South Korea (National Flag)
The flag dates from the late 1800's. With minor changes, it was reintroduced
in 1948, officially in 1950. White, which is the Korean national color,
symbolizes peace. In the middle is the taeguk, which resembles the yin
and yang sign from Chinese philosophy and symbolizes the opposition and harmony
of universal forces. The four trigrams, kwae, in each corner symbolize
the four elements, air, earth, water, and fire.
- Countryaah:
What does the flag of South Korea look like? Follow this link, then you will
see the image in PNG format and flag meaning description about this country.
South Korea - mass media
Since South Korea's first daily newspaper was published in 1898, the media
has played a significant political role in Korean society; with the dominance of
Confucianism as a moral doctrine, the press has a clear political educational
function and, despite the fact that most newspapers are privately owned, has
actually served as a mouthpiece for changing governments.
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AbbreviationFinder: Check three-letter abbreviation for each country in the world,
such as SKR which represents the official name of South Korea.
The media was previously censored, but with the reform policy of the second
half of the 1980's, there was a softening and the number of dailies
quadrupled. As No. 34 (2005), South Korea is at the nice end of the Reporters
Without Borders worldwide index of press freedom (North Korea is the last in a
167th place). In the early 2000-t. there are 116 dailies, of which 21 are
nationwide (and three are English-speaking), the leading ones being Dong-A Ilbo,
Choson-Ilbo and the intellectually oriented Hankyoreh Sinmun.

The country's total newspaper circulation is DKK 9.4 million. (2002), and the
press increasingly acts as a corrective to those in power. Newspapers that
primarily contain sports and comics also have large circulation. Radio and
television are predominantly state-owned. The presence of a television station
affiliated with the American troops, which also has its own newspaper in English
(circulation 34,000) in the country (AFKN), is often criticized.
- Songaah:
See song and lyrics about South Korea
The latest shot at the media tribe in South Korea is the online newspaper
OhmyNews. The project was established in 2000 with a few journalists and 767
"citizen journalists" with the aim of revolutionizing news dissemination. The
phenomenon has been a great success. In the 2002 election, the newspaper
mobilized especially the younger groups of voters, which became decisive for the
outcome.
President Roh Moo-hyun gave his very first interview to OhmyNews. Today, the
newspaper has approximately 40,000 registered "civilians" and more than 50
professional journalists. OhmyNews is now ranked among the most influential
media in South Korea. South Koreans are big consumers of news; the largest
newspapers have huge media conglomerates, which also supply magazines - from
deeply serious specialty publications to light-hearted women's magazines - radio
and television.
The family-owned Choson-Ilbo also owns an art gallery and a tourist hotel,
and the newspaper sponsors, among other things. an annual award for a debuting
author, art exhibitions, sporting events and series of lectures on current
social topics. The Internet has gained a large foothold in South Korea, where 34
million people were regular users in 2005.
South Korea (History)
As part of the surrender of Japanese troops after World War II, Soviet troops
occupied Koreanorth of the 38th parallel, while US troops occupied South
Korea. The temporary division, which was finally agreed by the United States,
Great Britain and the Soviet Union in December 1945, soon became permanent due
to the Cold War. The UN decision to hold elections throughout Korea was
implemented in South Korea in May 1948, but not in North Korea. The new South
Korean National Assembly adopted a constitution and elected Syngman Rhee
president; On August 20, 1948, he proclaimed the Republic of Korea. Shortly
afterwards, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was proclaimed in North
Korea. The division has since played a key role in South Korean policy and in
security policy throughout the Northeast Asian region. With North Korea's attack
on South Korea on June 25, 1950, the Korean War broke out. It ended with a
ceasefire on 27.7.1953, but relations between South and North Korea have since
been marked by fierce hatred.
Presidents |
1948-60'sort |
Syngman Rhee |
1960-62 |
Yun Po-Sun |
1963-79 |
Chung-Hee Park |
1979-80 |
Choi Kyu-Hah |
1980-88 |
Chun Doo-Hwan |
1988-92 |
Roh Tae-Woo |
1993-98 |
Kim Young-Sam |
1998-2003 |
Kim Dae-Jung |
2003-08 |
Roh Moo-Hyun |
2008-13 |
Lee Myung-Bak |
2013-17 |
Geun-Hye Park |
While South Korea functioned quite effectively as a bulwark against
communism, the experiment with a democratic form of government was only a
limited success. When Syngman Rhee was elected for the fourth time in 1960, a
student-led uprising simmered, and when the demand for his resignation was
supported by the National Assembly, he had to resign. The continuing political
unrest and a tense relationship with North Korea were the background for a
military coup the following year, which brought General Park Chung-Hee to power.
With the energy sector and large-scale industry located primarily in North
Korea, balanced economic development was difficult at first, but in the 1960's,
strong export-oriented growth set in. In this context, close links with the
political authorities and the banking system enabled business people to set up
huge trading and industrial companies in a short time.
Regular and imaginary infiltration from North Korea invalidated all attempts
at political liberalization, and the security police persecuted anyone suspected
of communist sympathies. The rural population was tried to be organized in the
movement The New Society, whose purpose was both economic development and
political discipline.
Growing political unrest culminated in the assassination of Park in 1979. The
following year, General Chun Doo-Hwan (b. 1931) carried out a new military coup
and continued the repressive regime, continuing with North Korea as
justification. A popular uprising in Gwangju in May 1980 was brutally
defeated; pro-democracy activist Kim Dae-Jung was held responsible for the
uprising and sentenced to death. In the 1980's, however, the Koreans were also
able to reap the benefits of economic prosperity in the form of increased
prosperity and significant wage improvements for industrial workers.
With a view to international exposure at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, a number of
opposition demands for increased democratization were met and direct
presidential elections were held in 1987. It was won by the ruling party
candidate, Roh Tae-Woo (b. 1932), mainly due to division in the opposition. The
democratization process continued; the 1992 presidential election was won for
the ruling party by former opposition politician Kim Young-Sam, whose promises
of sweeping reforms, however, proved difficult to fulfill. Although both
previous presidents were accused and convicted of corruption and abuse of power,
the traditional Confucian political culture was too strong to bring about
profound changes in the administration and political and economic life. When the
financial crisis in Asia broke out in 1997, the South Korean economy proved to
be weak. The economic collapse came as a shock to most South Koreans, and
confidence in the government disappeared. In the 1997 presidential election, the
opposition candidate won for the first time, and in February 1998, former death
row inmate Kim Dae-Jung was sworn in as president. Since then, the economy has
recovered, and relations with North Korea have improved markedly.
South Korea's democratization continued in the late 1990's. The family-owned
South Korean industrial conglomerates (chaebol), the backbone of the country's
economic miracle of the 1960's and 1970's, were tried to split around 2000 as part
of the country's crisis management. Together with greater transparency in the
economy and the establishment of a more flexible labor market, this should
create the conditions for new economic progress. However, it proved difficult to
implement reforms in systems that are rooted in tradition and culture, but
nevertheless the country's economy is recovering sharply. An advanced high-tech
industry as well as the absolute global leadership position in the shipping
industry form the foundation for continued positive economic development.
Relations with North Korea remain tense despite attempts at relaxation; there
have been several episodes at sea between naval vessels from the two
countries. In 2003, Roh Moo-Hyun was installed as the new president. He gave
high priority to the relaxation between the two Koreans, which sometimes caused
problems in relations with the United States. In other matters, too, an active
foreign policy was followed; in 2004, parliament thus decided to send 3,000
troops to Iraq. Roh was replaced in 2008 by the conservative Lee Myung-Bak, who
stands for a tougher line against North Korea. In 2010, relations with North
Korea worsened after the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonanon March 26,
when 46 crew members perished. An investigation concluded that the cause was
probably a torpedo from a North Korean submarine. The accusation made North
Korea threaten war.
The country's first female president, Park Geun-Hye, was installed as
president in 2013. Following allegations of abuse of power and corruption, she
was ousted in March 2017.
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