Living in Korea: The Basics

When living in a new country, there will always be some essential information that one should be aware of. Whether you are still deciding to visit or have already settled down, here you can find all the basic and necessary facts one should know when in Korea. Find out Korea’s country code, currency conversion rates, and major holidays. While “Korea” often refers to the entire Korean peninsula, including both North and South Korea, this section naturally deals with the Life of a foreigner in South Korea.

Full Country Name: Republic of Korea

Capital: Seoul

Date of Independence: 15 August 1945

Korean Government Type: Republic

National Flag

Time in Korea: Greenwich Mean Time +9 hours; US Eastern Standard Time +14 hours

Korea Country Code: 82 (011 is the international access code, so for dialing to Korea: 011 82 city code+number)

Korean Currency: South Korean Won (KRW) Conversion Rates below (as of July 2007)

·         1 USD = 915.316 KRW

·         1 EUR = 1,265.12 KRW

·         1 GBP = 1,881.17 KRW

Korea population: 49,044,790 (estimation as of July 2007)

Korea Climate: Temperate with summer monsoon season. Summer max: 88°F, 31°C. Winter min: 16°F, -9°C

Religion: Christianity and Buddhism are the two dominant religions in South Korea. Most Koreans have no religion.

Holidays:

• January 1^st & 2^nd – New Year’s

• 1^st day of 1^st lunar month – Korean New Year’s (Seol)

Korean New Year

• February 18^th 2007, February 7^th 2008, January 26^th 2009

• March 1^st – Independence Movement Day

• April 5^th – Arbor Day

• May 5^th – Children’s Day

• 8^th day of 4^th lunar month – Buddha’s Birthday

• May 24^th 2007, May 12^th 2008, May 2^nd 2009

• June 6^th – Memorial Day

• 5^th day of 5^th lunar month – Dano

• June 19^th 2007, June 8^th 2008, June 28^th 2009

• July 17^th – Constitution Day

• August 15^th – Liberation Day

• 15^th day of 8^th lunar month – Harvest Moon Festival (Chuseok)

• September 25^th 2007, September 14^th 2008, October 3^rd 2009

• October 3^rd – Foundation Day

• December 25^th – Christmas Day