South Korea: The Pocket Version
Hello or as they say in Korean, Annyeonghaseyo (안녕하세요)! Let me introduce myself to you, our wonderful
South Korea is listed at 109th in the world for land mass and has approximately 51 million living in approximately 100,000 square kilometres. But South Korea only has such a small amount of amount of habitable land, (over 70% is rocky terrain). This has to lead to a very dense population in South Korea, with 526 people living in per square kilometre. In South Korea, most of the population lives in urban areas (around 83%). The majority of the population in South Korea lives in or around the capital city in surrounding suburbs with a population of around 25 million. Other large urban cities; such as Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju and Daejeon; contain the majority of the rest population.
Most foreigners are not aware of the drastic changes the country has gone through in the past 60 years. The population generally lived in rural or small towns before the Korean war. After the Korean War, the country went through a rapid period of urbanization and advancement. South Korea is a country that both prides itself on tradition as well as the advances in new technology they are creating. World renown business such as Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and KIA; call South Korea home.
The population prides themselves on their work ethic and high education standards. With such busy lives, the people of South Korea still take time to enjoy their meals and have fun with team building dinners and nights out singing karaoke being a common occurrence after work. Popular food with many of South Korea's people are dishes such as Tteokbokki, Kimchi, Bibimbap, and Bulgogi. But because of the influences of other countries after the war, you can also find many fusion cuisines on the menu such as Korean influenced pasta dishes, hamburgers and the ever widely popular fried chicken which is referred to as chimaek (치맥) from the Korean chikin, meaning 'fried chicken', and maekju, meaning 'beer'.
This country is full of diversity. The terrain ranges from rocky mountains to the seaside in a short distance. Historical buildings with reenactments are found in the center of some of the densest urban cities. Open-air fresh markets are near to beautiful sprawling shopping centers. No matter what you choose to visit or do in this country you will have endless options to choose from.
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