Location: Eastern Asia, between North Korea and Japan

Map references: Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area: 98,480 sq km
land area: 98,190 sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Indiana

Land boundaries: total 238 km, North Korea 238 km

Coastline: 2,413 km

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 12 nm; 3 nm in the Korea Strait

International disputes: Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan

Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter

Terrain: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south

Natural resources: coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 21%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 1%
forest and woodland: 67%
other: 10%

Irrigated land: 13,530 sq km (1989)

Environment:
current issues: air pollution in large cities; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents
natural hazards: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Law of the Sea

NOTE: The information regarding Korea, South on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Korea, South Geography 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Korea, South Geography 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.