PEOPLE
Population
Korea’s population is one of the most ethnically and linguistically homogenous in the world. Except for a small Chinese community (about 20,000), virtually all Koreans share a common cultural and linguistic heritage. With 48.85 million people, South Korea has one of the world’s highest population densities. Major population centers are located in the northwest, southeast, and in the plains south of the Seoul-Incheon area.
Korea
has experienced one of the largest rates of emigration, with ethnic
Koreans residing primarily in China (1.9 million), the United
States (1.52 million), Japan (681,000), and the countries of the
former Soviet Union (450,000).
Language
The Korean language is related to Japanese and Mongolian. Although
it differs grammatically from Chinese and does not use tones,
a large number of Chinese cognates exist in Korean. Chinese ideograms
are believed to have been brought into Korea sometime before the
second century BC. The learned class spoke Korean, but read and
wrote Chinese. A phonetic writing system ("hangul")
was invented in the 15th century by King Sejong to provide a writing
system for commoners who could not read classic Chinese. Modern
Korean uses hangul almost exclusively with Chinese characters
in limited use for word clarification. Approximately 1,300 Chinese
characters are used in modern Korean. English is taught as a second
language in most primary and secondary schools. Chinese and Japanese
are widely taught at secondary schools.
Religion
Half of the population actively practices religion. Among this
group, Christianity (49%) and Buddhism (47%) comprise Korea’s
two dominant religions. Though only 3% identified themselves as
Confucianists, Korean society remains highly imbued with Confucian
values and beliefs. The remaining 1% of the population practice
Shamanism (traditional spirit worship) and Chondogyo, ("Heavenly
Way") a traditional religion.
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Korean(s).
Population (2006): 48,846,823.
Population annual growth rate (2006): 0.42%.
Ethnic groups: Korean; small Chinese minority.
Religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Shamanism, Confucianism, Chondogyo.
Language: Korean.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Enrollment--11.5 million. Attendance--middle school 99%, high school 95%. Literacy--98%.
Health (2006): Infant mortality rate--6.16/1,000. Life expectancy--77.0 yrs (men 73.6 yrs.; women 80.8 yrs).
Work force (2005): 23.53 million. Services--67.2%; mining and manufacturing--26.4%; agriculture--6.4%.
