South Korea — Country Profile

South Korea is in Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. It covers 99,720 sq km. Terrain: mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south. Climate: temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter; cold winters.

South Korea’s GDP is $2.607 trillion (2023 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $1.713 trillion (2023 est.). Real GDP grew 1.4% (2023 est.). See where South Korea ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.

POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.

Momentum +3 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).

Seoul leaned into the future: the supplementary budget and the state growth fund pushed hard toward AI and semiconductors, and the government raised its own growth outlook in September.

Solid institutions, a chip-driven upswing, and no domestic crisis — a quietly positive quarter.

• What our model rewards: inflation tamed at 2.3%; a current-account surplus of $99 billion — the world pays it more than it pays out
• What drags it down: fertility of 0.7 children per woman — below replacement, the cradle is emptying; a median age of 47 — an aging population

Coal, Tungsten, Graphite, Molybdenum, Lead, Hydropower.

Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.

Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.

Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.

Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.

Lee Jae Myung — President. President LEE Jae-myung (since 4 June 2025)

South Korea maintains 187 embassies abroad, hosts 116 foreign diplomatic missions, holds permanent missions to ASEAN Jakarta, OECD Paris, UN New York, UN Geneva, UNESCO Paris. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.

Source: Lowy Institute Global Diplomacy Index 2024 (released 2024-02-25), https://globaldiplomacyindex.lowyinstitute.org/; Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions in South Korea'

Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.

Major airports

Cheongju International Airport/Cheongju Air Base (K-59/G-513) (CJJ) — Cheongju; Daegu International Airport (TAE) — Daegu; Gimhae International Airport (PUS) — Busan; Incheon International Airport (ICN) — Seoul; Jeju International Airport (CJU) — Jeju City; Muan International Airport (MWX) — Muan (Piseo-ri); Seoul Gimpo International Airport (GMP) — Seoul; Yangyang International Airport (YNY) — Gonghang-ro; Gunsan Airport / Gunsan Air Base (KUV) — Gunsan; Gwangju Airport (KWJ) — Gwangju.

Showing 10 of 15 major airports.

Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28)

Source: constitutional schedule / public election calendar

POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for South Korea.

Historical timeline of South Korea

This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of South Korea — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.