National flag of the Republic of Korea

    The Republic of Korea (ROK), a country in northeastern Asia with a population of over 48.8 million, occupies the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, which extends about 1,000 km southward from northeastern China. The total area of ROK is 99,600 sq km, including about 3,000 islands.

    The country is bounded on the east by the Sea of Japan, and its western coastline faces China's Shandong Province across the Yellow Sea.

National emblem of the Republic of Korea

    ROK is a mountainous country. Lowlands, located primarily in the west and southeast, constitute only 30 percent of the total land area.

    The Han River, the longest in ROK, flows northwest, passing through the capital and largest city of Seoul and emptying into the Yellow Sea.

    The expansive river basin of the Han is one of the most densely populated and extensively cultivated areas of the country.

    Halla-san, an extinct volcano that forms Chejudo Island, is the country's highest point at 1,950 meters. Chejudo, located about 90km off the southern coast of ROK, is the country's largest island, with an area of more than 1,800 sq km.

    As a near neighbor of China, ROK boasts a long history and glorious culture, although it was dogged by an invasion and colonization by Japan in the first half of last century.

    ROK's economy was traditionally based on agriculture but experienced extraordinarily rapid industrialization beginning in the early 1960s, when the government gave priority to the development of manufacturing, driven by export-led growth.

    In the 1970s, ROK began directing fiscal and financial policies toward promoting heavy and chemical industries, as well as consumer electronics and automobiles.

    ROK grew from one of the world's poorest countries to one of its most competitive industrial powers in the 1980s. It is now the 11th-largest economy in the world.

    The country, with few natural resources and a relatively small domestic market, employed its skilled labor force to produce goods for export, thereby fueling its rapid economic growth.

    Leading exports are electrical machinery, fabrics, road vehicles, telecommunication and sound equipment, iron and steel, metal goods, computer components and apparel.

    Since the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and South Korea 13 years ago, the bilateral relations have witnessed a rapid progress.

    During a visit to China in 2003, ROK President Roh Moo-hyun and President Hu announced the launch of a partnership ofall-around cooperation between the two countries.

    With the development of trade and economic cooperation, the total volume of bilateral trade reached 90 billion dollars in 2004. China has become one of ROK's major trading partners.