Korea (2008)

Country	Republic of Korea (ROK)
Capital	Seoul
Territory	100,032 km2(as of the end of 2007)
Population	4,8600,000
Language	Korean
Illiteracy	0% (people aged between 20 and 40)
Religion	Buddhism 24%, Protestant 23%, Catholic 8%, Others 0.8%, None 44.2% (NSO, 2005)
Climate	Continental climate with four distinct seasons
Time Difference	GMT + 9 hours
Political System	Democratic Republic, Presidential System
Economy	The 15th largest economy in the world (by GDP), OECD member
Currency	Won
Flagship Industries	ICT, Electronics, Semiconductor, Automobile, Shipbuilding, Steel, Petrochemical, etc.

Major Economic Indicators

	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (USD 100 mil.)	608	681	791	887	1,050	928
Real GDP Growth (%)	2.8	4.6	4.0	5.2	5.1	2.2
Per Capita Income (USD)	13,460	15,082	17,531	18,372	21,695	19,231
Export (USD 1 bil.)	194	254	284	325	371	422
Import (USD 1 bil.)	179	224	261	309	357	435
Current Account Balance (USD 1 bil.)	12	28	15	5	6	-6
Unemployment Rate (%)	3.6	3.7	3.7	3.5	3.2	3.2
CPI Growth (%)	3.5	3.6	2.8	2.2	2.5	4.7
National Bond Yield to Maturity (three-year bond, %)	4.6	4.1	4.3	4.8	5.2	5.3
Foreign Exchange Reserve (USD 1 bil.)	155	199	210	239	262	201
Exchange Rate
(Won-USD)	1,192	1,145	1,024	956	929	1,103
(Won-100Yen)	1,030	1,059	931	821	790	1,077
(Won-Euro)	1,348	1,423	1,274	1,199	1,273	1,607

Source: The Bank of Korea, Korea Customs Service