ENVIRONMENT
The vegetation reflects the transitional character of the climate and includes plants from the temperate zone and tropical vegetation, mainly located along the southern coasts and on the island of Cheju. In the vast temperate forest area there are conifers, willows, poplars, birches, etc., as well as typical oriental species. As for the fauna, native animal species are flanked by those widespread on the continent and in Japan. Among the most common, wild boars, antelopes, deer including the Cervus sika, also present in Manchuria and Japan. Environmental pollution in recent decades is putting the survival of some animal species at risk and, combined with deforestation, contributes to the progressive degradation of soils. The protected areas in the country correspond to 3.8% of the land, on which there are 21 national parks; there are also several reserves and conservation areas. L ‘ UNESCO declared in 2007 World Heritage site and the volcanic island natural lava tunnels of Jeu.
ECONOMY: AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK AND FISHING
The agricultural sector, severely disadvantaged by the pulverization of land established after the confiscation of Japanese large estates – the average area of the plots is less than one hectare -, has undergone a slow and difficult transition towards mechanization and a more rational exploitation of fields. The contraction in activities led to a sharp reduction in the percentage weight of agriculture in the composition of GDP (3%, in 2006), falling to 2.2% in 2017, but it must be said that the State adopted at the same time, and for some years now now, a series of countermeasures (modernization, introduction of new technologies, creation of a system of small owners) to make even the primary sector more profitable. In the sepcific, more than half of the arable land is destined for rice, grown mainly in the western and southern regions; in many areas the climatic conditions allow a double annual harvest. Following this, the most common cereals are barley, corn, wheat and millet; widely consumed food crops are also soybeans, sweet potatoes, potatoes and various fruit and vegetable products, while tobacco, cotton and certain oil plants, such as sesame and rapeseed, are of particular importance among those destined for industry. Finally, the cultivation of while among those destined for industry, tobacco, cotton and certain oil plants, such as sesame and rapeseed, are of particular importance. Finally, the cultivation of while among those destined for industry, tobacco, cotton and certain oil plants, such as sesame and rapeseed, are of particular importance. Finally, the cultivation of ginseng, the dried root of which is widely used in the production of medicines. The forests are very extensive (63.5% of the national surface), particularly dense in the mountainous areas of central and northern Italy; conifers prevail, supplying large quantities of work wood, feeding important paper mills. Breeding plays a secondary role (especially cattle, pigs and poultry), and sericulture and fishing are much more important: the country boasts a fishing fleet and an excellent canning industry.
ECONOMY: INDUSTRY AND MINERAL RESOURCES
Industry employs about a quarter of the active population. Alongside the more traditional sectors such as textiles (cotton, silk, synthetics), food (canneries, breweries, milling complexes) and tobacco manufacturing, enormous progress has been made in the chemical sectors (sulfuric acid, caustic soda, nitrogen fertilizers, fibers synthetics, etc.) and petrochemical, steel and metallurgical industries, which also processes imported minerals, in the paper, rubber and cement industries. However, there is no doubt that the industrial sector, from the nineties of the twentieth century onwards, has increasingly rotated on the high technology sector: in particular electronics, telecommunications and mechanics (as also demonstrated by the relative weight that companies in the sector occupy in the financial market, including Samsung and those in the automotive branch). Shipbuilding remains of primary importance (second in the world only to the Japanese one); Lastly, the large construction sector has significant significance as a source of moderate income, operating both internally and abroad, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. According to softwareleverage, an important element for the state of health of South Korean industry has undoubtedly been a rather large location of the industrial plants, although Seoul, Pusan and the other major cities remain the fundamental poles of attraction. Overall, it can be said that governments have been able to skilfully navigate the South Korean industry from a situation characterized by the domination of large companies to a diversified and competitive scenario, placing it among the most advanced in the world and on the same level as competitors such as Japan, China, Singapore. The resources of the subsoil are many: gold, silver, graphite, copper, manganese, lead, nickel, molybdenum, zinc and above all tungsten, kaolin and mica. There are also considerable coal deposits, widely used for the production of electricity, whose total installed kW is approximately 526,030.11 million, of which more than 154 of nuclear origin (2016).
