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South Korea
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South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC and its rich and vibrant culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed into Imperial Japan in 1910, Korea was divided after its surrender in 1945, peace has since mostly continued with the two agreeing to work peacefully for reunification and the South solidifying peace as a regional power with the worlds 10th largest defence budget. South Koreas tiger economy soared at an average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus on innovation made it successful, today, it is the worlds fifth largest exporter with the G20s largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the economy and is the only G20 nation trading freely with China, the US. Since 1988, its constitution guarantees a liberal democracy with high government transparency, high personal freedoms led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, a phenomenon called the Korean Wave, known for its distinctive fashionable and trendy style. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, South Korea is a leader in low carbon growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC. It is the third least ignorant country in the Index of Ignorance, ranking eighth highest for peaceful tolerance. It is the worlds largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science, the name Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo itself was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, the modern spelling of Korea first appeared in the late 17th century in the travel writings of the Dutch East India Companys Hendrick Hamel. After Goryeo was replaced by Joseon in 1392, Joseon became the name for the entire territory. The new official name has its origin in the ancient country of Gojoseon, in 1897, the Joseon dynasty changed the official name of the country from Joseon to Daehan Jeguk. The name Daehan, which means great Han literally, derives from Samhan, however, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted, there were several groups who fought for independence, the most notable being the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the Republic of Korea was adopted as the name for the new country. Since the government only controlled the part of the Korean Peninsula
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Skyscraper
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A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building having multiple floors. When the term was used in the 1880s it described a building of 10 to 20 floors. Mostly designed for office, commercial and residential uses, a skyscraper can also be called a high-rise, for buildings above a height of 300 m, the term supertall can be used, while skyscrapers reaching beyond 600 m are classified as megatall. One common feature of skyscrapers is having a steel framework that supports curtain walls and these curtain walls either bear on the framework below or are suspended from the framework above, rather than resting on load-bearing walls of conventional construction. Some early skyscrapers have a frame that enables the construction of load-bearing walls taller than of those made of reinforced concrete. Modern skyscrapers walls are not load-bearing, and most skyscrapers are characterized by surface areas of windows made possible by steel frames. However, skyscrapers can have curtain walls that mimic conventional walls with a surface area of windows. Modern skyscrapers often have a structure, and are designed to act like a hollow cylinder to resist wind, seismic. To appear more slender, allow less wind exposure, and transmit more daylight to the ground, many skyscrapers have a design with setbacks, a relatively big building may be considered a skyscraper if it protrudes well above its built environment and changes the overall skyline. The maximum height of structures has progressed historically with building methods and technologies, the Burj Khalifa is currently the tallest building in the world. High-rise buildings are considered shorter than skyscrapers, the first steel-frame skyscraper was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, Illinois in 1885. Even the scholars making the argument find it to be purely academic and this definition was based on the steel skeleton—as opposed to constructions of load-bearing masonry, which passed their practical limit in 1891 with Chicagos Monadnock Building. What is the characteristic of the tall office building. The force and power of altitude must be in it, the glory and it must be every inch a proud and soaring thing, rising in sheer exaltation that from bottom to top it is a unit without a single dissenting line. Some structural engineers define a highrise as any vertical construction for which wind is a significant load factor than earthquake or weight. Note that this criterion fits not only high-rises but some other tall structures, the word skyscraper often carries a connotation of pride and achievement. A loose convention of some in the United States and Europe draws the limit of a skyscraper at 150 m or 490 ft. The tallest building in ancient times was the 146 m Great Pyramid of Giza in ancient Egypt and it was not surpassed in height for thousands of years, the 14th century AD Lincoln Cathedral being conjectured by many to have exceeded it
3.
Han River (Korea)
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The Han River or Hangang is a major river in South Korea and the fourth longest river on the Korean peninsula after the Amnok, Tuman, and Nakdong rivers. The river begins as two rivers in the eastern mountains of the Korean peninsula, which then converge near Seoul. The Han River and its area have played an important role in Korean history. The Three Kingdoms of Korea strove to control of this land. However, the river is no longer used for navigation. The river serves as a source for over 12 million Koreans. In July 2000, the US military admitted to having dumped toxic chemicals in the river, currently, the lower stretches of the Han river are lined with pedestrian walkways, bicycle paths, public parks and restaurants, particularly in Seoul. The Han is formed by the confluence of the Namhan River, which originates in Mount Daedeok, and the Bukhan River, the River flows through Seoul and then merges with the Rimjin River shortly before it flows into the Yellow Sea. The two major branches of the river, the Namhan River and the Bukhan River, come together at Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi province and it then passes through Seoul and continues on to the Yellow Sea. Broad tidal flats can be found at the mouth of the Han River, the total length of the Han River is approximately 494 kilometres. Although it is not a river, the lower Han is remarkably broad for such a relatively short river. Within Seoul city limits, the river is more than 1 kilometre wide, prior to the construction of a number of major dams, the river was known for its huge coefficient of river regime of 1,390. The Namhangang is sometimes, but not always, referred to as the Han in South Korea, the term South Han is understood irrespective of which side of the border one stands. Even though Namhan and Bukhan are homophones with the acronyms Namhan and Bukhan, used commonly in South Korea, the hanja for the Han River is not 韓 but 漢. It is also easily mistaken with the use of 漢 in Seouls older name, 漢城 where 漢 does not refer to Chinese people, Han River has been called by different names through the course of Korean history. During the period of the Han Commanderies on the peninsula and the part of the three kingdoms period the river was often referred to as the Daesu. The state of Goguryeo called it the Arisu, Baekje called it the Ungniha, while the kingdom of Silla termed it the Iha. The Han River has played a role in Korean history from the earliest times
4.
1988 Summer Olympics
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The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia, in the Seoul Games,159 nations were represented by a total of 8,391 athletes,6,197 men and 2,194 women. 263 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics,11,331 media showed the Games all over the world. These were the last Olympic Games for two of the worlds dominating sport powers, the Soviet Union and East Germany, as both ceased to exist before the next Olympic Games. North Korea, still officially at war with South Korea, and its allies, Albania, Ethiopia, Cuba, Madagascar, Nicaragua boycotted the games because of the U. S. military support to the Contra rebels. However, the much larger boycotts seen in the previous three Summer Olympics were avoided, resulting in the largest ever number of participating nations during the Cold War era, before the opening of the games, thousands of homeless were captured by the police and sent to work camps. Several died under torture. ′ Seoul was chosen to host the Summer Games through a vote held on 30 September 1981, below was the vote count that occurred at the 84th IOC Session and 11th Olympic Congress in Baden-Baden, West Germany. After the Olympics were awarded, Seoul also received the opportunity to stage the 10th Asian Games in 1986, Soviet Vladimir Artemov won four gold medals in gymnastics. Daniela Silivaş of Romania won three and equalled compatriot Nadia Comănecis record of seven Perfect 10s in one Olympic Games, to these medals, she added a gold in the 4×100 relay and a silver in the 4×400. Just after the Games, she announced her retirement, Canadian Ben Johnson won the 100 m final with a new world record, but was disqualified after he tested positive for stanozolol. Johnson has since claimed that his positive test was the result of sabotage, the US finishes in fourth place after the completion of the optional rounds with a combined score of 390.575, three tenths of a point behind the German Democratic Republic. The USSR won their team gold medals in artistic gymnastics on both the mens and womens sides with scores of 593.350 and 395.475 respectively. The mens team was led by Vladimir Artemov, while Elena Shushunova lead the womens team, lawrence Lemieux, a Canadian sailor in the Finn class, was in second place and poised to win a silver medal when he abandoned the race to save an injured competitor. He arrived in 21st place, but was recognized by the IOC with the Pierre de Coubertin medal honoring his bravery and sacrifice. U. S. diver Greg Louganis won back-to-back titles on both diving events, but only hitting the springboard with his head in the 3 m event final. This became a minor controversy years later when Louganis revealed he knew he was HIV-positive at the time, since HIV cannot survive in open water, no other divers were ever in danger. Christa Luding-Rothenburger of East Germany became the first athlete to win Olympic medals at the Winter Olympics and she added a cycling silver to the speed skating gold she won earlier in the Winter Olympics of that year in Calgary. Swimmer Kristin Otto of East Germany won six gold medals, other multi-medalists in the pool were Matt Biondi and Janet Evans
5.
South Korean won
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The won or the Korean Republic Won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit, the jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates. The won is issued by the Bank of Korea, based in the capital city, the old won was a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. It is derived from the hanja 圓, meaning currency or coin, the won was subdivided into 100 jeon, itself a cognate of the Chinese character 錢 which means money and also used as a unit of money in ancient times. The current won is written in hangul only. During the Colonial era, the won was replaced at par by the yen, in 1945 after World War II, Korea became divided, resulting in two separate currencies, both called won, for the South and the North. Both the Southern won and the Northern won replaced the yen at par, the first South Korean won was subdivided into 100 jeon. The South Korean won was pegged to the U. S. dollar at a rate of 15 won =1 dollar. A series of devaluations followed, the ones in part due to the Korean War. The pegs were, The first South Korean won was replaced by the hwan on February 15,1953 at a rate of 1 hwan =100 won, Republic of Korea Banknotes 5th Edition In 1946, the Bank of Joseon introduced 10- and 100-won notes. These were followed in 1949 by 5- and 1, 000-won notes, a new central bank, the Bank of Korea, was established on 12 June 1950, and assumed the duties of Bank of Joseon. Notes were introduced in denominations of 5,10 and 50 jeon, the 500-won notes were introduced in 1952. In 1953, a series of banknotes was issued which, although it gave the denominations in English in won, were, in fact, the won was reintroduced on June 10,1962, at a rate of 1 won =10 hwan. It became the legal tender on March 22,1975. Its ISO4217 code is KRW, at the reintroduction of the won in 1962, its value was pegged at 125 won = $US1. The following pegs operated between 1962 and 1980, On February 27,1980, efforts were initiated to lead to an exchange rate. The won was allowed to float on December 24,1997. Shortly after, the won was devalued to almost half of its value, until 1966, 10- and 50-hwan coins, revalued as 1 and 5 won, were the only coins in circulation
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Art museum
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An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art. Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection, the term is used for both public galleries, which are non-profit or publicly owned museums that display selected collections of art. On the other hand, private galleries refers to the commercial enterprises for the sale of art, however, both types of gallery may host traveling exhibits or temporary exhibitions including art borrowed from elsewhere. In broad terms, in North American usage, the word gallery alone often implies a private gallery, the term contemporary art gallery refers usually to a privately owned for-profit commercial gallery. These galleries are found clustered together in large urban centers. Smaller cities are home to at least one gallery, but they may also be found in towns or villages. Contemporary art galleries are open to the general public without charge, however. They usually profit by taking a portion of art sales, from 25% to 50% is typical, there are also many non-profit or collective galleries. Some galleries in cities like Tokyo charge the artists a flat rate per day, curators often create group shows that say something about a certain theme, trend in art, or group of associated artists. Galleries sometimes choose to represent artists exclusively, giving them the opportunity to show regularly, a gallerys definition can also include the artist cooperative or artist-run space, which often operates as a space with a more democratic mission and selection process. A vanity gallery is an art gallery that charges fees from artists in order to show their work, the shows are not legitimately curated and will frequently or usually include as many artists as possible. Most art professionals are able to identify them on an artists resume, University art museums and galleries constitute collections of art that are developed, owned, and maintained by all kinds of schools, community colleges, colleges, and universities. This phenomenon exists in both the West and East, making it a global practice, although largely overlooked, there are over 700 university art museums in America alone. This number, in comparison to other kinds of art museums, throughout history, large and expensive works of art have generally been commissioned by religious institutions and monarchs and been displayed in temples, churches, and palaces. Although these collections of art were private, they were made available for viewing for a portion of the public. In classical times, religious institutions began to function as a form of art gallery. Wealthy Roman collectors of engraved gems and other precious objects often donated their collections to temples and it is unclear how easy it was in practice for the public to view these items. At the Palace of Versailles, entrance was restricted to wearing the proper apparel – the appropriate accessories could be hired from shops outside
