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South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea, is a country located in East Asia, in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. To the north, it is bordered by North Korea, with which it formed a single nation until 1948. The nation is often referred to simply as "Korea".

At the end of World War II, Korea was divided at the 38th parallel into the Soviet Union-occupied northern half and the United States-occupied southern half, each forming its own government in 1948.

In June 1950, the Korean War broke out. The United Nations-backed South and the Communist-backed North eventually reached a stalemate and an armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along the demilitarised zone at about the original demarcation line.

After the war, the autocratic government of Syngman Rhee was thrown out of power by student uprising and a brief period of civil rule was established in 1960. However, a military coup led by general Park Chung-hee, in the next year the nation turned into a dictatorship that lasted 18 years, during which period it achieved rapid economic growth. Park was assassinated in 1979, and general Chun Doo-hwan seized power with another coup. Massive student demonstrations in the spring of 1980 resulted in a military crackdown and the Gwangju Massacre. Civil unrest forced the end of military rule, and progressively democratic reforms continued under the presidencies of Roh Tae-woo, Kim Young-sam, and Kim Dae-jung.

In the 1990s, South Korea became one of the world's largest economies. In 1996 South Korea joined the OECD. Although the nation suffered severe economic hardship during the Asian financial crisis, South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy and one of Asia’s most affluent and technologically advanced nations.

A potential Korean reunification has remained a prominent topic; no peace treaty has yet been signed with the North. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place, part of the South's continuing Sunshine Policy of engagement. Since then, regular contacts have led to a cautious thaw.

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