South Korea

The name Korea is an exonym derived from the historical Korean kingdom name Goryeo (Korean: 고려; Hanja: 高麗; MR: Koryŏ). Goryeo was the shortened name officially adopted by Goguryeo in the 5th century and the name of its 10th-century successor state Goryeo. Visiting Arab and Persian merchants pronounced its name as "Korea". The modern name of Korea appears in the first Portuguese maps of 1568 by João vaz Dourado as Conrai and later in the late 16th century and early 17th century as Corea (Korea) in the maps of Teixeira Albernaz of 1630.

The Kingdom of Goryeo became first known to Europeans when Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca in 1511 and described the people who traded in this part of the world as the Gores. Despite the coexistence of the spellings Corea and Korea in 19th-century publications, some Koreans believe that Imperial Japan intentionally standardized the spelling of Korea in order to make Japan appear first alphabetically during occupation.

After Goryeo was replaced by the Kingdom of Joseon (조선; 朝鮮; Chosŏn) in 1392, Joseon became the official name for the entire territory, though it was not universally accepted. The new official name was derived from the ancient kingdom of Gojoseon. In 1897, King Gojong changed the country's official name from Joseon to the Korean Empire (대한제국; 大韓帝國; Daehan Jeguk; Taehan Cheguk; lit. 'Great Han Empire'). The latter half of the Korean Empire's name Daehan (대한; 大韓; lit. 'Great Han') derives from Samhan (Three Han), referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the ancient confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula. However, the name Joseon was still widely used by Koreans to refer to their country, even though it was no longer the official name. Under Japanese rule, the two names Han and Joseon coexisted.

Following the surrender of Japan, in 1945, the "Republic of Korea" was adopted as the legal English name for the new country. The Korean name Daehan Minguk (대한민국; 大韓民國; lit. 'Great Han Republic') is sometimes used by South Koreans as a metonym to refer to the Korean nation as a whole, rather than just the South Korean state.

=== Ancient Korea ===

The Korean Peninsula was inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic period. According to Korea's founding mythology, the history of Korea begins with the founding of Joseon (also known as "Gojoseon", or "Old Joseon", to differentiate it from the 14th century dynasty) in 2333 BC by the legendary Dangun. Gojoseon was noted in Chinese records in the early 7th century. Gojoseon expanded until it controlled the northern Korean Peninsula and parts of Manchuria. Gija Joseon was purportedly founded in the 12th century BC, but its existence and role have been controversial in the modern era. In 108 BC, the Han dynasty defeated Wiman Joseon and installed four commanderies in the northern Korean peninsula. Three of the commanderies fell or retreated westward within a few decades, but the Lelang commandery remained a center of cultural and economic exchange with successive Chinese dynasties ruling for four centuries, until it was conquered by Goguryeo in 313.

The linguistic homeland of Proto-Koreans is located somewhere in southern Siberia, or Manchuria, such as the Liao River area or the Amur River area. Proto-Koreans arrived in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula at around 300 BC, replacing and assimilating Japonic-speaking Yayoi and likely causing their migration to the Japanese archipelago.

During the Proto–Three Kingdoms period, the states of Buyeo, Okjeo, Dongye, and Samhan occupied the whole Korean peninsula and southern Manchuria. From them, the Three Kingdoms of Korea emerged: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla.

Goguryeo, the largest and most powerful among them, was a highly militaristic state and competed with various Chinese dynasties during its 700 years of history. Goguryeo experienced a golden age under Gwanggaeto the Great and his son Jangsu, who both subdued Baekje and Silla during their respective reigns, achieving a brief unification of the Three Kingdoms and becoming the most dominant power on the Korean Peninsula. In addition to contesting control of the Korean Peninsula, Goguryeo had many military conflicts with various Chinese dynasties, most notably the Goguryeo–Sui War, in which Goguryeo defeated a huge force said to number over a million men.

Baekje was a maritime power, sometimes called the "Phoenicia of East Asia". Its maritime ability was instrumental in the dissemination of Buddhism throughout East Asia and spreading continental culture to Japan. Baekje was once a great military power on the Korean Peninsula, especially during the time of Geunchogo, but was critically defeated by Gwanggaeto the Great and declined. Silla was the smallest and weakest of the three, but used opportunistic pacts and alliances with the more powerful Korean kingdoms, and eventually Tang China, to its advantage.

In 676, the unification of the Three Kingdoms by Silla led to the Northern and Southern States period, in which relationships between Korea and China remained relatively peaceful. Balhae, a Goguryeo successor state founded by a general, controlled most of Manchuria and parts of the Russian Far East and was called the "Prosperous Country in the East". In addition to Koreans, there were many other ethnicities such as the Mohe, Turkic, and Chinese.

Late Silla was a wealthy country, and its metropolitan capital of Gyeongju grew to become the fourth largest city in the world. It experienced a golden age of art and culture, exemplified by monuments such as Hwangnyongsa, Seokguram, and the Emille Bell. It also carried on the maritime legacy and prowess of Baekje, and during the 8th and 9th centuries dominated the seas of East Asia and the trade between China, Korea, and Japan, most notably during the time of Chang Pogo. In addition, the Silla people made overseas communities in China on the Shandong Peninsula and the mouth of the Yangtze River. However, Silla was later weakened due to internal strife and the revival of successor states Baekje and Goguryeo, which culminated into the Later Three Kingdoms period in the late 9th century.

Buddhism flourished during this time. Many Korean Buddhists gained great fame among Chinese Buddhist circles and greatly contributed to Chinese Buddhism. Examples of significant Korean Buddhists from this period include Woncheuk, Wonhyo, Uisang, Musang, and Kim Gyo-gak. Kim was a Silla prince whose influence made Mount Jiuhua one of the Four Sacred Mountains of Chinese Buddhism.

In 936, the Later Three Kingdoms were united by Wang Geon, who established Goryeo as a successor state to Goguryeo. Balhae had fallen to the Khitan Empire in 926, and a decade later the last crown prince of Balhae fled south to Goryeo, where he was warmly welcomed and included in the ruling family by Wang Geon, thus unifying the two successor nations of Goguryeo. Like Silla, Goryeo was a culturally influential state that invented the metal movable type printing press. After defeating the Khitan Empire, which was the most powerful empire of its time in the Goryeo–Khitan War, Goryeo experienced a golden age that lasted a century, during which the Tripitaka Koreana was completed and significant developments in printing and publishing occurred. This promoted education and the dispersion of knowledge on philosophy, literature, religion, and science. By 1100, there were 12 universities that produced notable scholars.

Following three decades of devastating Mongol invasions in the 13th century, the Goryeo dynasty—never fully conquered but severely weakened—submitted as a vassal state to the Yuan dynasty. The Korean court surrendered, sending the crown prince to pledge allegiance to Kublai Khan, who accepted Goryeo as a semi-autonomous ally and sealed the submission through marriage. Henceforth, Goryeo continued to rule Korea, though as a tributary ally to the Mongols for the next 86 years. During this period, the two nations' royalty became intertwined as all subsequent Korean kings married Mongol princesses. In the mid-14th century, Goryeo drove out the Mongols to regain its northern territories, briefly conquered Liaoyang, and defeated invasions by the Red Turbans. However, in 1392, General Yi Seong-gye, who had been ordered to attack China, turned his army around and staged a successful coup.

Yi Seong-gye established the House of Yi, renamed the nation to Joseon in reference to Gojoseon, and moved the capital to Hanseong (one of the old names of Seoul). The first 200 years of the Joseon dynasty were marked by peace and saw great advancements in science and education, among them the creation of Hangul by Sejong the Great to promote literacy among the common people. The prevailing ideology of the time was Neo-Confucianism, which was epitomized by the seonbi class: nobles who passed up positions of wealth and power to lead lives of study and integrity. Between 1592 and 1598, Japan under Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched invasions of Korea, but the advance was halted by Korean forces (most notably the Joseon Navy led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his renowned "turtle ship") with assistance from righteous army militias formed by Korean civilians, and Ming dynasty Chinese troops. Through a series of successful battles of attrition, the Japanese forces were eventually forced to withdraw, and relations between all parties became normalized. However, the Manchus took advantage of Joseon's war-weakened state and invaded in 1627 and 1637. After normalizing relations with the Qing dynasty, Joseon experienced a nearly 200-year period of peace. Kings Yeongjo and Jeongjo particularly led a new renaissance of the Joseon dynasty during the 18th century.

In the 19th century, Joseon experienced economic difficulties and widespread uprisings, including the Donghak Peasant Revolution. The royal in-law families had gained control of the government, leading to mass corruption and weakening of the state. Additionally, the strict isolationism of the Joseon government that earned it the nickname "the hermit kingdom" became increasingly ineffective due to increasing encroachment from powers such as Japan, Russia, and the United States. This was exemplified by the Joseon–United States Treaty of 1882, which forced Joseon to open its borders.

In the late 19th century, Japan became a significant regional power after winning the First Sino-Japanese War against Qing China and the Russo-Japanese War against the Russian Empire. In 1897, King Gojong, the last king of Korea, proclaimed Joseon as the Korean Empire. However, Japan compelled Korea to become its protectorate in 1905 and formally annexed it in 1910. What followed was a period of forced assimilation in which the Korean language, culture, and history were suppressed. This led to the March First Movement protests in 1919 and the subsequent foundation of resistance groups in exile, primarily in China. Among the resistance groups was Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.

Towards the end of World War II, the U.S. proposed dividing the Korean peninsula into two occupation zones: a U.S. zone and a Soviet zone. Dean Rusk and Charles H. Bonesteel III suggested the 38th parallel as the dividing line, as it placed Seoul under U.S. control. To the surprise of Rusk and Bonesteel, the Soviets accepted their proposal and agreed to divide Korea.

Despite intentions to liberate a unified peninsula in the 1943 Cairo Declaration, escalating tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States led to the division of Korea into two political entities in 1948: North Korea and South Korea.

In the South, the United States appointed and supported the former head of the Korean Provisional Government Syngman Rhee as leader. Rhee won the first presidential elections of the newly declared Republic of Korea in May 1948. In the North, the Soviets backed a former anti-Japanese guerrilla and communist activist, Kim Il Sung, who was appointed premier of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in September.

In October, the Soviet Union declared Kim Il Sung's government as sovereign over both the north and south. The UN declared Rhee's government as "a lawful government having effective control and jurisdiction over that part of Korea where the UN Temporary Commission on Korea was able to observe and consult" and the government "based on elections which was [sic] observed by the Temporary Commission" in addition to a statement that "this is the only such government in Korea." Both leaders engaged in authoritarian repression of political opponents. South Korea requested military support from the United States but was denied, while North Korea's military was heavily reinforced by the Soviet Union.

On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, sparking the Korean War, the Cold War's first major conflict, which continued until 1953. At the time, the Soviet Union had boycotted the UN, thus forfeiting their veto rights. This allowed the UN to intervene in a civil war when it became apparent that the superior North Korean forces would unify the entire country. The Soviet Union and China backed North Korea, with the later participation of millions of Chinese troops. After an ebb and flow that saw both sides facing defeat with massive losses among Korean civilians in both the north and the south, the war eventually reached a stalemate. During the war, Rhee's party promoted the One-People Principle, an effort to build an obedient citizenry through ethnic homogeneity and authoritarian appeals to nationalism.

The 1953 armistice, never signed by South Korea, split the peninsula along the demilitarized zone near the original demarcation line. No peace treaty was ever signed, resulting in the two countries remaining technically at war. Approximately 3 million people died in the Korean War, with a higher proportional civilian death toll than World War II or the Vietnam War, making it one of the deadliest conflicts of the Cold War era. In addition, virtually all of Korea's major cities were destroyed by the war.

In 1960, a student uprising (the "April Revolution") led to the resignation of the autocratic President Syngman Rhee. This was followed by 13 months of political instability as South Korea was led by the weak and ineffectual Second Republic. This instability was broken by the May 16, 1961 coup led by General Park Chung Hee. As president, Park oversaw a period of rapid export-led economic growth enforced by political repression. Under Park, South Korea took an active role in the Vietnam War.

Park was heavily criticized as a ruthless military dictator who, in 1972, extended his rule by creating a new constitution, which gave the president dictatorial powers and permitted him to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. The Korean economy developed significantly during Park's tenure, largely due to investment in family-run conglomerates. The government developed the nationwide expressway system, the Seoul subway system, and laid the foundation for economic development during his 17-year tenure, which ended with his assassination on 26 October 1979.

The years after Park's assassination were marked again by political turmoil, as the previously suppressed opposition leaders all campaigned to run for president in the sudden political void. In 1979, General Chun Doo-hwan led the coup d'état of December Twelfth. On May 17, 1980, Chun forced the Cabinet to expand martial law to the whole nation, which had previously not applied to Jeju Island. The expanded martial law closed universities, banned political activities, and further curtailed the press. Chun's assumption of the presidency through the events of May 17 triggered nationwide protests demanding democracy; these protests were particularly widespread in Gwangju, to which Chun sent special forces to violently suppress the 18–27 May 1980 Gwangju Democratization Movement at the cost of probably 500 to 2,000 civilian lives and 26 dead soldiers (half of them by friendly fire).

Chun subsequently created the National Defense Emergency Policy Committee and took the presidency according to his political plan. Chun and his government held South Korea under a despotic rule until 1987, when a Seoul National University student, Park Jong-chul, was tortured to death. On June 10, the Catholic Priests Association for Justice revealed the incident, igniting the June Democratic Struggle across the country. Eventually, Chun's party, the Democratic Justice Party, and its leader, Roh Tae-woo, announced the June 29 Declaration, which promised a democratic election of the president.

Roh Tae-woo went on to win the 1987 election by a narrow margin against the two main opposition leaders, Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam. Seoul hosted the Olympic Games in 1988, which was widely regarded as successful and a significant boost for South Korea's global image and economy.

South Korea was formally invited to become a member of the United Nations in 1991. The transition of Korea from autocracy to modern democracy was marked in 1997 by the election of Kim Dae-jung, who was sworn in as the eighth president of South Korea on February 25, 1998. His election was significant given that he had, in earlier years, been a political prisoner sentenced to death (later commuted to exile). He won against the backdrop of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, during which he took IMF advice to restructure the economy, and the nation soon recovered its economic growth, albeit at a slower pace.

In June 2000, as part of President Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" of engagement, a North–South summit took place in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, now ruled by Kim Il Sung's son Kim Jong Il. Later that year, Kim received the Nobel Peace Prize "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular". However, because of discontent among the population for fruitless approaches to the North under the previous administrations and, amid North Korean provocations, a conservative government was elected in 2007 led by President Lee Myung-bak, former mayor of Seoul. While South Korean and Japanese relations improved when they jointly co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup, it later soured because of conflicting claims of sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks.

In 2010, there was an escalation in attacks by North Korea. In March 2010, the South Korean warship ROKS Cheonan was sunk killing 46 South Korean sailors, allegedly by a North Korean submarine. In November 2010, Yeonpyeongdo was attacked by a significant North Korean artillery barrage, with 4 people dying. The official UN report declined to explicitly name North Korea as the perpetrator of the Cheonan sinking. The lack of a strong response to these attacks from both South Korea and the international community caused significant anger among the South Korean public.

The children of presidents Park Chung Hee and Kim Jong Il would take power in the two Koreas from 2011 to 2012. Kim Jong Un succeeded his father as leader of North Korea in 2011, while South Korea elected the first-ever female president Park Geun-hye in the 2012 election. The conservative Park Geun-hye administration was formally accused of corruption, bribery, and influence-peddling for the involvement of Park's close friend Choi Soon-sil in state affairs. There followed a series of nationwide public demonstrations from November 2016, and she was removed from office. After the fallout of Park's impeachment and dismissal, elections were held and Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party won the presidency, immediately taking office on May 10, 2017. His tenure saw an improving political relationship with North Korea, some increasing divergence in the military alliance with the United States, and the successful hosting of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. In April 2018, Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in jail and convicted of abuse of power and corruption. The COVID-19 pandemic caused South Korea to record more deaths than births, resulting in a population decline for the first time on record.

In March 2022, Yoon Suk Yeol, the candidate of the conservative opposition People Power Party, won a close election over Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung by the narrowest margin in the history of the Sixth Republic and was sworn in on May 10, 2022. He declared martial law on December 3, 2024, accusing the opposition of being pro-North Korean and conducting anti-state activities. After several hours, the National Assembly voted to nullify the declaration in a unanimous vote of 190/0, causing Yoon to end martial law early on December 4. Yoon's actions resulted in his impeachment on December 14, 2024, followed by his unanimous removal from office on April 4, 2025. Lee Jae-myung won the election to succeed Yoon, immediately taking office on June 4, 2025.

South Korea occupies the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, which extends some 1,100 km (680 mi) from the Continental and East Asian mainland. This mountainous peninsula is flanked by the Yellow Sea to the west and the Sea of Japan to the east. Its southern tip lies on the Korea Strait and the East China Sea. The country, including all its islands, lies between latitudes 33° and 39°N, and longitudes 124° and 130°E. Its total area is 100,472.4 square kilometers (38,792.61 sq mi). South Korea can be divided into four general regions: an eastern region of high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains; a western region of broad coastal plains, river basins, and rolling hills; a southwestern region of mountains and valleys; and a southeastern region dominated by the broad basin of the Nakdong River. South Korea is home to three terrestrial ecoregions: Central Korean deciduous forests, Manchurian mixed forests, and Southern Korea evergreen forests. South Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous, most of which is not arable. Lowlands, located primarily in the west and southeast, make up only 30% of the total land area. South Korea has 20 national parks and popular natural areas such as the Boseong Tea Fields, Suncheon Bay Ecological Park, and Jirisan.

About 3,000 islands lie off the western and southern coasts of South Korea, the vast majority small and uninhabited. Jeju Island, the country's largest island, is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the southern coast of South Korea. Hallasan, a dormant volcano, is South Korea's highest point and reaches 1,950 meters (6,400 feet) above sea level. The easternmost islands of South Korea are Ulleungdo and the Liancourt Rocks (Dokdo/Takeshima), while Marado and Socotra Rock are the southernmost islands of South Korea.

South Korea tends to have a humid continental climate and a humid subtropical climate, and is affected by the East Asian monsoon, with precipitation heavier in summer during a short rainy season called jangma, which begins end of June and lasts through the end of July. In Seoul, the average January temperature range is −7 to 1 °C (19 to 34 °F), and the average August temperature range is 22 to 30 °C (72 to 86 °F). Winter temperatures are higher along the southern coast and considerably lower in the mountainous interior. Summer can be uncomfortably hot and humid, with temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) in most parts of the country. South Korea has four distinct seasons; spring, summer, autumn and winter. Spring usually lasts from late March to early May, summer from mid-May to early September, autumn from mid-September to early November, and winter from mid-November to mid-March.

Rainfall is concentrated in the summer months of June through September. The southern coast is subject to late summer typhoons that bring strong winds, heavy rains and sometimes floods. The average annual precipitation varies from 1,370 millimeters (54 in) in Seoul to 1,470 millimeters (58 in) in Busan.

During the first 20 years of South Korea's growth surge, little effort was made to preserve the environment. Unchecked industrialization and urban development have resulted in deforestation and destruction of wetlands such as the Songdo Tidal Flat. However, there have been recent efforts to balance these problems, including a government run $84 billion five-year green growth project that aims to boost energy efficiency and green technology.

The climate initiative utilizes nearly two percent of the national GDP and facilitates creation of a nationwide bike network, solar and wind energy, decreasing combustion vehicles, backing daylight saving time and replacing obsolete lighting products in favor of environmentally friendly technologies such as LEDs. The country plans to build a nationwide next-generation network that will be 10 times faster than broadband facilities, in order to reduce energy usage.

The renewable portfolio standard program with renewable energy certificates runs from 2012 to 2022.

Quota systems favor large, vertically integrated generators and multinational electric utilities because certificates are generally denominated in units of one megawatt-hour. They are also more difficult to design and implement than a feed-in tariff. Around 350 residential micro combined heat and power units were installed in 2012. In 2017, South Korea was the world's seventh largest emitter of carbon emissions and the fifth largest emitter per capita. President Moon Jae-in pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero in 2050.

Seoul's tap water recently became safe to drink, with city officials branding it "Arisu" in a bid to convince the public. Efforts have also been made with afforestation projects; South Korea had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.02/10, ranking it 87th globally out of 172 countries. Another multibillion-dollar project was the restoration of Cheonggyecheon, a stream running through downtown Seoul that had previously been paved over by a motorway. One major challenge is air quality, with acid rain, sulfur oxides, and annual yellow dust storms; however, many of these difficulties are a result of South Korea's proximity to China, which is a major air polluter.

South Korea is a member of the Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity Treaty, Kyoto Protocol (forming the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG), regarding UNFCCC, with Mexico and Switzerland), Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (not into force), Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, and Whaling.

The South Korean government's structure is determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. Like many democratic states, South Korea has a government divided into three branches: executive, judicial, and legislative. The executive and legislative branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. The judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels. Local governments are semi-autonomous and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. South Korea is a constitutional democracy.

The constitution has been revised several times since its first promulgation in 1948 at independence. However, it has retained many broad characteristics, and with the exception of the short-lived Second Republic of Korea, the country has always had a presidential system with an independent chief executive. Under its current constitution, the state is sometimes referred to as the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The first direct election was also held in 1948. South Korean politics is broadly divided into the liberal camp, currently represented chiefly by the Democratic Party, and the conservative camp, represented by the People Power Party.

Although South Korea experienced a series of military dictatorships from the 1960s until the 1980s, it has since developed into a successful liberal democracy. Today, The World Factbook describes South Korea's democracy as a "fully functioning modern democracy", while The Economist Democracy Index classifies it as a "flawed democracy", ranking at 32nd out of 167 countries in 2024. According to the V-Dem Democracy indices, South Korea is the 46th most electoral democratic country in the world as of 2024. However, some political experts argued that South Korea had experienced democratic backsliding and the reemergence of authoritarianism, particularly under the presidency of Yoon Suk Yeol, which culminated when he declared martial law for the first time since the 1980 military coup d'état after the assassination of dictator Park Chung Hee, and the first since democratization in 1987. South Korea is ranked 31st on the Corruption Perceptions Index (7th in the Asia–Pacific region), with a score of 63 out of 100.

The major administrative divisions in South Korea are ten provinces, three special self-governing provinces, five metropolitan cities (self-governing cities that are not part of any province), one special city, one special metropolitan city and one special self-governing city.

a Revised Romanisation; b See Names of Seoul; c As of May 2018, does not include population in territory controlled by North Korea.; d Areas that belong to the territory under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea but have not been recovered. e Partially controlled by North Korea.

South Korea has been a member of the United Nations since 1991, when it became a member state at the same time as North Korea. South Korea has developed links with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as both a member of ASEAN Plus three, a body of observers, and the East Asia Summit (EAS).

A close relationship with the United States began directly after World War II, when the United States temporarily administered South Korea. Upon the onset of the Korean War in 1950, U.S. forces were sent to defend against an invasion from North Korea of the South and subsequently fought as the largest contributor of UN troops. Following the Armistice, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to a "Mutual Defense Treaty", under which an attack on either party in the Pacific area would summon a response from both. The two nations also share a close economic relationship,

Historically, Korea had close relations with the dynasties in China, and some Korean kingdoms were members of the Imperial Chinese tributary system. The Korean kingdoms also ruled over some Chinese kingdoms, including the Khitan people and the Manchurians, before the Qing dynasty, and received tributes from them. Though at opposing sides during the Cold War, South Korean–Chinese relations have improved steadily since 1992. China has become South Korea's largest trading partner by far.

Korea and Japan have had ties since ancient times but also significant cultural exchange, with Korea acting as the gateway between East Asia and Japan. Longstanding issues such as historical disputes over Japan's 35-year colonization of Korea in the 20th century and Japanese war crimes against Korean civilians, the territorial disputes over the Liancourt Rocks, known in South Korea as "Dokdo" and in Japan as "Takeshima", and visits by Japanese politicians to the Yasukuni Shrine continue to trouble Korean-Japanese relations. Ties between the two countries have improved significantly in the 2020s, and polls show that public perceptions of each other have become much more positive, especially among younger generations. Japan is today South Korea's third largest trading partner.