dependent on income but on age and residence, where those between the ages of 18 to 59 are covered. Employees between the ages of 18 to 59 are covered under the workplace-based pension scheme and contribute 4. Voluntarily insured persons are not subjected to mandatory coverage but can choose to be. This category comprises retirees who voluntarily choose to have additional benefits, individuals under the age of 27 without income, and individuals whose spouses are covered under a public welfare system, whether military, governmental, or private school teacher pensions.
Voluntarily and continuously insured persons consists of individuals 60 years of age who want to fulfill the minimum insured period of 20 years to qualify for old age pension benefits. South Korea's old-age pension scheme covers individuals age 60 or older for the rest of their life as long as they have satisfied the minimum of 20 years of national pension coverage beforehand. There also is an 'active old-age pension' scheme that covers individuals age 60 to 65 engaged in activities yielding earned income.
Individuals age of 55 and younger than 60 who are not engaged in activities yielding earned income are eligible to be covered under the 'early old-age pension' scheme.
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Scientific and technological development in the South Korea at first did not occur largely because of more pressing matters such as the division of Korea and the Korean War that occurred right after its independence. It was not until the s under the dictatorship of Park Chung-hee where South Korea's economy rapidly grew from industrialisation and the Chaebol corporations such as Samsung and LG. Ever since the industrialization of South Korea's economy, South Korea has placed its focus on technology-based corporations, which has been supported by infrastructure developments by the government.
South Korean corporations Samsung and LG were ranked first and third largest mobile phone companies in the world in the first quarter of , respectively. South Korea has the fastest Internet download speeds in the world, [] with an average download speed of There is a growing trend of inventions of new types of media or apps, utilizing the 4G and 5G internet infrastructure in South Korea.
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South Korea has today the infrastructures to meet a density of population and culture that has the capability to create strong local particularity. Following cyberattacks in the first half of , whereby government, news-media, television station, and bank websites were compromised, the national government committed to the training of 5, new cybersecurity experts by The South Korean government blamed North Korea for these attacks, as well as incidents that occurred in , and , but Pyongyang denies the accusations.
In late September , a computer-security competition jointly sponsored by the defense ministry and the National Intelligence Service was announced. South Korea's government maintains a broad-ranging approach toward the regulation of specific online content and imposes a substantial level of censorship on election-related discourse and on many websites that the government deems subversive or socially harmful. South Korea has sent up 10 satellites since , all using foreign rockets and overseas launch pads, notably Arirang-1 in , and Arirang-2 in as part of its space partnership with Russia.
South Korea's efforts to build an indigenous space launch vehicle have been marred due to persistent political pressure from the United States, who had for many decades hindered South Korea's indigenous rocket and missile development programs [] in fear of their possible connection to clandestine military ballistic missile programs, which Korea many times insisted did not violate the research and development guidelines stipulated by US-Korea agreements on restriction of South Korean rocket technology research and development.
Plans of creating English-teaching robot assistants to compensate for the shortage of teachers were announced in February , with the robots being deployed to most preschools and kindergartens by Recently, research and development in genetics and cloning has received increasing attention, with the first successful cloning of a dog, Snuppy in , and the cloning of two females of an endangered species of wolves [ which? The rapid growth of the industry has resulted in significant voids in regulation of ethics, as was highlighted by the scientific misconduct case involving Hwang Woo-Suk.
South Korea shares its traditional culture with North Korea , but the two Koreas have developed distinct contemporary forms of culture since the peninsula was divided in Historically, while the culture of Korea has been heavily influenced by that of neighboring China, it has nevertheless managed to develop a unique cultural identity that is distinct from its larger neighbor. The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism actively encourages the traditional arts, as well as modern forms, through funding and education programs.
The industrialization and urbanization of South Korea have brought many changes to the way modern Koreans live. Changing economics and lifestyles have led to a concentration of population in major cities, especially the capital Seoul, with multi-generational households separating into nuclear family living arrangements. A Euromonitor study found that South Koreans drink the most alcohol on a weekly basis compared to the rest of the world. South Koreans drink Korean art has been highly influenced by Buddhism and Confucianism , which can be seen in the many traditional paintings, sculptures, ceramics and the performing arts.
Post-war modern Korean art started to flourish in the s and s, when South Korean artists took interest in geometrical shapes and intangible subjects. Establishing a harmony between man and nature was also a favorite of this time. Because of social instability, social issues appeared as main subjects in the s. Art was influenced by various international events and exhibits in Korea, and with it brought more diversity. Because of South Korea's tumultuous history, construction and destruction has been repeated endlessly, resulting in an interesting melange of architectural styles and designs. Korean traditional architecture is characterized by its harmony with nature.
Ancient architects adopted the bracket system characterized by thatched roofs and heated floors called ondol. Traditional architecture can be seen in the palaces and temples, preserved old houses called hanok , [] and special sites like Hahoe Folk Village , Yangdong Village of Gyeongju and Korean Folk Village.
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Western architecture was first introduced to Korea at the end of the 19th century. Churches, offices for foreign legislation, schools and university buildings were built in new styles. With the annexation of Korea by Japan in the colonial regime intervened in Korea's architectural heritage, and Japanese-style modern architecture was imposed. The anti-Japanese sentiment, and the Korean War, led to the destruction of most buildings constructed during that time. Korean architecture entered a new phase of development during the post-Korean War reconstruction, incorporating modern architectural trends and styles.
Stimulated by the economic growth in the s and s, active redevelopment saw new horizons in architectural design. In the aftermath of the Seoul Olympics, South Korea has witnessed a wide variation of styles in its architectural landscape due, in large part, to the opening up of the market to foreign architects. Ingredients and dishes vary by province. There are many significant regional dishes that have proliferated in different variations across the country in the present day. The Korean royal court cuisine once brought all of the unique regional specialties together for the royal family.
Meals consumed both by the royal family and ordinary Korean citizens have been regulated by a unique culture of etiquette. Korean cuisine is largely based on rice , noodles , tofu , vegetables, fish and meats. Every meal is accompanied by numerous banchan. Soups are also a common part of a Korean meal and are served as part of the main course rather than at the beginning or the end of the meal. Popular Korean alcoholic beverages include Soju , Makgeolli and Bokbunja ju.
Korea is unique among East Asian countries in its use of metal chopsticks. Metal chopsticks have been discovered in Goguryeo archaeological sites. In addition to domestic consumption, South Korea has a thriving entertainment industry where various facets of South Korean entertainment, including television dramas, films, and popular music, has generated significant financial revenues for the nation's economy. The cultural phenomenon known as Hallyu or the "Korean Wave", has swept many countries across Asia making South Korea a major soft power as an exporter of popular culture and entertainment, rivaling Western nations such as the United States and the United Kingdom.
Until the s, trot and traditional Korean folk based ballads dominated South Korean popular music. The emergence of the South Korean pop group Seo Taiji and Boys in marked a turning point for South Korean popular music, also known as K-pop , as the genre modernized itself from incorporating elements of popular musical genres from across the world such as Western popular music , experimental , jazz , gospel , Latin , classical , hip hop , rhythm and blues , electronic dance , reggae , country , folk , and rock on top of its uniquely traditional Korean music roots.
K-pop stars and groups are well known across Asia and have found international fame making millions of dollars in export revenue. Many K-pop acts have also been able secure a strong overseas following using online social media platforms such as the video sharing website YouTube. South Korean singer PSY became an international sensation when his song " Gangnam Style " topped global music charts in Since the success of the film Shiri in , the Korean film industry has begun to gain recognition internationally.
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Domestic film has a dominant share of the market, partly because of the existence of screen quotas requiring cinemas to show Korean films at least 73 days a year. South Korean television shows have become popular outside of Korea. South Korean television dramas, known as K-dramas , have begun to find fame internationally.
There are many official public holidays in South Korea. Memorial Day is celebrated on June 6, and its purpose is to honor the men and women who died in South Korea's independence movement. Constitution Day is on July 17, and it celebrates the promulgation of Constitution of the Republic of Korea. Every 15th day of the 8th lunar month, Koreans celebrate the Midautumn Festival , in which Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and eat a variety of traditional Korean foods.
October 3 is National Foundation Day. Hangul Day, on October 9 commemorates the invention of hangul , the native alphabet of the Korean language. The martial art taekwondo originated in Korea. In the s and s, modern rules were standardized, with taekwondo becoming an official Olympic sport in Football and baseball have traditionally been regarded as the most popular sports in Korea.
However, the polling did not indicate the extent to which respondents follow both sports.
The Korea Republic national team as it is known has qualified for every World Cup since Mexico , and has broken out of the group stage twice: first in , and again in , when it was defeated by eventual semi-finalist Uruguay in the Round of At the Summer Olympics , South Korea won the bronze medal for football. Baseball was first introduced to Korea in and has since become increasingly popular, with some sources claiming it has surpassed football as the most popular sport in the country. The South Korea national team finished third in the World Baseball Classic and second in the tournament. The team's final game against Japan was widely watched in Korea, with a large screen at Gwanghwamun crossing in Seoul broadcasting the game live.
Several Korean players have gone on to play in Major League Baseball. Basketball is a popular sport in the country as well. South Korea has traditionally had one of the top basketball teams in Asia and one of the continent's strongest basketball divisions.
Seoul hosted the and Asian Basketball Championship. The Korea national basketball team has won a record number of 23 medals at the event to date.
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In , South Korea hosted the Summer Olympics in Seoul , coming fourth with 12 gold medals, 10 silver medals and 11 bronze medals. South Korea regularly performs well in archery , shooting , table tennis , badminton , short track speed skating , handball , hockey , freestyle wrestling , Greco-Roman wrestling , baseball , judo , taekwondo , speed skating , figure Skating , and weightlifting.
South Korea has won more medals in the Winter Olympics than any other Asian country with a total of 45 medals 23 gold, 14 silver, and 8 bronze. At the Winter Olympics , South Korea ranked fifth in the overall medal rankings.