South Korea

=== Geography ===
{{Main|Geography of South Korea|Geology of South Korea}}
[[File:South Korea Topography.png|thumb|[[Topography]] of South Korea]]

South Korea occupies the southern portion of the [[Korean Peninsula]], which extends some {{convert|1,100|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the Continental and East Asian mainland. This mountainous peninsula is flanked by the [[Yellow Sea]] to the west and the [[Sea of Japan]] to the east. Its southern tip lies on the [[Korea Strait]] and the [[East China Sea]]. The country, including all its islands, lies between latitudes [[33rd parallel north|33°]] and [[39th parallel north|39°N]], and longitudes [[124th meridian east|124°]] and [[130th meridian east|130°E]]. Its total area is {{convert|100,410|km2|sqmi|2|sp=us}}<ref name="South Korea country profile"/>

South Korea can be divided into four general regions: an eastern region of high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains; a western region of broad coastal plains, [[drainage basin|river basins]], and rolling hills; a southwestern region of mountains and valleys; and a southeastern region dominated by the broad basin of the [[Nakdong River]].<ref name="korea geo">[http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/geography.htm#LAND Geography of Korea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724134602/http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/geography.htm#LAND |date=24 July 2017 }}, Asia Info Organization</ref> South Korea is home to three terrestrial ecoregions: [[Central Korean deciduous forests]], [[Manchurian mixed forests]], and [[Southern Korea evergreen forests]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287}}</ref> South Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous, most of which is not [[arable land|arable]]. [[Upland and lowland|Lowlands]], located primarily in the west and southeast, make up only 30% of the total land area. South Korea has [[List of national parks of South Korea|20 national parks]] and popular nature places like the [[Boseong]] Tea Fields, [[Suncheon Bay Ecological Park]], and [[Jirisan]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://english.knps.or.kr/ |title=Korea National Park Service official site |access-date=29 October 2010 |archive-date=2 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702123827/http://english.knps.or.kr/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

About 3,000 islands, mostly small and uninhabited, lie off the western and southern coasts of South Korea. [[Jeju Province]] is about {{convert|100|km|abbr=off|sp=us}} off the southern coast of South Korea. It is the country's largest island, with an area of {{convert|1,845|km2|sqmi|abbr=off|sp=us}}. Jeju is also the site of South Korea's highest point: [[Hallasan]], an extinct [[volcano]], reaches {{convert|1,950|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]]. The easternmost islands of South Korea include [[Ulleungdo]] and [[Liancourt Rocks]] (Dokdo/Takeshima), while [[Marado]] and [[Socotra Rock]] are the southernmost islands of South Korea.<ref name="korea geo" />