South Korea: Geography#
Location | Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea |
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Geographic Coordinates | 37 00 N, 127 30 E 37.0,127.5 |
Area | total: 99,720 sq km land: 96,920 sq km water: 2,800 sq km We are unable to verify those figures from Factbook, since the 6 main sources we used for checking give different figures as follows: Factbook: 99720 DBpedia: 100210 Geoname: 98480 Infoplease: 96920 Britannica: 99678 Wolfram: 98480 Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
Land boundaries | total: 238 km border countries: North Korea 238 km |
Coastline | 2,413 km |
Elevation Extremes | lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m |
Highest Mountains | According to Wolfram: Halla-san 1950 m; Jirisan 1915 m; Seoraksan 1708 m According to Geonames:Halla-san 1950 m; Jirisan 1915 m; Seoraksan 1708 m; Tŏgyu-san 1611 m; Kyebang-san 1577 m List verified partially Attempted Explanation: Please help us to try to explain the discrepancies by sending us helpful information to office nospam@TUGraz.at @global-geography.org |
Terrain | mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south |
Natural Hazards | occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest volcanism: Halla (elev. 1,950 m) is considered historically active although it has not erupted in many centuries |
Natural Resource | coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential |
Land Use | arable land: 14.93% permanent crops: 2.06% other: 83% (2011) |
Climate | temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter |
Irrigated Land | 8,804 sq km (2003) |
Renewable Water Resources | 69.7 cu km (2011) |
Environment_CurrentIssues | air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Large Cities | Seoul; Busan; Incheon; Taegu; Taejon [Verified] Important Cities |
Geography-note | strategic location on Korea Strait Important Rivers |