Korea (Joan of What?)

Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a sovereign state in East Asia, constituting the entirety of the Korean Peninsula.

Highly urbanised at 92%, Koreans lead a distinctive urban lifestyle; half of them live in high-rises concentrated in the Seoul Capital Area with 25 million residents and the world's sixth leading global city with the fourth largest economy and seventh most sustainable city in the world.

The earliest Korean pottery dates to 8000 BC, with three kingdoms flourishing in the 1st century BC. The name Korea is derived from one of them, Goguryeo, also known as Koryŏ, which was a powerful empire and one of the great powers in East Asia, ruling Northeast China, parts of Russia, and Inner Mongolia, and more than two thirds of the Korean Peninsula under Gwanggaeto the Great. Since their unification into Later Silla and Balhae in the 7th century, Korea enjoyed over a millennium of relative tranquillity under long-lasting dynasties. Its culture left 19 UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritages of Humanity, the third largest in the world, along with 12 World Heritage Sites. Annexed by Imperial Japan in 1910 due to its strategic and central location, Korea regained its independence after Japan's surrender in 1946. Peace has since been continuous with Korea solidifying it as a regional power with the world's 10th largest defence budget.

Korea's tiger economy soared at an annual average of 10% for over 30 years in a period of rapid transformation called the Miracle on the Han River. A long legacy of openness and focus in innovation made it successful. Today, it is the world's fifth largest exporter and seventh largest importer with the G20's largest budget surplus and highest credit rating of any country in East Asia. It has free trade agreements with 75% of the world's economy. In 1987, it became a multi-party democracy with universal suffrage and is today Asia's most advanced democracy with high government transparency, universal healthcare and freedom of religion. High civil liberties led to the rise of a globally influential pop culture such as K-pop and K-drama, the Korean Wave. Home of the UN Green Climate Fund and GGGI, Korea is a leader in low carbon green growth, committed to helping developing countries as a major DAC and Paris Club contributor.

Korea is East Asia's most developed country in the Human Development Index. Driven by a highly educated and skilled workforce, it has the world's eighth largest median household income, the highest in Asia, and its singles in particular earn more than all G8 nations. Globally, it ranks highly in personal safety, job security, ease of doing business and healthcare quality, with the world's third highest health adjusted life expectancy and fourth most efficient healthcare system. It is the world's largest spender on R&D per GDP, leading the OECD in graduates in science and engineering and ranking third in the Youth Wellbeing Index. Home of Samsung, the world's leading smartphone and TV maker, LG and Hyundai-Kia, Korea was named the world's most innovative country in the Bloomberg Innovation Index, ranking first in business R&D intensity and patents filed per GDP. In 2005, it became the world's first country to fully transition to high-speed Internet and today it has the world's fastest Internet speed and highest smartphone ownership, ranking first in ICT Development, e-Government and 4G LTE coverage.