Koreans have lighter skin than Chinese and Japanese and this suggests the possibility that they are of some strain of white-skinned ethnic stock from the West. It could be inferred that the present-day Koreans descended from several peoples, of whom the Shantung Chinese, Tungus and Mongols were predominant. The distinctive physical structure of the Koreans appears not to have been affected appreciably by the close contacts with the Chinese over thousands of years. The Koreans also have developed and preserved a distinctive cultural heritage of their own, despite the great cultural influences of the Chinese over the centuries.

Language
The origin of the Korean language has not been established definitively, though it derives from the Tungustic branch of the Ural-Altaic family which traces its ancestry to Central Asia. But in as much as the Korean people are primarily of Mongolian origin, having migrated from Siberian and Manchurian regions into the Korean peninsula, it is inferred that Korean language is somewhat related to Manchu or Mongolian. But the fact is that Korean and Mongolian are found much more apart from each other, both in vocabulary and syntax, than are English and German, or English and French. The generally accepted theory indicates that the archtype of the Korean language was developed in the southern part of the peninsula among agrarian tribes. Another developed among the northern Koguryo Kingdom when the four colonies of Han of China were established in Korea.

It is certain that Chinese language and letters greatly influenced the language. Korean grammar, however, is entirely different from the Chinese. Korean language has simple forms to express different tenses and modes such as indicative, conditional, imperative and infinitive, etc. It has forms to express all those more delicate verbal relations which in English requires a circumlocution or the use of various adverbs. The difference between Korean and Chinese language is that Korean is strictly phonetic in writing whereas Chinese is not. The grammatic structure of Korean language is regular and simple. Forms consist of stems plus endings. While a single stem may occur in many forms, it remains almost constant in all of them. There are also many word endings that cannot be expressed. The use of particles and inflectionary endings is wider in Korean than in Manchu or Mongolian. Even Japanese has fewer particles and different endings than Korean. It should also be noted that the formation of compounds by connecting stems is very extensive.

In the Korean language, there are no articles, i.e. “the” or “a.” There is no change in the ending of noun for singular or plural. Neither is there any sharp discrimination of gender in the personal pronoun. Verbs have no special distinction for third person, singular or plural. On the other hand, the Korean adjectives have conjugations like verbs. Order of words in the clause or sentence in Korean is subject, object and verb; qualifying elements precede the objects qualified; dependent clauses precede independent clauses. The Korean language is rich in sound, and there are 10 primary vowels, as well as secondary or derived vowels.

In the Korean language, the function of euphony is conspicuous. Euphony is the distinctive characteristic of Korean language. The Korean language, however, became complicated by the wide use of “honorifics” in accordance with the complex social order of Korea. Another characteristic feature of the Korean language is that it possesses a large vocabulary, not only for expressions of concrete things but for presentations of subtle human feelings and sentiments. It is, however, short of words pertaining to abstract reasoning and logical thinking. This renders it extremely difficult for a translator to interpret Korean into a foreign language word for word and vice versa.

The main dialects of Korean are northern Korean and southern Korean. Korean spoken in Seoul is regarded as the standard spoken language. During the past several hundred years, the normal evolution of Korean as an independent and original language has been hindered much by two developments. Chief among them was the discouragement of the use of native tongue by Confucian influences that encouraged the use of Chinese letters. The other hindrance was the policy of the Japanese colonial rule which attempted systematically to destroy the Korean language. Since liberation in 1945, however, there have been movements aimed at refining and standardizing Han-gul.

Han-gul
There are historical evidences, though uncorroborated, that suggest that ancient Koreans used their own system of writings. Some scholars regard inscriptions on the stone walls in Namhae inland as ancient Korean characters. The Samguksagi (history of the Three Kingdoms) says : “letters were first used in the beginning of the Koguryo Kingdom.” Notwithstanding the historical evidence, it is true that the Koreans wrote exclusively in Chinese characters until the 15th century. Then in 1443, King Sejong of the Chosun Dynasty, with the help of several scholars (Chong In-ji, Song Sam-mun and Shin Suk-chu), invented a phonetic alphabet called Han-gul which has since been in use.

The Korean alphabet is so simple that anybody can master it. In a Korean encyclopedia compiled in about 1770, a reference was made to the simplicity of Han-gul, saying that “the possibility of interchanging letters is unlimitedly simple, but that the language is very efficiently neat and comprehensive enough for any combinations.” The Korean alphabet consisted originally of 28 letters, according to Hunminjongum, the book of the authorized alphabet first promulgated. It was reduced later to 24 letters. In the Korean alphabet there are 10 vowels (originally 11) and 14 consonants. Two principles were followed in devising the forms of vowels and consonants. The 14 consonants symbolize either the organs of speech or the manner of articulation. The 11 vowels are devised to symbolize heaven, earth and man, the three elements constituting the universe in the Oriental view of the universe.

By taking a consonant sound like K and putting it before each of the vowels, various syllables begin to take shape. If the syllable should begin with a vowel sound, the consonant NG precedes the vowel. The NG has no sound when used in that way. The shape of the vowel determines whether the consonant should be placed above it or to the left of it. Currently 24 letters are in use. They represent the phonemes of the Korean language. ª¡ (k or g), ª¤ (n), ª§ (t or d), ªⓒ (r or l), ª± (m), ª² (p or b), ªμ (s), ª¸ (ch or j), ªº (ch or ch), ª≫ (k or k), ª¼ (t or t), ª½ (p or p), ª¾ (h), ª·(ng), ª¿ (a), ªA (ya), ªA(o), ªA (yo), ªC (o), ªE (yo), ªI (u), ªÐ (yu), ªN (u), ªO(i)(See the New Romanization System for Korean Words) In the Hunminjongum, 28 original letters were classified as follows :17 consonants (initial sounds) ;
Molar(ª¡, ª½, ª·)
Lingual(ª§, ª¼, ª¤)
Labial(ª², ª½, ª±)
Dental(ª¸, ªº, ªμ)
Glottal( , ª¾, ª·)
Semi-lingual(ªⓒ)
Semi-dental(¡I)
11 vowels(medial sounds); ª¿ ªA ªA ªA ªC ªE ªI ªÐ ªN ªO

Soil
The soil of Korea is unique in that a large portion of it contains displaced alluvia instead of stationary alluvia. The displaced alluvia is composed of soil that has been moved away from base rocks by such external forces as rain, streams and winds. The most common rocks in Korea are granite and gneiss. Ingneous rocks such as basalt and porphyry, and sedimentary rocks, including limestone, argillite and sandstone are also abundant in Korea. Since a high percentage of Korean soil contains granite and gneiss, it is sandy. Volcanic soils are also found on the islands of Cheju and Ullung.

Flora
Due to its geographical location, Korea is a good natural habitat for a great number of plants and animals. According to a botanical tally, more than 4,500 species of vascular plants are found in the north and in mountainous areas, the central region and western lowlands have heavy vegetation, including broad-leaved deciduous trees. On the southern coast and on the offshore islands of Cheju and Ullung, warm-temperature plants grow abundantly. Among the trees commonly found in Korea are pine, maple, oak, larch, elm, spruce, willow, alder, birch and poplar. Common fruit trees are the apple, pear, peach, chestnut and persimmon, etc.

Faunae
Korea belongs to the Palaearctic Zoogeographic realm. Animal life in Korea’s highlands around Mt. Paektu on the Korea-Manchuria border is closely related to that in the boreal zones of Manchuria, mainland China, Siberia, Sakhalin and Hokkaido. Representative species in the highlands are the deer, the roe deer, the amur goral, the Manchurian weasel, the brown bear, the tiger, the lynx, the northern pika, the water shew, the muskrat, the Manchurian ring-necked pheasant, the black grouse, the hawk owl, the pine grosbeak and the three-toed woodpecker. In the southern lowlands of Korea, the faunae which are closely related to those of southern Manchuria, central China, and Japan, include the black bear, the river deer, the mandarin vole, the white-bellied black woodpecker, the fairy pitta and the ring-necked pheasant.To preserve rare wildlife species, the Korean government has designated as natural monuments 23 species of wildlife, including the white-naped crane, the great bustard, the musk deer, the hooded crane and the stellar’s sea eagle. Other fauna monuments are the domesticated silky fowl, the California grey whale and Korea¡&hibar;s purebred dog, the Chindokae.

Mineral Resources
According to a government survey, there are 287 minerals in Korea. Among minerals used for commercial purposes are gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, zinc, tungsten, kaolinite, barites and molybdenum. The largest portion of Korea’s developed mineral wealth is in the northern part of the peninsula. Although South Korea also possesses important minerals and ores, including such basic metals as iron, copper and aluminum, they are more common in North Korea. Korea has no great deposits of coal. Its known deposits of coal are composed almost entirely of anthracite and contain little lignite. South Korea’s chief metallic mineral is tungsten.Marine Resources Since cold and warm currents meet off the coast of Korea, the seas surrounding the Korean peninsula abound in fishery resources. There are many kinds of edible fish in Korean waters, including shellfish, algae and other species of sea animals and plants.

Temperature
Korea’s climate has wide variations and differences influenced by monsoons, the latitudinal position and terrain and the currents running along its coasts. The country spans nine latitudes with the elevations in the north greater than in the south. Due to these geo-graphical factors, the average temperature drops from the south to the north. The average temperature throughout the year is 13 degrees Celcius along the southern coast and drops as low as 10 degrees Celcius and 8 degrees Celcius respectively over the central and northern zones. The west coast, facing continental Asia, is vulnerable to the influences of cool monsoons during all seasons of the year. The east coast, on the other hand, is separated from the West by steep mountain ranges that protect it from the northwesterly winds. Furthermore, owing to the warm currents from the east sea, it is about 2 degrees Celcius warmer than the west coast.

Differences in temperature are least conspicuous during the summer months. The average temperature in August in the lower area of the east coast, which is affected by warm currents, is about 25 degrees Celcius, while it falls below this on the northeastern coast and in the Kaema Plateau. The average maximum temperature throughout the country is generally over 40 degrees Celcius. The hottest period of the year lasts for about one month, beginning in early August. The outstanding feature of winter is a clear temperature difference between the north and the south. The average minimum temperatures along the southern coast, in the interior and on the Kaema Plateau in the north are -5 degrees Celcius, -9 degrees Celcius and -26 degrees Celcius, respectively. The northern frontier town of Chunggangjin once recorded the lowest temperature in Korea at -43.6 degrees Celcius. The winter lasts six months in the northernmost areas as compared with only three months in the southern provinces.

Rainfall
Korea is located in the East-Asian Monsoon belt. The summer monsoon brings abundant moisture from the ocean, and produces heavy rainfalls. The average annual precipitation in Korea varies from 500mm in the northeastern inland areas to 1,500mm on the southern coast. More than half of the land registers an average annual precipitation rate of 800mm to 1,000mm. About 55-56 percent of the total annual rainfall occurs in June, July and August and often some 30 percent of the annual rainfall is seen in July alone. There is more rainfall in the wetern regions than in the east.

Particularly, South Kyongsang province draws much more than 1,300mm of rainfall a year. The eastern inland areas along the Chongchon and Han River basins, mideast coastal areas and western part of the southern coast are where heavy rains are recorded every year. The areas on the upper reaches of the Tumen River registers the scantiest rainfall of 500mm.

Coastlines and Islands
The entire coastline of the Korean peninsula proper is about 17,000 kms including its adjacent islands. The west coast is marked by numerous indentations and irregularities, and abounds in islands. On the other hand, the east coast is mostly steep and has only a few islands. The south coast is even more irregular than the west and is considered a most unusual coastline formations in the world. The east coast has a relatively few good harbors, while the west and the south have them in abundance. However, harbors on the west Coast are handicapped by big differences in tides. The gap in tides reaches as much as 33 feet at Inchon, while on the east coast near Wonsan, the difference is only a foot.

The major ports along the east coast include Unggi, Chongjin, Songjin and Wonsan in North Korea, Mukho and Pohang in the South. Mukho, located halfway between Wonsan and Pusan, serves as a base for fisheries. Pohang, which is one of the largest ports on the east coast, houses a large integrated iron and steel mill. Chinnampo in North Korea and Inchon and Kunsan in South Korea are the ports located on the west coast. Chinnampo, the largest port on the west coast of North Korea, has been the center of trade with China. Inchon, which has become famous since it served as the staging area for the allied amphibious landing during the Korean War, is important as a gateway to Seoul, due to its proximity. Major ports along the south coast are Ulsan, Pusan, Chinhae, Masan, Yosu and Mokpo. Pusan is the oldest and the largest port city in Korea. Ulsan is well known for its industrial complex. Chinhae is important for its naval base, and Yosu is primarily a fishing port.

Inland Waters
Korean rivers are mostly short, shallow and swift, due to its topographical characteristics. As the eastern and the northern parts of the country are mountainous while the western and the southern parts abound in narrow plains, the majority of large rivers are in the south and west. Rivers exceeding 400kms in length are the Yalu and the Tumen which form the borders between Korea and Manchuria. Together with Taedong, Kum and Naktong Rivers, these rivers provide for good waterways. They also provide water to the nation’s agriculture, as well as to serve to generate hydroelectric powers.

Korea consists of a mountainous peninsula and 3,201 contiguous islands. It is separated from Manchuria by the Yalu River, Mt. Paektu and the Tumen River. The Tumen River separates Korea from Siberia at its mouth. The Korean peninsula is flanked by two oceans, the East Sea to the east and the West (Yellow) Sea to the west. It lies between 124.11 degrees and 131.52 degrees East Longitude and between 33.06 degrees and 43.1 degrees North Latitude in the northern temperate zone of the Eastern Hemisphere. The standard time is based on the meridian passing through the center of the peninsula along 135 East Longitude. The total area of Korea is about 221,000 square kilometers — 99,173 square kilometers in South Korea, 122,827 square kilometers in North Korea. The longest distance in the peninsula from north to south is 600 miles, and the average distance from west to east is 170 miles.  

President Roh Moo-hyun took office on Feb. 25, 2003. His rise.to power was based on wide public support, with voluntary.fundraising and campaigning by citizens during the campaign. The.transition of power was conducted smoothly with President Kim’s.full support and blessing. Roh promised prosperity, reform, peace and new opportunities on.the Korean Peninsula in his inauguration speech. Calling national.integration “the most important task of our time,” he outlined his.hope for a society in which hard work receives the greatest.rewards while discrimination, parochialism and the gap between the.haves and have-nots are all eliminated.

The so-called “participatory” government has set 12 top policy.goals for the next five years. First, build a firm foundation for.peace on the Korean Peninsula. Second, ensure a corruption-free.society and improve government service. Third, promote balanced.national development and diffusion of power. Fourth, reform.politics based on participation and consolidation. Fifth,.guarantee free and fair market order. Sixth, develop South Korea.into an economic hub of Northeast Asia. Seventh, build a science.and technology-centered society. Eighth, build a brighter future.for the agricultural and fishery communities. Ninth, improve.participatory welfare and quality of life. Tenth, achieve national.harmony and gender equality. Eleventh, carry out educational.reform and build a knowledge- and culture-based society. Lastly,.build a labor-management relationship for social consolidation.

President Roh’s biggest task in the international sphere is.maintaining a peaceful atmosphere with North Korea, which is.threatened by Pyongyang’s determination to acquire nuclear weapons..In his inauguration speech, Roh made it clear that South Korea.will only aid North Korea economically when Pyongyang gives up its.nuclear weapons development program. However, he has stood firmly.against resolving tension through military means, saying he would.not go along with the United States, the country’s number one ally,.if it planned to attack the North’s nuclear development facilities.

Despite the growing dispute over Pyongyang’s possession of.weapons of mass destruction, families separated since the Korean.War are still being permitted to hold reunions, mainly at Mount.Kumgang, North Korea. President Roh’s government is still carrying.out economic projects that began with the support of the previous.administration. In devising his cabinet, President Roh retained the chief North.Korea policymaker. Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun was the key.architect of former President Kim’s policy of engagement. This.affirmed Roh’s vow to continue the previous administration’s.policy. Another notable cabinet appointment was the first female.justice minister. Kang Gum-sil, a 46-year-old lawyer, is not only.the first female minister in a traditionally male dominated.profession, but represents a break from the tradition of promoting.officials based on seniority. Roh’s government is still in an early stage, but its success.will depend on its achievement of the 12 policy goals, promises.that President Roh made to the public.  

From the beginning, the regime’s biggest task was overcoming.the financial crisis that shook the nation’s economy to its roots.in late 1997. “If democracy and a market economy harmonize and.develop in tandem, there will be no collusion between government.and business circles, no government-controlled finance and no.corruption and irregularities,” said the president in his.inauguration address.

President Kim added that transparent business management would.evolve from economic restructuring, and bad practices such as.cross-guarantees of debt payments would end. He promised to take.tough action against leaders of mismanagement and concentrate on.building a sound financial structure. The government’s efforts for a fast economic recovery paid off.in August 2001 when the nation completed repayment of bailout.loans, amounting to $19.5 billion, from the International Monetary.Fund (IMF) three years ahead of schedule. As of the end of January.2003, the nation’s official foreign exchange reserves stood at 122.billion dollars, a drastic improvement from the four billion at.the end of 1997.

His government also concentrated on nurturing the IT industry .and working to improve the national welfare by guaranteeing a.basic standard of living. However, its greatest achievement would.be the “Sunshine Policy” on inter-Korean relations. President Kim.adhered to three principles – blocking any North Korean aggression.against the South, promising that South Korea would not absorb the.North, and separating politics from the economy – to promote .cooperation and exchanges between Seoul and Pyongyang. As a result, Kim became the first South Korean leader to.participate in an inter-Korean summit when he traveled to.Pyongyang on June 15, 2000. Since then, there have been continuous.dialogues between the two countries, including nine minister-level.talks. Prior to the government-level exchanges, civilians began.traveling to the North’s Mount Kumgang in November 1998. This.could not have been possible without the government’s full.political support. Nonetheless, there were a few military incidents with North.Korea that startled the nation. In June 1998, the South Korean.navy captured a North Korean submarine after it became entangled.in a fishing net near Sokcho on the eastern coast. In June of the.following year, a North Korean torpedo boat was sunk and two other.northern vessels seriously damaged in a fierce battle off the West.Coast. But the most casualties occurred in June 2002. Five South.Korean sailors were killed and 19 others were wounded, with one.still missing, during another exchange of fire in the West Sea..However, cultural and economic exchanges between the two Koreas.are continuing.

In the international sports arena, Kim’s government was praised.for successfully hosting the 2002 Busan Asian Games and co-hosting.the 2002 World Cup with Japan. The South Korean team finished .fourth in the soccer tournament. Despite all these achievements, President Kim and his.government had to endure dark moments. Although the nation chose Kim Dae-jung as its leader, his party.failed to win the majority at the National Assembly, which often.resulted in gridlock with the opposition party, led by Lee.Hoi-chang.

President Kim’s government came under fierce attack when his.two sons and a right-hand man, Kwon Roh-gap, were arrested for.accepting bribes. The arrests were a serious blow to the Nobel.Peace Prize laureate and further tarnished the image of the.government, which had yet to fully recover from the “Clothes.Lobby” scandal in late 1998. The Kim administration is also accused of secretly paying North.Korea US$100 million to get Pyongyang to agree to the historic.summit in 2000. Kim has admitted to approving the transfer and.defended the action by saying it was for the sake of peace, and.history will decide whether his action was just or not.  

President Kim Young-sam was sworn as president on Feb. 25, 1993 amid upbeat public fanfare, being the first civilian president in three decades. Kim began his five-year term with a pledge to engineer sweeping reforms in all sectors of society, particularly stressing the need to cut once and for all traditional collusive links between politicians and businessmen.

In the early days of his term, Kim enforced a set of reformative programs to public acclaim. For instance, he forced senior public officials and politicians to declare assets of their families and themselves, and expelled politically-minded generals from active service and introduced a real-name financial transactions system.

However, the chief executive soon faltered in his reform drive, apparently amid resistance from conservatives who formed the main stay of his power base. Moreover, some of his reforms were criticized as being prejudiced and unfair.

His waning popularity was evident in the local elections on June 27, 1995, when his ruling party suffered a stunning defeat.

In a symbolic gesture to rejuvenate his sagging party, the president renamed the ruling Democratic Liberal Party, the New Korea Party (NKP). As part of his strategy to win back public support for the NKP and himself, Kim launched a history righting campaign targeted mainly against two former heads of state, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo.Under the president’s initiative, the ruling party huddled together with opposition parties to hammer out a law empowering the prosecution to act against the two ex-presidents, regardless of the statute of limitations.

Prosecutors arrested Chun and Roh and some of their colleagues on charges of rebellion, under the Military Criminal Code, for their roles in the 1979 coup and the Kwangju massacre in May 1980. The two ex-presidents were also charged with graft.

The Seoul District Court sentenced Chun to death and Roh to 22-and-half-a-years in prison. The Seoul Appeals Court reduced Chun’s sentence to life imprisonment and Roh’s to 17 years, both of which were upheld by the Supreme Court on April 17, 1997.President Kim’s action against Chun and Roh paid off, since public support for him was waning.

No sooner had Kim rejoiced over election victories, when public suspicion surfaced that he had received a large sum of Roh’s slush fund as campaign funds in the 1992 presidential elections.

Compounding the campaign fund issue and dealing a crushing blow to his image, the Hanbo scandal erupted at the turn of 1997. Hanbo Group Chairman Chung Tae-soo had attained a huge amount of bank loans to finance the construction of his ironworks company in Tangjin without proper collateral, apparently through influential politicians.The opposition camp accused Kim Hyun-chul, the second son of President Kim, of being a central figure in the scandal. They said a large portion of the loans must have flowed into the pockets of ruling camp politicians as kickbacks, and a number of ruling and opposition politicians had in fact, received money from Chung.

At a National Assembly hearing on the scandal, the junior Kim denied guilt or any wrongdoing. But the prosecution arrested him on May 17 on charges of allegedly receiving 6.5 billion won from businessmen, 3.2 billion won of it in kickbacks.

Another incident that marred the image of the Kim Young-sam Administration was controversy over the passage of amendments to labor-related laws, and the Law on the Agency for National Security Planning. With public sentiment sizzling, the ruling and opposition parties worked out and adopted new bills on March 10, 1997, to replace the disputed laws.

Meanwhile, the diplomatically-active president saw a personal goal fulfilled with the country’s entry into the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). South Korea was admitted as OECD’s 29th member country on Oct. 11, 1997, five years after the nation expressed an interest in joining it.  

President Roh Tae-woo took the oath of office ushering in the Sixth Republic in February 1988. President Roh began his term of office by promising that the authoritarian rule of the past would end and that the June 29 Declaration would continue to be adhered to. Prior to the presidential election of 1987, Roh made a dramatic declaration, now known as the June 29 Declaration, in which he accepted ractically all of the opposition demands including choosing of the President through a popular vote which led to his assumption of power as the first popularly elected President in 16 years.

During his term of office, President Roh took many measures and steps with the aim of liberalizing and democratizing the national life and institutions. These included the repeal or revision of non-democratic laws and regulations, release of many political detainees and discontinuation of surveillance of the news rooms of major press organizations including radio and television stations by the government’s intelligence agents.

During the Roh administration, Interna-tional Olympic games were held in Seoul for the first time in the nation’s history. The 24th Olympics held in Korea in 1988 was widely hailed as a great success. President Roh shook the political world of the country in January 1990 by announcing a grand unprecedented alignment in which his ruling Democratic Justice Party merged into a new Democratic Liberal Party with two major opposition political parties, Kim Yong-sam’s Reunification Democratic Party and the New Democratic Republican Party led by Kim Jong-pil.

The unusual political realignment was the direct result of the surprising returns of the National Assembly election held on April 26, 1988. The final vote tallies of the nationwide elections revealed that Roh’s ruling Democratic Justice Party failed to muster a working majority in the National Assembly. On top of that, the Democratic Party for Peace led by Kim Dae-jung came out to be the largest opposition in the National Assembly. Through this grand maneuver, it was Kim Yong-sam who benefitted most in paving the way for his triumphant victory in the presidential race in 1992.