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| Society |
Over
5,000 years of Korean history
and culture, and the Korean people's
indomitable spirit in the struggle
for national freedom have produced
a society renowned not only for
its kindness and generosity of
spirit, but also for the high
educational standards of its citizens.
Religion
Religious freedom is guaranteed
by the Constitution of the Republic
of Korea. Of the 300 or so registered
religions, Buddhism and Confucianism
were dominant in the past, and
they have shaped both the way
of life and the attitudes of Koreans
since the Three Kingdoms Period.
Christianity has developed a vast
following since its introduction
in the late 18th century, and
its influence is now being felt
throughout society.
Education
Koreans have great concern for
education and illiteracy is almost
non-existent. Children begin their
six years of elementary school
at the age of seven, and after
three years of middle school and
three years of high school, students
may advance to university for
four years of higher education.
There are national examinations
for entrance to high school and
university, and 30% of high school
graduates manage to gain admission
to universities. The entrance
exams are extremely rigorous,
and the fierce competition for
places is sometimes referred to
as "The admissions war."
Today's parents are placing more
attention on early education for
their children and the preschool
educational system is growing
rapidly to meet this need.
Tourism
As Korea prepares to host the
co-host the 2002 FIFA World Cup
Korea/JapanTM, the government,
in conjunction with the tourism
industry, has made strenuous efforts
to improve the standards of tourism.
This policy has extended not only
to upgrading facilities, but also
to changing the mindset of the
workers in the service industry,
and to raising the English language
standards amongst the general
public. The long heritage and
inspiring scenery of Korea impress
all visitors with their uniqueness
and charm. |
Language
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The
Korean language is classified
as a Altaic linguistic family,
a group which also includes Mongolian,
Hungarian, and Finnish. The Korean
Alphabet,
"Hangeul", is
completely different from and
independent of Chinese and Japanese.
'Hangeul' was developed by a group
of scholars under the patronage
of King Sejong in 1443. It is
composed of 10 vowels and 14 consonants.
This unique phonetic alphabet
is well-known for its scientific
syllabic system that allows great
freedom of expression. The chart
above presents the 24 Hangeul
letters and their romanized equivalents.
This romanization system is based
closely on the McCune-Reischauer(M-R)
system and is followed in this
publication. M-R romanization
differs substantially from that
of English and may take a little
while to get used to. (There are
some vowel and consonant sounds
that English does not have.) |
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