Total area: 98,480 km2
land area: 98,190 km2

Comparative area: slightly larger than Indiana

Land boundary: 238 km with North Korea

Coastline: 2,413 km

Maritime claims:
@m5Territorial sea: 12 nm (3 nm in the Korea Strait)

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: 21% arable land; 1% permanent crops; 1% meadows and pastures; 67% forest and woodland; 10% other; includes 12% irrigated

Environment: occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest; air pollution in large cities

Notes: strategic location along the Korea Strait, Sea of Japan, and Yellow Sea

NOTE: The information regarding Korea, South on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Korea, South Geography 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Korea, South Geography 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.