| Location Area Population Flag ... Language The Korean Peninsula extends southward from the northeastern part of the Asian continent between latitudes from 33 to 43 degrees North, and longitudes from 124 to 131 degrees East. The standard meridian of the peninsula is 135 degrees, 9 hours ahead of GMT. The Amnok and Tuman Rivers border both China and Russia to the north, and Japan lies just across the East Sea. Since 1945, as a result of the Cold War, the peninsula has been divided into two parts: the democratic Republic of Korea, or South Korea, and communist Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or North Korea. The total area of the peninsula is 222,154 square kilometers, similar in size to that of Britain, New Zealand, or Romania. South Korea occupies 99,392 square kilometers or 45 percent of the total land mass, and North Korea the remaining 122,762 square kilometers. Seventy percent of the land is covered with mountains, particularly to the north and east. Along the southern and western coasts, the mountains descend gradually into broad coastal plains. Most of the rivers have their tributaries in the northern and eastern sides, and flow into the West and South Seas. Concentrated for the most part on the southern coast are more than 3,000 islands of various sizes that provide a scenery that is unparalleled by any other place in the world. | |
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