The Republic of Korea (hangul: 대한민국, hanja: 大韓民國, revised romanization: Daehan Minguk, McCune-Reischauer: Taehan Min'kuk)? [* 大 韓 (Daehan) = Korea, 民國 (Minguk) = republic], commonly known as Korea South to distinguish it from North Korea, and occasionally as South Korea to distinguish it from North Korea, is an East Asian country, located in the southern part of the Korean peninsula. It is bordered on the north by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea or North Korea), with which it formed a single country until 1945.

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To the east is the Korean Sea or the East Sea, to the south the Korean Strait. , which separates it from Japan, and west the Yellow Sea. Its territory includes the southern half of the Korean peninsula encompassing some three thousand islands that surround it, including Jeju, Ulleungdo and Dokdo. Approximately half of the population of the country lives in its capital, Seoul, or in its metropolitan area, which is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in the world (some sources place it as the second most populated, only behind Tokyo, in Japan) .

 

 Korea is one of the oldest civilizations in the world.