1.
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
2.
Busan
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Busan, officially Busan Metropolitan City, romanized as Pusan before 2000, is South Koreas second most-populous city after Seoul, with a population of approximately 3.6 million. The population of the area, including the adjacent cities of Gimhae. The city is located on the southeastern-most tip of the Korean peninsula, located within South Koreas largest industrial area, The Southeast Economic Zone, the city is the cultural, educational and economic center of the region. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth busiest seaport by cargo tonnage. The most densely built up areas of the city are situated in a number of narrow valleys between the Nakdong River and the Suyeong River, with mountains separating most of the districts, administratively, it is designated as a Metropolitan City. The Busan metropolitan area is divided into 15 major administrative districts, Busan was the host city of the 2002 Asian Games and the APEC2005 Korea. It was also one of the host cities for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, on November 14,2005, the city authorities officially announced its bid to host the 2020 Summer Olympics Games. After Pyeongchangs successful bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics, Busan is considering bidding to host the 2028 or 2032 Summer Olympics, Busan has Koreas largest beach and longest river, and is home to the worlds largest department store, the Shinsegae Centum City. Geochilsan-guk existed in the second and 3rd and 4th centuries as a chiefdom of Jinhan and it was absorbed by Silla and renamed Geochilsan-gun. The word Geochilsan means rough mountain, probably referring to Hwangbyeongsan, the mounded burials of Bokcheon-dong were built along the top of a ridge that overlooks a wide area that makes up parts of modern-day Dongnae-gu and Yeonje-gu. Archaeologists excavated more than 250 iron weapons and ingots from Burial No,38, a wooden chamber tomb at Bokcheon-dong. In 757, Geochilsan-gun was again renamed Dongnae, which it is still called, from the beginning of the 15th century, the Korean government designated Busan as a trading port with the Japanese and allowed their settlement. Other Japanese settlements in Ulsan and Jinhae diminished later, but the Busan settlement, called Waegwan at the time, after the war, diplomatic relations with the new shogunate in Japan were established in 1607, and Busan Waegwan was permitted to be reconstructed. The Japanese settlement, though relocated into Choryang later, continued to exist until Korea was exposed to modern diplomacy in 1876, in 1876, Busan became the first international port in Korea. During the Japanese rule, Busan developed into a hub trading port with Japan, Busan was the only city in Korea to adopt the steam tramway before electrification was introduced in 1924. During the Korean War, Busan was one of two cities in South Korea not captured by the North Korean army within the first three months of the War. As a result, the city became a camp site for Koreans during the war. As Busan was one of the few areas in Korea that remained under the control of South Korea throughout the Korean War, UN troops established a defensive perimeter around the city known as the Pusan Perimeter in the summer and autumn of 1950
3.
Administrative divisions of South Korea
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South Korea is made up of 17 first-tier administrative divisions,6 metropolitan cities,1 special city,1 special self-governing city, and 9 provinces, including one special self-governing province. These are further subdivided into a variety of entities, including cities, counties, districts, towns, townships, neighborhoods and villages. The governors of the divisions are elected every four years. A si is one of the divisions of a province, along with gun, cities have a population of at least 150,000, once a county attains that population, it becomes a city. Cities with a population of over 500,000 are divided into districts, Gimhae, Hwaseong, gus are then further divided into neighborhoods, cities with a population of less than 500,000 do not have wards – these cities are directly divided into neighborhoods. A gun is one of the divisions of a province, and of the cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon. A gun has a population of less than 150,000, is densely populated than a gu. Gun are comparable to British non-metropolitan districts, counties are divided into towns and districts. Specially, the size of a gun is less than a US county, a gu is equivalent to district in the West. Most cities are divided into gu, though the cities of Busan, Daegu, Incheon. Gu are similar to boroughs in some Western countries, and a gu office handles many of the functions that would be handled by the city in other jurisdictions, an eup is similar to the unit of town. Along with myeon, an eup is one of the divisions of a county, the main town or towns in a county—or the secondary town or towns within a citys territory—are designated as eup. In order to form an eup, the population required is 20,000. A myeon is one of the divisions – along with eup – of a county, myeons have smaller populations than eup and represent the rural areas of a county or city. The minimum population limit is 6,000, a dong is the primary division of districts, and of those cities which are not divided into districts. The dong is the smallest level of government to have its own office. In some cases, a legal dong is divided into several administrative dong. Administrative dong are usually distinguished from one another by number, in such cases, each administrative dong has its own office and staff
4.
Sea of Japan
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The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, and the Asian mainland. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean and it is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean and this isolation also reflects in the fauna species and in the water salinity, which is lower than in the ocean. The sea has no islands, bays or capes. Its water balance is determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas. Few rivers discharge into the sea and their contribution to the water exchange is within 1%. The seawater has a concentration of dissolved oxygen that results in high biological productivity. Therefore, fishing is the dominant economic activity in the region, the intensity of shipments across the sea has been moderate owing to political issues, but it is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of East Asian economies. The sea is called Rìběn hǎi or originally Jīng hǎi in China, Yaponskoye more in Russia, Chosŏn Tonghae in North Korea, a naming dispute exists about the sea name, with South and North Korea promoting the English translation of its native name East Sea. In Europe, the sea is called Mer du Japon in French, Japanisches Meer in German, Mar del Giappone in Italian, in Southeast Asia, the sea is called Laut Jepun in Malay, Laut Jepang in Indonesian, and Dagat Hapon in Filipino. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Japan Sea as follows, the Northeastern limit of the Eastern China Sea and the Western limit of the Inland Sea. A line running from Nagoya Saki in Kyûsyû through the islands of Uma Sima, from the extremity of Siriya Saki to the extremity of Esan Saki. A line joining Sôni Misaki and Nishi Notoro Misaki, from Cape Tuik to Cape Sushcheva. The Sea of Japan was once a landlocked sea when the bridge of East Asia existed. The onset of formation of the Japan Arc was in Early Miocene, the Early Miocene period also corresponds to incipient opening of the Japan Sea, and the northern and southern parts of the Japanese archipelago that were separated from each other. During the Miocene, there was expansion of Sea of Japan, the northern part of the Japanese archipelago was further fragmented at later periods until the orogenesis of the northeastern Japanese archipelago began in the later Late Miocene. The southern part of the Japanese archipelago remained as a large landmass. The land area had expanded northward in the Late Miocene, the orogenesis of high mountain ranges in the northeastern Japan started in Late Miocene and it lasts in Pliocene also
5.
Sea of Japan naming dispute
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The international name for the body of water which is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia, and South Korea is disputed. In 1992, objections to the name Sea of Japan were first raised by North Korea, the Japanese government supports the use of the name Sea of Japan, while South Korea supports the name East Sea, and North Korea supports the name East Sea of Korea. The involved countries have advanced a variety of arguments to support their preferred name, many of the arguments revolve around determining when the name Sea of Japan became the common name. South Korea argues that historically the common name was East Sea, Sea of Korea. South Korea further argues that the name Sea of Japan did not become common until Korea was under Japanese rule, at which time it had no ability to influence international affairs. Japan argues that the name Sea of Japan has been the most common name since at least the beginning of the 19th century. Both sides have conducted studies of antiquarian maps, but the two countries have produced divergent research results, additional arguments have been raised regarding the underlying geography of the sea as well as potential problems regarding the ambiguity of one name or the other. Both sides in the dispute have put forward a number of arguments to support their claims, the first documented map to name the area the Sea of Japan was the world map drawn by the Italian missionary Matteo Ricci in China named Kunyu Wanguo Quantu. No Japanese record published up to the late-18th century indicated any name for the body of water, furthermore, South Korea has pointed out that a few 19th-century Japanese maps referred to the sea as Chōsenkai, including the Simplified Map of Japans Periphery and New World Map. South Korea argues there was no standard name prior to Japans military expansion in the region in the late 19th, additionally, it specifically states that the name Sea of Japan was not widely used, even in Japan, as late as the mid 19th century. Thus, South Korea argues that the current name reflects active promotion by Japan during a time when Korea could not represent its interests internationally. Accordingly, they state, Japan could not have, at time, had an influence on the international community regarding the naming of the sea. Krusenstern was an admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe, according to Japanese records, it was Krusenstern who popularized the name Mer du Japon in the West. The original book was published in St. Petersburg in German and Russian, translated into Dutch, French, Swedish, Italian and English, and distributed widely among Europe. As a result, the name of the sea changed from no name to the Sea of Japan. Thus, the Japanese side argues that the South Koreans misunderstand the history of the name, to provide evidence for the date when Sea of Japan came to be used internationally, both South Korea and Japan have undertaken surveys of various historical maps. In 2004, South Korea surveyed ancient maps archived in the British Library, the Cambridge University Library, the University of Southern California East Asian Map Collection, Library of Congress, the National Library of Russia, and the French National Library examined 762 maps. They found that 440 maps had used Sea of Korea, Oriental Sea/East Sea,122 had used Sea of Japan, in the French language, the word orientale includes both the meaning of eastern related to compass direction and the meaning of oriental, the Asiatic region
6.
Suyeong District
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Suyeong District is a gu in central Busan, South Korea. It has a density of about 17,768 inhabitants per square kilometer. Suyeong-gu was created in 1995 following its separation from Nam-gu and it is border in the North-East by the Suyeonggang River. The name Suyeong came from Gyeongsang JwaSuyeong, means navy command of Gyeongsang left area, the line 2 of Busan Subway runs through Suyeong-gu with 5 stations, from Millak to Namcheon. The southern terminal of line 3 is Suyeong station, making Suyeong an important location for subway transportation/transfers
Central Busan travel guide from Wikivoyage