About Korea

• Key Facts: Capital: Seoul Population: 48 million President: Lee Myung-bak (since February 25, 2008) Prime Minister: Kim Hwang-sik (since October 1, 2010) Area: 99,720 square kilometers Currency: Won Independence Day: August 15, 1945 Source: CIA World Factbook

  The South Korean economy is the fourth largest in Asia and the 15th largest in the world with a 2009 GDP at $832 billion. (World Bank, December 2010)
  
  
• A member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Korea is classified as a high-income economy by the World Bank and an advanced economy by the International Monetary Fund.
  
  
• Korea was the chair of the G-20 major economies last year and was the first country in Asia to host the G-20 summit, as it did in Seoul in November 2010.
  
  
• Korea is a major trading partner of the world's largest economies - it is the third largest trading partner of China and Japan, the seventh largest trading partner of the United States, and the eighth largest trading partner of the EU.
  
  
• Korea's strong emphasis on education is credited as one of the primary factors for its economic success.
• • The United Nations ranks Korea's education system first in Asia and seventh worldwide.
  • Korea is the most innovative country in the world among major economies, according to the Global Innovation Index.
  • Korea is the world's first country to bring high-speed fiber-optic broadband Internet access to every primary and secondary school nation-wide.

To learn more about the Korean economy, click here