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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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South Korea
Index
![[GIF]](/images/frd/cs/korea_south/kr01_00a.gif)
Panghwasuru Pavilion, port of Suwon Castle
A SMALL COUNTRY, approximately the size of Britain, Korea is
located on a peninsula that protrudes southward from the
northeastern corner of the Asian continent. It is an old country,
whose people evolved as one nation from the seventh century until
1945, when the country was divided by the United States and the
Soviet Union at the end of World War II. The ensuing cold war
created two Korean governments, one in the north known as the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and another in the
south known as the Republic of Korea (ROK). The two Koreas
engaged in a bitter war between 1950 and 1953 and remained
divided as of 1990, even though the two governments began talk to
each other in 1971.
South Korea and North Korea took distinctly different paths
of development after they were divided. By 1990 North Korea had
emerged as a staunch communist society, while South Korea was
evolving into a liberal democracy after many years of military
dictatorship. The two societies, however, shared a common
tradition and culture.
Data as of June 1990
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