South Korea is officially known as Taehan Min'guk (Republic of Korea). This country is in northeastern Asia and occupies the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. South Korea is bounded on the north by North Korea; on the east by the East Sea (Sea of Japan); on the south bye the Korea Strait, which also separates it from Japan; and on the west by the Yellow Sea. It has a total area of 38,328 square miles, including many offshore islands in the south and west, and the largest is Cheju. The state of South Korea was established in 1948 succeeding the post-World War II distribution of the penisula between the occupying forces of the United States in the south and the Union of Soviet Republics (USSR) in the north. The capital of South Korea is Seoul which is also the largest city.
             The current version of the South Korean flag was adopted in 1984, but the basic design has been used since the country's founding is 1948. The Buddhist yin-yang symbol represents the unity of opposites, and the white background represents purity. The black markings symbolize three cycles, with opposites in each cycle opposing one another(reading clockwise from the upper left): summer, autumn, winter, spring, south, west, north, east, sky, moon, earth, and sun.
             South Korea is mainly a rugged, mountainous terrain. The principal range is the T'aebaek-sanmaek, which extends in a north-south direction parallel to the eastern coast. The country's highest peak, located on the island of Cheju, is Halla-san. Plains constitute less than one-fifth the total area and are mostly in the west along the coast the coastal plains in the east and south are very narrow. South Korea has a highly indented coastline characterized by high tidal ranges, the country's tow longest rivers, the Naktong and Han, rise in the T'aebaek-sanmaek, one flowing south to the Korea Strait and the other northwest to the Yellow sea. Other major rivers inc...