S&N Korea South Korea - The 11th largest economy in the world-[more] South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK) and often referred to as Korea (Korean: ´ëÇѹα¹, IPA: [tae.han.min.uk], Hanja: ÓÞùÛÚÅÏÐ), listen (help¡¤info)) is a presidential republic in East Asia, occupying the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. Also known as the "Land of the Morning Calm", it is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east and borders North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, a major global city and a leading international financial centre in Asia, being the second largest metropolitan city in the world. Korea is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, first inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic. Following the unification of the Three Korean Kingdoms(Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla) under Silla in 668 AD, Korea went through the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty as one nation until the end of the Korean Empire in 1910. After division, South Korea was established in 1948 and has since developed into one of the two countries in Asia ranked as a functioning democracy. Following the Korean War, the South Korean economy grew significantly, transforming the country into an industrial powerhouse and an influential military powerin the world. South Korea has an international outlook with memberships in the United Nations, WTO, OECD and G-20 major economies. It is also a founding member of APEC and the East Asia Summit, being a visa waiver and major non-NATO ally of the United States. South Korea is now working towards a peaceful reunification with North Korea. South Korea is a major economic power. It is a developed country with a high standard of living, having a trillion dollar economy that is the fourth largest in Asia and South Korea is now the 11th largest economy in the world. South Korea is one of the world's top ten exporters and a highly industrialized country that is classified as a High-income economy by the World Bank and an Advanced economy by the IMF and CIA. The Asian Tiger is leading the Next Eleven nations and one of the world's fastest growing developed economies. South Korea has a very high-tech and futuristic infrastructure, and is a world leader in technologically advanced goods such as electronics, automobiles, ships, machinery, petrochemicals and robotics, headed by Samsung, LG and Hyundai-Kia. It has the world's highest scientific literacy and second highest mathematical literacy. South Korea is rapidly becoming a multicultural society and is a trend setting country in Asia, exerting strong cultural influence in the continent in a phenomenon known as the Korean wave. North Korea - The 4th military power in the world [more] North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The border between North Korea and South Korea is called the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The Amnok River is the border between North Korea and China. The Tumen River in the extreme north-east is the border with Russia. The peninsula was governed by the Korean Empire until it was occupied by Japan following the Russo-Japanese War of 1905. It was divided into Russian and U.S. occupied zones in 1945, following World War II. North Korea refused to participate in a United Nations-supervised election held in the south in 1948. This led to the creation of separate Korean governments for the two occupation zones. Both North and South Korea claim sovereignty over the entire peninsula and both were accepted as members of the UN in 1991. North Korea is a one party state. The country's government styles itself as following the Juche ideology of self-reliance, developed by Kim Il-sung, the country's former leader. Though nominally a socialist republic, it is widely considered by the outside world to be a de facto totalitarian stalinist dictatorship. The current leader is Kim Jong-il, the late president Kim Il-sung's son. Following a major famine in the early 1990s, due partly to the collapse of the Soviet Union (previously a major economic partner), leader Kim Jong-il instigated the "Military-First" policy in 1995, increasing economic concentration on and support for the military. Government and politics North Korea is a self-described Juche (self-reliant) state with a pronounced cult of personality organized around Kim Il-sung (the founder of North Korea and the country's first and only president) and his son and heir, Kim Jong-il. Following Kim Il-sung's death in 1994, he was not replaced but instead received the designation of "Eternal President", and was entombed in the vast Kumsusan Memorial Palace in central Pyongyang. Although the active position of president has been abolished in deference to the memory of Kim Il-sung, the de facto head of state is Kim Jong-il, who is Chairman of the National Defence Commission of North Korea. The legislature of North Korea is the Supreme People's Assembly, currently led by President Kim Yong-nam. The other senior government figure is Premier Kim Yong-il. North Korea is a single-party state. The governing party is the Democratic Front for the Reunification of the Fatherland, a coalition of the Workers' Party of Korea and two other smaller parties, the Korean Social Democratic Party and the Chondoist Chongu Party. These parties nominate all candidates for office and hold all seats in the Supreme People's Assembly. Human rights Main article: Human rights in North Korea Multiple international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, accuse North Korea of having one of the worst human rights records of any nation. North Koreans have been referred to as "some of the world's most brutalized people", due to the severe restrictions placed on their political and economic freedoms. North Korean defectors have testified to the existence of prison and detention camps with an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 inmates (about 0.85% of the population), and have reported torture, starvation, rape, murder, medical experimentation, forced labour, and forced abortions. There is even a national mandated dress code. The system changed slightly at the end of 1990s, when population growth became very low. In many cases, where capital punishment was de facto, it was replaced by less severe punishments. Bribery became prevalent throughout the country. For example, years ago, just listening to South Korean radio could result in capital punishment. However, many North Koreans now illegally wear clothes of South Korean origin, listen to Southern music, watch South Korean videotapes and even receive Southern broadcasts.