South Korea

South Korea is a country situated in East Asia, it shares its borders with North Korea and has access to the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. It is a rather well known Countryhumans character. South Korea is famous for Kpop, their history and culture, popular food and tourism.

Male
It usually can be a variety of modern fashion, since the country is also known for fashion designs. Most people headcanon South Korea as a male.

They are mostly seen with a white hoodie with a blue to red gradient on the sleeves. With black pants and matching shoes.

Female
Much rarer, South Korea presented as female is very inconsistent but have similar themes. Sometimes they are depicted similar if not the same to their male appearance, if not, their outfit usually follows one of two themes. The first being "aesthetic" clothing South Korea as a country is very much romanticized by western countries which is the majority of the fandom, heavily influencing other spheres of the fandom. The last one just being casual clothing, this might be due to lack of research of general art burn or laziness. In very rare cases, they can have dog ears or cat ears.

General
The country may also appear in surgical masks as during in the winter and spring, they experience Hwang Se or the yellow dust season in where the dust from China's Gobi desert are swept by fast winds and cover East China and Korea. These winds also sometimes spread to Japan and parts of Russia.

Being in G20, having 8th highest medium household income in the world (and the first in Asia), and the highest credit rating in all of East Asia may also influence their fashion style to be expensive. They'd also most likely be taller than North Korea due to having easier access to more diverse and healthy food options.

Personality
South Korea is quiet and calm, only speaking when needed to, and sometimes sarcastic to their best trading partners. South Korea tries to avoid frenemies/neutral countries because he usually doesn’t want to start a fight. They an get very sensitive at the topic from their history, for example: the rising sun flag that was a tension between Philippines and S Korea. In their school years, anything less than an "A" is a fail in their eyes. Honoring the culture in this country is so high that it affects the South Korean people and makes them feel that they haven't met society's expectations; and their students' stress levels are among the highest in the world. Their perfectionist nature doesn't stop them from being hardworking.

They can also obsess over things very easily which is a good and bad thing depending on what is; on one hand this can prompt them to become easily addicted to things (such as alcohol, phones); and on the other make them one of the richest countries in Asia by pure diligence and determination. Think of them as a sponge, when they find something they like, they will observe, obsess, watch, imitate, memorize, recreate and master it.

South Korea is very dedicated, when they were younger, they practically took the equivalent of two schools day in one day (The second being called a Hakwon), So they had to wake up earlier than they are supposed to be, and go home very late. To the U.S. political spectrum they can be seen as a progressive conservative, with their tech moving forward but keep their traditions strong. Being one of the richest and biggest economies in the world in 30 years. They are part of the “Four Asian Tigers” (Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore) They are commonly seen with Singapore or other Southeast Asian countries, or sometimes China.

Interests

 * E-sports (Gaming in general and games such as Minecraft and PUBG)
 * The E-Sports culture in South Korea is huge! South Korean's in E-sports can earn million of dollars and successful gamers are seen as celebrities.


 * Music (Especially their own K-pop and K-rap but they have a high interest in J-pop and American pops)
 * Karaoke/Noraebang
 * Bath Houses/Jimjil bang (A bathhouse where you sleep over). The owner usually gives the person a shirt and pants.


 * K-drama
 * Ship Building
 * As of 2015, South Korea is the world's largest ship builder at around creating 41% of the world's total ships.


 * Watching Mukbangs
 * Beauty
 * Makeup
 * Plastic Surgery
 * South Koreans disputably have the highest percentage of plastic surgeries performed per capita in the world at about 24,000. The most popular one is the double eye-lid surgery (Mostly for women). Where they add a fold to their eye-lids as that's seen as more attractive. This surgery is also given as a graduation gifts to their daughters


 * Taekwondo
 * Most South Koreans will take Taekwondo, a type of martial arts originating from the country which focuses on head-height kicks, jumping spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques.


 * Tech
 * The country of South Korea is big in the tech industry and is very serious about it with some of the largest companies being Samsung, Hyandai, LG, Lotte, SK Group, Daewoo, Hanjin, and Kia. And they're the only country to fully transition into high speed internet. The country even has a prison with their own robot security gaurd.


 * Challenges
 * Spicy food
 * Some South Koreans are obsessed with spicy foods! They make bulldakbockemyeon, which is the spiciest noodle brand in Korea (and possibly in the world), and heckbulldakbockemyeon, which is the spiciest of all. Koreans will eat spicy foods usually when they are feeling gloomy in a certain day. Most of Koreans will say that if you eat something very spicy, you are likely to just wash down the gloomy feeling.


 * K-dramas
 * South Korea is very proud of his K-dramas, as it is very famous globally. The famous K-drama, "Crash Landing on you", and "Space Sweeper", the first space movie in Korea, as making the whole world cheer in fire. But some think that K-dramas are way too dramatic and unrealistic, which is true, but most of countries love k-dramas!
 * Folklore/folk culture

Flag meaning
The flag of South Korea features four colors: white, black, red and blue. The white background is a traditional color in Korean culture that symbolizes purity and peace. The color of black is used for the four trigrams, each representing a different virtue.

Others symbols

 * Hibiscus
 * Siberian tiger
 * Kimchi

Nicknames

 * S.K
 * Pepsi Flag(when America found out his flag is similar to Pepsi)
 * Cocoa/Kakao (because KakaoTalk is a popular text-type app generated from Korea)
 * ROK
 * Land of rainbows (By Mongolia)
 * Land of the Morning Calm
 * Korea (Shared with their sibling, North Korea)
 * One of the Four Asian Tigers/A Asian Tiger (Along with Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. This title is associated with high economic growth and overall being very rich. It means these countries have grown at an economic rate over 10 percent annually over the last 3 decades.)
 * Melon(The famous music app generated in Korea)

Etymology
The word Korea derives from the name Goryeo. The name Goryeo was first used by the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo in the 5th century as a shortened form of its name. The 10th-century kingdom of Goryeo succeeded Goguryeo, and thus inherited its name, which was pronounced by the visiting Persian merchants as "Corea". This was later written as Korea. South Korea's official name is in fact not South Korea, but the Republic of Korea. This is because South Korea does not recognise North Korea as a country, and they claim the entire Korean peninsula as theirs. The only other country to do this is Japan. North Korea also does not recognise South Korea. This happened after the Korean war. Both South and North Koreans don't see themselves as South or North Koreans, rather they see themselves as just Korean.

Origin of languages
The Korean language is sometimes classified as a part of a northern Asian language group known as Altaic, that includes Turkish, Mongolian and Japanese, suggesting early Northern migrations and trade. However, most people say that the similarities are most likely coincidental, and classify Korean as a stand-alone language. Korean was also heavily influenced by Chinese, but had adopted its own writing system by the 16th century.

Beginnings
Around A.D. 668, several competing kingdoms were unified into a single dominion on the Korean Peninsula. Successive regimes maintained Korean political and cultural independence for more than a thousand years; the last of these ruling kingdoms would be the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910).

After surviving invasions by Japan at the end of the 16th century and the Manchus of East Asia in the early 17th, Korea chose to limit its contact with the outside world. A 250-year-long period of peace followed, with few Koreans traveling outside their isolated country.

This began to change in the late 19th century, when Western powers like Britain, France and the United States made efforts to open trade and diplomatic relations with Korea, with little success.

Colonial period
At the outset of the 20th century, Japan and Russia vied for control over the Korean Peninsula. Japan emerged the victor, occupying the peninsula in 1910, at the conclusion of the Russo-Japanese War and formally annexing it five years later.

In the First Sino-Japan War, the fight was fought in Korea. This was one of the first signs Japanese Empire were trying to colonize Korea. The Qing Dynasty started the war with Japan because Japan had sunken their ships that were supposed to reach Korea. Inside the ships were military tools and soldiers that were supposed to help Korea incase Japan may invade. This was a fail, and Japan won the Sino-Japan War, and took parts of China.

Korean Liberation Movements
Around 1919, the March 1st Movement took place. After the movement, few Koreans escaped to Hong Kong, China and created the Korean Provisional Government. In 1940, the Korean Liberation Army (KLA) was formed. The KLA was the armed force of the Korean Provisional Government. The Chinese government were also supporting them.

The KLA participated in the Pacific War and other battles alongside China and the Allies against Japan around Southeast Asia. The Provisional Government sent troops to fight alongside the British in the SouthEast Asian theatre of WW2 by the request of the British Army.There were about 1000 members by the end of WW2. China and KLA’s biggest goal was to gain independence or to stop Japanese Empire from getting more land. The KLA camps were scattered around China, but mainly in ShangHai, because the Provisional Government was established.

The Korean Army isn’t well known because the they were mostly mixed with the Chinese armies in smaller battles. Overall China did help the Provisional Goverment and Army to help fight against Japanese Empire from getting more land in Asia. This is not entirely confirmed but the KLA was planning to free Korea yet America came and stopped Japanese Empire. However if America didn’t “occupy” them in time South Korea would most likely be a communist country.

Colonial Period
Over 35 years of colonial rule, Korea became an industrialized country, but its people suffered brutal repression at the hands of the Japanese, who tried to wipe out its distinctive language and cultural identity and make Koreans culturally Japanese. There were many protests of Korea’s independence however many of the civilians that protested were arrested and many of them were massacred. However these protests inspired many countries.

During World War II, many Korean men were compelled to serve in Japan’s army or work in wartime factories, while thousands of Korean women were forced into providing sexual services for Japanese soldiers, becoming known as “comfort women.” It is unclear but comfort women were most likely taken away in the countryside, most likely because they wanted to schools, and got tricked. Girls in cities with good education would probably been looked forward by Japanese, if they behaved well.

Korea divided
After the 2 atomic bombs were dropped in Japan, Japan retreated back to their lands leaving South Korea alone. USSR took North Korea making them part of their communist, on the other hand, America had supported South Korea. The ROK broke up after America took South Korea. Most of the ROK members supported communism so the Americans executed part of them.

The Korean War occurred and nearly when all South Koreans were defeated by North Koreans, America and the UN came to the rescue fighting back at the communist. The fight was brutal until the border was made right in the middle of Korea.

In the north, the Soviets installed Kim Il Sung as the first premier of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), better known as North Korea, with its capital at Pyongyang.

Korean
South Korea’s declaration of independence in 1950 led North Korea, backed by China and the Soviet Union, to invade its neighbor in an effort to regain control of the entire peninsula.

U.S. and United Nations troops fought alongside South Korean forces in the Korean War, which would cost some 2 million lives before it ended in 1953.

The armistice agreement left the Korean Peninsula divided much as before, with a demilitarized zone (DMZ) running along latitude 38 degrees North, or the 38th parallel.

Park Chung-Hee
Over the decades to come, South Korea maintained a continued close relationship with the United States, which included military, economic and political support.

Though ostensibly a republic, its citizens initially enjoyed limited political freedom, and in 1961 a military coup put General Park Chung-hee into power.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, under Park’s regime, South Korea enjoyed a period of rapid industrial development and economic growth (achieving a per capita income some 17 times that of North Korea).

From military rule to democracy
Park was assassinated in 1979, and another general, Chun Doo-hwan took power, putting the country under strict military rule. An armed uprising by students and others to restore democratic rule led to many civilian deaths at the army’s hands.

Martial law was lifted in 1981, and Chun was (indirectly) elected president under a new constitution, which established the Fifth Republic.

By 1987, popular dissatisfaction with the government and mounting international pressure pushed Chun from office in advance of another revised constitution, which allowed direct election of the president for the first time.

Roh Tae-woo, a former army general who won the country’s first free presidential election in 1987, further liberalized the political system and tackled corruption within the government.

Seoul Olympics
The reforms of the Sixth Republic came just in time for South Korea to host a successful Summer Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988, despite continued student protests and a boycott by North Korea.

The 1980s also saw South Korea increasingly shift its economy toward high-tech and computer industries, and improve its relations with the Soviet Union and China. Continuing the transition away from military rule and toward democracy, South Korea elected Kim Young-sam, its first civilian president in more than 30 years, in 1993.

Kim Dae-Jung
Kim Young-sam’s successor, Kim Dae-jung (who took office in 1998) would win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his contributions to democracy in South Korea, as well as his so-called “sunshine” policy of economic and humanitarian aid to North Korea.

That same year, Kim Dae-jung and his northern counterpart, Kim Jong Il, held an historic summit in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea.

Despite that brief period of relatively sunny relations, however, things soon deteriorated between the two countries, largely due to the North’s continued development of nuclear weapons.

The rise to power in 2011 of a volatile new North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, and his regime’s repeated tests of nuclear missiles only exacerbated the problems.

Park Geun-Hye
Meanwhile, South Korea elected its first female leader, Park Geun-hye (the daughter of Park Chung-hee), in 2013.

But in late 2016, she was implicated in a scandal involving corruption, bribery and influence peddling, and the National Assembly passed an impeachment motion against her that December.

After her impeachment was upheld in March 2017, the center-left candidate Moon Jae-in won a special presidential election in a landslide, pledging to solve the crisis with North Korea using diplomatic means.

South Korea today
Today, South Korea is one of East Asia’s most affluent countries, with an economy ranking just behind Japan and China. With most of the country covered by mountains, a majority of its population is clustered around the urban centers.

The capital of South Korea, Seoul, is home to more than 25 million people, or about 50 percent of the country’s population.

In early 2018, South Korea welcomed athletes from around the world to the Winter Olympic Games.

The month before the games began, North and South Korea agreed to march under the same flag at the Olympics, the latest sign of a partial thaw in relations between the two countries.

Organizations and Affiliations

 * G20
 * United Nations

Government
South Korea is a democracy, having the system of a presidential representative democratic republic. It is a Unitary State. The president is head of state, as well as a multi-party system. The president rules for 5 years, and there is not a possibility to renew their reign or attempt to run again. The government's Executive and Legislative power is vested in both the President and National Assembly. There are 300 seats in the National Assembly.

Diplomacy
South Korea has diplomatic relationships with every UN recognised country except  Cuba,  North Korea, and  Syria. It also doesn't have diplomatic relations with some unrecognised countries, such as Kosovo, Taiwan, Palestine  the  Western Sahara, and more.

Geography
With a total land area is 100,032 square kilometres, South Korea takes the bottom half of the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea taking the upper part in East Asia. The boarder also known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), which is controlled by over 2 million people at any given moment. The boarder also has 4 known tunnels that have been built underground the boarder, which the third is called the "Third Tunnel of Aggression". The tunnel was discovered in 1978, following the detection of an underground explosion in June 1978, apparently caused by the tunnellers who had progressed 435 metres (1,427 feet) under the south side of the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It took four months to locate the tunnel precisely and dig an intercept tunnel. When discovered the United Nations Command  accused North Korea of threatening the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement signed at the end of the Korean War. Its description as a "tunnel of aggression" was given by South Korea, who considered it an act of aggression on the part of North Korea. North Korea denied the claims calling it a coal mine, when there was no signs of coal in the site. From the pictures of tourist after it was made into a tourist attraction, the walls of the tunnel where tourists are taken are observably granite, a stone of igneous origin, whereas coal would be found in stone of sedimentary origin. There are around 20 theorized tunnels but info is classified.

They are squished between the Yellow Sea, Gyeonggi Bay, Jeju Strait, Korea Strait and the East Sea/Sea of Japan. The country is divided into 8 provinces, 6 metropolitan cities, one special self-governing province (Jeju Island), and their capital, Seoul has the title of "Special City". Their is also the Autonomous city of Sejong. In 2007, the government of South Korea had a problem with too many people living in Seoul with have the country's entire population living in the city. So they made the citizens "move out" by moving the governmental buildings, by making a second capital, and promoted moving in Sejong and to the country of Brazil. South Korea controls 3,500 islands off their coast, the biggest being Jeju (Jeju-do). And has a majority temperate deciduous forest climate.

Cradled by the gentle Amurian plate, Japan and China take most of the heavy Earthquakes, tsunamis, and typhoons. The country is 80% mountainous, sharing the Taebaek mountain chain with North Korea, with the longest river, the Nakdong River, flowing all the way from the mountain chain to the East sea near the city of Busan. The highest point in the country is on the island of Jeju which is shield volcano named Mt. Hallasan.

Family

 * Turkey - Step-parent/step-sibling
 * Mongolia — Step-parent
 * United States — Adoptive Parent/Friend
 * North Korea — Sibling
 * North Chungcheong — Adoptive child
 *  — Adoptive child
 * South Chungcheong Gangwon — Adoptive child
 * Gyeonggi — Adoptive child
 * North Gyeongsang — Adoptive child
 * South Gyeongsang — Adoptive child
 * South Jeolla — Adoptive child
 * Jeju Special Self-Governing Province — Adoptive child

Friends

 * Mexico — "I helped you in soccer.”
 * United States — "You're an funny father, a trading partner, and a close friend! Thank you for helping me during the Korean War even though things were difficult. You still managed to help me through those tough times and taught me many things. Thanks for supporting and helping me these years!"
 * Canada — "You helped my people to find a better and safe place to live! You’re also my trading partner! (And my uncle)"
 * Malaysia — "Even though you consider yourself neutral. You’re my trading partner and a good friend!"
 * Spain — "An ally during the Korean War."
 * France — "Same goes as Spain"
 * Germany — "I’m glad you finally came to your sense on changing sides! You’ve helped my people although your past-self wasn't very friendly."
 * Ethiopia — "They helped me in the Korean war. In return I give them aid during the covid-19 pandemic. Their health administrator is really friendly."
 * Philippines — "You're an amazing close friend of mine! Without you pushing those communist off my land I wouldn’t know what to do! Words can’t describe how much I’m thankful of your help!”
 * Taiwan — "You did once ally with China until you’ve changed your mind to side with me. Thank you a lot!”
 * European Union, and NATO — "You guys are the best!"
 * Mongolia — "They was neutral around the war time but they are my trading partner and a friend!"
 * Turkey — "You've always help my relatives even if you're my stepsibling/step-parent. I will help you no matter what!"
 * Romania — "I enjoy your culture! I’m glad we’ve been great friends! I’lAustraliaemember your kindness!”
 * Czech Republic — "Our friendship is improving a lot, thanks I guess for siding with me...”
 * Australia — "Thanks for your help during the Korean war! Koreans love your animals!"
 * Saudi Arabia

Neutral

 * Japan — "I don’t really know anymore. My people like your culture and anime but our presidents have a very weird tension between them. Sometimes when They bring out Japanese history, it breaks my heart..."
 * China - “China wants to build relations, but that won't be coming true if he keeps on demanding my culture as his."
 * Vietnam — "I supported the South but after the war our relations were warming but they would rather stay neutral."
 * Angola — "Even if you supported my sibling during the korean war at least you don't hate me."
 * Syria — "Thanks for Enjoying my K-pop and K-dramas."
 * Iran — "Although you may hate me, I don't hate you. Persian history is interesting, but please don't copy my sibling's actions by threatening everyone that disagrees with you."
 * Russia — "I don't like your past-self... But you apologized about the whole plane about Dokdo. Thank you for that! I wish our relationships could get better and actually become friends."

Enemies

 * Japanese Empire — "what kind of person likes to dissect people alive? Oh wait, sorry about just assuming you were human."
 * North Korea
 *  USSR — "Why did you attack me when I didn't do anything. You had to unify us before you disappeared..."
 * Third Reich — "Even if you didn't hurt me, I hate you. You are just like Imperial Japan. You hurt many countries, and you died without even apologizing."

Past versions

 * Korean Empire — Dad... I miss you... I know you are safe up there, but I can't imagine how hurt you'll be when you see how the world has changed...(although nothing has hurt us more than what you've been through)
 * People's Republic of Korea
 * United States Army Military Government In Korea
 * Supreme Council for National Reconstruction

Opinions
WIP

USA
"United States has helped me in the Korean War between me and North Korea. I show great respect for them and I think them as one of my families. He's a good person to hang out with! We always hangout. Along with other countries too. Even though he can be too hilarious and dumb, I'm sure everyone around him loves him for his humor. But I wish he would not be so overprotective of me and let my brother and me unite. He might be stopping me from something else too…"

The United States has one of the largest South Korean populations at 2.5 million and is a large export partner, and as mentioned above America also played a pivotal role in the Korean War. Which means South Korea might even look at America as some what of a father figure after the fall of the Korean Empire. In some CountryHuman fanfictions, America might have adopted South Korea. With the countries having a mutual defense treaty, meaning that if a country were to attack South Korea it would mean an attack on America and would get an immediate U.S. response. America also has a significant amount of bases in South Korea, with brings in a bit of anti-american sentiment and has made South Korea a bit weary of America. Former president, Barack Obama, has even said "South Korea is one of the U.S.'s closest allies and greatest friends" as the two have shared so much in the past seven decades.

Japan
"Japan? They’re ok. I know that they did many things that effected our family, but it's all in the past. I guess... I just hope there's no future fights that would damage my people like that. But the imagery of me and my brother just getting hurt (physically and mentally) can't seem to get out of my head... I wish they would just apologize. Is it that hard? … anyways, I guess i enjoy their culture and their media. We are trying to fix relations."

Japan is like South Korea's best frenemy, South Korea witnessed seeing their occupiers get bombed during World War II, the Korean war erupted and after it ended, as he also got hurt from the damage mentally and physically. Japan and South Korea bettered their relations. South Korea also can't get enough of Japanese media (such as anime, J-pop, and Japanese food). Their populations also like to visit each other's countries.

North Korea
"How do I explain how our relations are...?

It's very complicated. But I am supposed to love him because... He's still my sibling. My father's last wish was to protect each other until the end. But why didn't you grant our father's LAST WISH? WHY DID YOU GO BOMBING AROUND MY OFFICE AND MAKE YOUR OWN BROTHER CRY THE WHOLE DAY?! DON'T YOU EVER THINK OF OUR FATHER?? DON'T YOU EVER.... think of me brother? Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm like this sometimes... Next interview please..."

South Koreans see North Korea as the brother that obstinately thinks he can he can make a point that was lost 70 years ago. They want to reunify, but Kim Jung Un stands in the way or reunification and the two argue which ideology in which the reunited Korea would follow. South Koreans have also tried to fly propaganda into North Korea such as DVD's and USB sticks along with gifts such as supplies and other items via air balloon across the boarder. The people smuggling the items thought if North Korea's people could see how wonderful the outside is that they'd be able to reunit, but hen the official North Korean News Agency announced that Pyongyang will cut all political and military lines of communication with South Korea from Tuesday noon, the North repeatedly threatened to cut communication with the South if they did not stop sending "hostile" ballons across the border, an attempt to create a crisis, on Tuesday morning, Communications of the South to the North, via the private lines, remained without a response. A bit of long while after that, the South Korean president launched an unprecedented pressure campaign against the North Korea's defectors, which prompted some of them to return to their homeland as a result of the discrimination they were subjected to (and other issues), the South Korean Ministry also revoked the licenses of two dissident groups that were broadcasting anti-Pyongyang propaganda, this happened during the same period in which the South Korean president’s administration sought to resume dialogue and economic projects with Pyongyang, this didn't happen very recently, in 2019 when 13 North Korean defecotrs were arrested in Vietnam to bring them back to their homeland; US diplomats came to rescue them, while South Korea did nothing about it. However, on the 16th of the same month, relations witnessed a higher tension and a dangerous escalation after North Korea bombed the South Korean Liaison Office, and official North Korean media reported that the country's army was "fully prepared" to move against them.

China
"China? I mean, honestly think he's annoying. He is keep on demanding that my culture is theirs. It's hilarious. The most funniest thing is that they are saying it without any evidence. China, if you're hearing this, remember. Kimchi and Hanbok is mine. You have no opportunity to take MY culture away from ME."

China has a large South Korean populations at around 2.5 million and is a large export partner. China also acts like a mediator between South Korea and North Korea, and both went through the horrors of the Japanese Empire's occupation. Where both countries were forced to assimilate to the Japanese countries, not being able to speak their own language and throw away their customs for around thirty years.

Australia
"A friend of mine! They had helped me during the Korean war, I am grateful for their help. They can be wild- but they're funny as well. Oh, and my favorite part is when they shove the snake just infront of Ame's face and Ame runs away screaming!"

When the outbreak of the Korean War had reached across the globe Australia sent 17,000 troops to South Korea. Now days Both are members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and South Korea has an embassy in Canberra. Australia also has an embassy in Seoul.

Philippines
Even before South and North Korea split, the Philippines has always been South Korea's friend and one of their first. The Philippines even a significant amount of military help during the War and helped against the North Korean invasions. The Philippines was also one of the first countries to land to send troops. There was even a time in battle when the nearby Turkish and Puerto-Rican infantry Regiments fell and a small amount of Filipinos (Around 1,000) were faced with 40,000 Chinese Soldiers and stopped them from further advancement. This let America's infantry to withdraw from battle which would prove to turn the battle around. And when you put a Filipino and a South Korean they usually have an instant bond. The Philippines is also a big fan of Korean music and culture!

European Union
The European Union is the second largest export partner and lots of Europeans have came and visit South Korea as of late since the 80s and 90s. And lots of South Koreans go study abroad.

Korean Empire
The Korean Empire only lasted for a few decades. The Korean Empire only took care of a part of civilian and the other part as disappointment and didn’t agree on many things. It’s very hard to explain.

Trivia

 * South Korea is a conscription country, with all men required to serve the military from ages (18-35) for at least 2 years. Women are allowed to volunteer but are not required to.
 * Most Koreans are still married in the traditional way
 * Koreans also try to marry someone that doesn't have the same last name, however it's a bit difficult since only three last names make up about half the population (Kim, Lee and Park)
 * A third of the country identifies as Christian (mostly protestant) and has a sizeable Buddhist community (~20 percent) the rest vaguely follow the ancient traditional South Korean religion (Confucianism)
 * South Koreans are usually ranked as the top ten or even five for suicide rates.
 * South Korea may ask you for your mbti because it is trending in South Korea right now
 * They are mostly well-known for K-pop and K-dramas
 * South Korea depicted to be always in a conflict with their sibling.
 * They can be seen commonly shipped with the Philippines and rarely with  Australia
 * They are also seen shipped with the USA and rarely with  Turkey