"광명천지/2つの偉大な人々の同盟" ("Let the land be enlightened/Alliance of two great peoples") | ||||||||||
| Anthem | "Aegukga" | |||||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Seoul | |||||||||
| Other cities | Busan | |||||||||
| Language official |
Korean and Japanese | |||||||||
| others | English | |||||||||
| Religion main |
Korean Buddhism | |||||||||
| others | Neo-Confucianism Shinto | |||||||||
| Ethnic Groups main |
Korean | |||||||||
| others | Japanese | |||||||||
| Government | Unitary one-party republic (1953-1971) Unitary presidential republic (1971-1988) | |||||||||
| Legislature | National Diet | |||||||||
| Population | 31,230,000 (1988) | |||||||||
| Currency | South Korean won | |||||||||
| Internet TLD | .kk (proposed) | |||||||||
South Korea, officially the Korean Kingdom, was a government that controlled the southern half of the Korean peninsula from 1953 to 1988. Despite its name, it was not ruled by a monarch, and was instead named after founder, the Imperial Party of Japan.
History
Formation
Following the Japanese Civil War, the Japanese Government fled to Korea. Korean nationalists overthrew the Royal Family's government and reinstated the Korean monarch, re-creating the Korean Empire on November 16, 1953. Shortly afterward, the remainder of the Imperial Army overthrew the Korean monarch and reinstated Akihito as ruler of Korea on November 29, 1953. To prevent another coup, Akihito signed the Akihito Constitution, the successor to the Meiji Constitution. Korea became a republic independent of Japan, and Akihito abdicated his throne, bringing the Japanese monarchy to an end. Southern Korea was put under the control of a democratically-elected parliament and prime minister. The new government was dominated by the Imperial Party of Japan, which quickly banned other parties from serving in government, creating the Korean Kingdom on December 1, 1953.
Effort to reunify
Throughout their existence, governments of North and South Korea attempt to unify the peninsula. A series of negotiations between the 2 countries lead to the creation of the Korean Pact, an economic and political union between to the 2 countries. This union grew into a confederacy, as the 2 nations would act as 1, if each government unanimously agreeing on an issue. On May 15, 1971, the Korean Kingdom held its first election, though the Imperial Party stayed in power. However, in 1976, the Liberal Democratic Party of Korea won the election, and assisted in the Korean Reunification effort. Both government slowly granted power over their territory, and combined their armies into one: the "Korean People's Liberation Army". As the 2 countries drifted closer together, both began to discuss unification. On January 31, 1988, both nations voted for unification. On February 12, 1988, both governments finished drafting a constitution, which was ratified 5 days later. This brought an end to Korea's division, with both governments in a constitutional union with each other.