South Korea

American  

[south kuh-ree-uh, kaw-, koh-] / ˈsaʊθ kəˈri ə, kɔ-, koʊ- /

noun

1. Official Name Republic of Korea.  a country in East Asia: formed 1948 after the division of the former country of Korea at the 38th parallel. 36,600 sq. mi. (94,795 sq. km). Seoul.

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South Korea British  

noun

1. Korean name: Hanguk.  a republic in NE Asia: established as a republic in 1948; invaded by North Korea and Chinese Communists in 1950 but division remained unchanged at the end of the war (1953); includes over 3000 islands; rapid industrialization. Language: Korean. Religions: Buddhist, Confucianist, Shamanist, and Chondokyo. Currency: won. Capital: Seoul. Pop: 48 955 203 (2013 est). Area: 98 477 sq km (38 022 sq miles)

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South Korea Cultural  

1. Officially the Republic of Korea; located on the peninsula separating the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan, two arms of the Pacific Ocean. Its capital and largest city is Seoul.

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Discover More

During the 1980s, South Korea became a major industrial power in Asia.

Supported by the United States, South Korea was created in 1948 after American and Soviet occupation zones established at the end of World War II had divided Korea into north and south.

During the Korean War, noncommunist South Korea, aided by forces of the United Nations, and communist North Korea, aided by Chinese forces, fought from 1950 to 1953.

Other Word Forms

• South Korean adjective

Example Sentences

Samsung’s chief memory rivals—SK Hynix of South Korea and U.S.-based Micron Technology MU 0.96%increase; green up pointing triangle —recently delivered similarly dizzying results.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026

It does not include businesses founded in California by foreign owners, a reason countries like South Korea — ranked 11th — are not higher on the report, Cheung said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

According to Geoffrey Cain, the family is the "equivalent of royalty" in South Korea.

From BBC • Apr. 29, 2026

That and data privacy concerns have led DeepSeek AI to be banned or restricted on government-issued devices in several countries, including the United States, Australia and South Korea.

From Barron's • Apr. 24, 2026

The proportional burden on South Korea, some studies have found, would be two and a half times greater than on West Germany after it absorbed the former East Germany.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden