History UsefulNotes / SouthKorea

Furthermore, of the twelve presidents of the ROK, four have been Protestant, two Catholic, with three Buddhists and three irreligious. As a result, South Korea is one of the most Christian countries in East Asia; it is certainly the most Protestant (the only Christian-majority countries in Asia are the Catholic Philippines and Timor Leste). As for other religions, the traditional Buddhism (or more accurately a [[ReligiousSmoothie syncretic mixture]] of Buddhism, Confucianism, and traditional beliefs called ''muism'') of Korea has about 22% of the population; most of the rest are irreligious.

* UsefulNotes/KoreanWave: The international popularity of Korean pop culture starting in the 2000's.

Furthermore, of the twelve presidents of the ROK, four have been Protestant, two Catholic, with three Buddhists and three irreligious. As a result, South Korea is one of the most Christian countries in East Asia; it is certainly the most Protestant (the only Christian-majority countries in East Asia are the Catholic Philippines and Timor Leste). As for other religions, the traditional Buddhism (or more accurately a [[ReligiousSmoothie syncretic mixture]] of Buddhism, Confucianism, and traditional beliefs called ''muism'') of Korea has about 22% of the population; most of the rest are irreligious.

** Prime Minister: Choo Kyung-ho (acting)
** Speaker of the National Assembly: Park Byeong-seug
** Chief Justice: Kim Myeong-soo
** President of the Constitutional Court: Yoo Nam-seok

The most notable event (to the world, anyway) in the history of South Korea is UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, sometimes called the Six Twenty Five War. Its first president and wartime leader, Syngman Rhee, was a horrifically incompetent and brutal dictator whose views bordered on fascistic and was extremely corrupt, still blamed for the problems plaguing the country's politics and society today. He was finally deposed in the fury of the student-led, pro-democracy [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Revolution April Revolution]], where he had become so despised that the US stepped in to help remove him. The revolution briefly installed a civilian government that experimented with parliamentary rule for the first and only time in South Korean history, as mounting instability led to the first of many military coups. During his term, Rhee had so exhausted the patience of the US that he received very little financial aid as punishment, resulting in the humiliating situation where North Korea was wealthier and had better living standards than South Korea.

It's a truism that dog meat was a popular delicacy in South Korea. A quick way to get an "Oooohhh!" from the audience in a PanelShow is to joke about it. [[YourNormalIsOurTaboo Animal welfare groups scream "animal cruelty"; Koreans scream "cultural imperialism" back.]] Any argument goes nowhere fast (and hey, UsefulNotes/{{Hindu|ism}}s feel the same way about other people eating beef, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cow_vigilante_violence_in_India_since_2014 sometimes with messy results in recent years]]). The Western aversion to eating dogs is so ingrained that it's ripe for StealthParody, as [[https://web.archive.org/web/20180321132648/http://www.joeyskaggs.com/html/dog.html Joey Skaggs]] proved in a famous prank. On the other hand, there is evidence that younger Koreans are turning against it. Nowadays dog meat is mostly eaten by the older population, as the opinion that it is animal cruelty is getting more and more popular. Note that non-dog eating Koreans will be offended if another person implies that all or most Koreans like dog meat.

Furthermore, of the twelve presidents of the ROK, four have been Protestant, two Catholic, with three Buddhists and three irreligious. As a result, South Korea is one of the most Christian countries in East Asia; it is certainly the most Protestant (the only Christian-majority countries in East Asia are the Catholic Philippines and Timor Leste). As for other religions, the traditional Buddhism (or more accurately a syncretic mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, and traditional beliefs called ''muism'') of Korea has about 22% of the population; most of the rest are irreligious.

Baseball is the second biggest international sport, where most of the teams are owned by large companies. They have their own eight-franchise league "Korea Professional League", and the Korean Olympic team won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Bejing, China. Since 1994, there have been a total of 12 South Korean nationals that have played or are playing for Major League Baseball franchises in the United States.

*** Creator/MuaFilm

The most recent Korean media export, in a phenomenon known as the "''Korean Wave''" or "''Hallyu Wave''" (韓流 or 한류 in Korean). Initially these were their [[KoreanDrama dramas]], short {{Soap Opera}}s that are either about contrived, tragic love, or pure romantic comedy. Sometimes combining both. The most famous from this wave was the metaseries ''Endless Love'', which consisted of four dramas ambiented each one in a season of the year, namely ''Autumn in my Heart'', ''Series/WinterSonata'', ''Summer Scent'' and ''Spring Waltz''. Most tragic dramas will inevitably (or, at least, used to) invoke one or more of the following: EasyAmnesia, someone DelicateAndSickly (usually cancer), BrotherSisterIncest, a car accident of some sorts, and blindness. But internationally, South Korea has become famous for its K-Pop scene, with the most successful band, [[Music/{{BTS}}]], treated as the nation's cultural ambassadors.

The Republic of Korea ('''Korean:''' 대한민국, ''Daehan Minguk''), far better known as South Korea ('''Korean:''' 남한, ''Namhan'') or simply Korea ('''Korean:''' 한국, ''Hanguk''), is a country in [[UsefulNotes/TheFarEast East Asia]]. Its capital and largest city is UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}. After spending thirty-five years under occupation by UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan, the Korean peninsula was divided in two after the [[UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets Red Army]] showed up.

* ''VideoGame/SplinterCellChaosTheory'' sees [[AlternateHistory North Korea launch an all-out attack on South Korea]]. After the mission in which Sam Fisher infiltratesa North Korean missile battery to obtain intelligence, the next mission takes him to war-torn Seoul.

The Republic of Korea ('''Korean:''' 대한민국, ''Daehan Minguk''), far better known as South Korea ('''Korean:''' 남한, ''Namhan'') or simply Korea ('''Korean:''' 한국, ''Hanguk''), is a country in East Asia. Its capital and largest city is UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}. After spending thirty-five years under Japanese occupation, the Korean peninsula was divided in two after the UsefulNotes/RedsWithRockets showed up.

*** Creator/{{SAMG}}

The most recent Korean media export, in a phenomenon known as the "''Korean Wave''" or "''Hallyu Wave''" (韓流 or 한류 in Korean), is their [[KoreanDrama dramas]], short {{Soap Opera}}s that are either about contrived, tragic love, or pure romantic comedy. Sometimes combining both. The most famous from this wave was the metaseries ''Endless Love'', which consisted of four dramas ambiented each one in a season of the year, namely ''Autumn in my Heart'', ''Series/WinterSonata'', ''Summer Scent'' and ''Spring Waltz''. Most tragic dramas will inevitably (or, at least, used to) invoke one or more of the following: EasyAmnesia, someone DelicateAndSickly (usually cancer), BrotherSisterIncest, a car accident of some sorts, and blindness.

The most notable event (to the world, anyway) in the history of South Korea is UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, sometimes called the Six Twenty Five War. Its first president and wartime leader, Syngman Rhee, was a horrifically incompetent and brutal dictator whose views bordered on fascistic and was extremely corrupt, still blamed for the problems plaguing the country's politics and society today. He was finally deposed in the fury of the student-led, pro-democracy [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Revolution April Revolution]], where he had become so despised that the US stepped in to help remove him. The revolution briefly installed a civilian government that experimented with parliamentary rule for the first and only time in South Korean history, as mounting instability led to the first of many military coups.

After Park's assassination in 1979, the authoritarianism continued under a different form at the hands of his tactless and thuggish successor, General Chun Doo-hwan, who was already the ''de-facto'' head of state for nine months before his ascension to the presidency in September of 1980, but people kept protesting, demanding democracy and freedom. Chun sealed his fate by ordering the event that would define his entire career, the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_massacre 1980 Gwangju Massacre]], where many innocent civilians died defending themselves, and where paratroopers indiscriminately shot unarmed women and children. The outrage over Gwangju exploded into [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Democracy_Movement the 1987 June Democracy Movement]] (which was aided in part by the global exposure brought about by the lead up to the 1988 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, which were to be held at the capital, UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}), Chun's hand-picked successor, Roh Tae-woo, implemented significant reforms to democratize Korea upon his inauguration in 1988 (with the preceding elections marking the country's first peaceful transition of power ''ever''). In hindsight, the democratization of Korea also acted as a prelude to the downfall of the similarly authoritarian Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc between 1989 and 1991, as the transition and Olympic games acted as an icon of the greatness of democracy and freedom from dictatorship.

The most notable event (to the world, anyway) in the history of South Korea is UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, sometimes called the Six Twenty Five War. Its first president and wartime leader, Syngman Rhee, was a horrifically incompetent and brutal dictator whose views bordered on fascistic and was extremely corrupt, still blamed for the problems plaguing the country's politics and society today. He was finally deposed in the fury of the student-led [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Revolution April Revolution]], where he had become so despised that the US stepped in to help remove him. The revolution briefly installed a civilian government that experimented with parliamentary rule for the first and only time in South Korean history, as mounting instability led to the first of many military coups.

After Park's assassination in 1979, the authoritarianism continued under a different form at the hands of his tactless and thuggish successor, General Chun Doo-hwan, who was already the ''de-facto'' head of state for nine months before his ascension to the presidency in September of 1980, but people kept protesting, demanding democracy and freedom. Chun sealed his fate by ordering the event that would define his entire career, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_massacre 1980 Gwangju Massacre]], where many innocent civilians died defending themselves. The outrage over Gwangju exploded into [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Democracy_Movement the 1987 June Democracy Movement]] (which was aided in part by the global exposure brought about by the lead up to the 1988 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, which were to be held at the capital, UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}), Chun's hand-picked successor, Roh Tae-woo, implemented significant reforms to democratize Korea upon his inauguration in 1988 (with the preceding elections marking the country's first peaceful transition of power ''ever''). In hindsight, the democratization of Korea also acted as a prelude to the downfall of the similarly authoritarian Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc between 1989 and 1991, as the transition and Olympic games acted as an icon of the greatness of democracy and freedom from dictatorship.

A lot of South Korea's appearances in foreign fiction are to do with its relationship with the North. The country is occasionally inaccurately thought to be poor and technologically backward, which, understandably, annoys the locals to no end. But Korea was a pretty poor country during the 1950s: it only became rich and technologically progressive in the last forty years. In fact, according to Martin Meredith in his book The Fate of Africa, South Korea had a lower per capita GDP than Ghana during TheSixties, but things have gotten a lot better. As described above, South Korea is one of the world's most dynamic economies. North Korea is more or less as depicted in the ''Film/JamesBond'' film ''Film/DieAnotherDay''.

After Park's assassination in 1979, the authoritarianism continued under a different form at the hands of his even more brutal successor and fellow military officer Chun Doo-hwan, who was already the ''de-facto'' head of state for nine months before his ascension to the presidency in September of 1980, but people kept protesting, demanding democracy and freedom. Chun sealed his fate by ordering the event that would define his entire career, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_massacre 1980 Gwangju Massacre]], where many innocent civilians died defending themselves. The outrage over Gwangju exploded into [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Democracy_Movement the 1987 June Democracy Movement]] (which was aided in part by the global exposure brought about by the lead up to the 1988 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, which were to be held at the capital, UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}), Chun's hand-picked successor, Roh Tae-woo, implemented significant reforms to democratize Korea upon his inauguration in 1988 (with the preceding elections marking the country's first peaceful transition of power ''ever''). In hindsight, the democratization of Korea also acted as a prelude to the downfall of the similarly authoritarian Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc between 1989 and 1991, as the transition and Olympic games acted as an icon of the greatness of democracy and freedom from dictatorship.

The most notable event (to the world, anyway) in the history of South Korea is UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, sometimes called the Six Twenty Five War. Its first president and wartime leader, Syngman Rhee, was a horrifically incompetent and brutal dictator whose views bordered on fascistic and was extremely corrrupt. He was finally deposed in the fury of the student-led [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Revolution April Revolution]], where he had become so despised that the US stepped in to help remove him. The revolution briefly installed a civilian government that experimented with parliamentary rule for the first and only time in South Korean history, as mounting instability led to the first of many military coups.

The most notable event (to the world, anyway) in the history of South Korea is UsefulNotes/TheKoreanWar, sometimes called the Six Twenty Five War.

South Korea spent a while after that war under various authoritarian governments, most notably the 17-year presidency of Park Chung-hee, which was simultaneously responsible for not only major socioeconomic reform that practically rebuilt the impoverished country from the ground-up, but also some of the most brutal suppression of civil liberties that the country ever saw, which escalated in severity as Park's tenure went on thanks to his growing belief that he was the sole linchpin of Korean stability. To this day, Park remains the longest-serving president in South Korea's history, coming to power under extremely dubious circumstances and running a cold and unfeeling military dictatorship, to the point where he's characterized in retrospect as more of TheGeneralissimo than an actual president.

After Park's assassination in 1979, the authoritarianism continued under a different form at the hands of his even more brutal successor and fellow military officer Chun Doo-hwan, who was already the ''de-facto'' head of state for nine months before his ascension to the presidency in September of 1980, but people kept protesting, demanding democracy and freedom (some of which, like the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_massacre 1980 Gwangju Massacre]], caused the loss of many innocent civilian lives). Finally, thanks to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Democracy_Movement the 1987 June Democracy Movement]] (which was aided in part by the global exposure brought about by the lead up to the 1988 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, which were to be held at the capital, UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}), Chun's hand-picked successor, Roh Tae-woo, implemented significant reforms to democratize Korea upon his inauguration in 1988 (with the preceding elections marking the country's first peaceful transition of power ''ever''). In hindsight, the democratization of Korea also acted as a prelude to the downfall of the similarly authoritarian Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc between 1989 and 1991, as the transition and Olympic games acted as an icon of the greatness of democracy and freedom from dictatorship.

South Korea spent a while after that war under various authoritarian governments, most notably the 17-year presidency of Park Chung-hee, which was simultaneously responsible for not only major socioeconomic reform that practically rebuilt the impoverished country from the ground-up, but also some of the most brutal suppression of civil liberties that the country ever saw, which escalated in severity as Park's tenure went on thanks to his growing belief that he was the sole linchpin of Korean stability. To this day, Park remains the longest-serving president in South Korea's history, and under extremely dubious circumstances, to the point where he's characterized in retrospect as more of a dictator than an actual president. After Park's assassination in 1979, the authoritarianism continued under a different form at the hands of president Chun Doo-hwan, who was already the ''de-facto'' head of state for nine months before his ascension to the presidency in September of 1980, but people kept protesting, demanding democracy and freedom (some of which, like the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_massacre 1980 Gwangju Massacre]], caused the loss of many innocent civilian lives). Finally, thanks to [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Democracy_Movement the 1987 June Democracy Movement]] (which was aided in part by the global exposure brought about by the lead up to the 1988 UsefulNotes/OlympicGames, which were to be held at the capital, UsefulNotes/{{Seoul}}), Chun's hand-picked successor, Roh Tae-woo, implemented significant reforms to democratize Korea upon his inauguration in 1988 (with the preceding elections marking the country's first peaceful transition of power ''ever''). In hindsight, the democratization of Korea also acted as a prelude to the downfall of the similarly authoritarian Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc between 1989 and 1991, as the transition and Olympic games acted as an icon of the greatness of democracy and freedom from dictatorship.

* '''Capital and largest city:''' Seoul