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South Korea GEOGRAPHY
Location and Size: Strategic location in waters of the
Sea of Japan, Korea Strait, and Yellow Sea. Total land area of
Korean Peninsula, including islands, 220,847 square kilometers;
approximately 98,477 square kilometers (44.6 percent) constitutes
territory of South Korea.
Land Boundary: 238 kilometers with North Korea.
Disputes: Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt
Rocks claimed by Japan.
Topography and Drainage: Approximately 70 percent of
land area mountains and uplands. Principal ranges--T'aebaek and
Sobaek range and Chiri Massif. Tallest mountain--Mount Halla at
1,950 meters, a volcanic cone located on Cheju Island. Longest
rivers--Naktong River, 521 kilometers; Han River, which flows
through Seoul, 514 kilometers; and Kom River, 401 kilometers.
Climate: Long, cold, dry winters; short, hot, humid
summers with late monsoon rains, flooding. Seoul's January mean
temperature -5° C to -2.5° C; July, 22.5° C to 25°
C. Cheju Island
warmer, milder weather than other parts of South Korea. Annual
rainfall varies from year to year but usually averages more than
100 centimeters; two-thirds of precipitation falls between June
and September. Droughts, particularly in southwest; approximately
one every eight years.
Data as of June 1990
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