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Also known
as the "Land of the Morning Calm", it is neighbored
by China to the west, Japan to the east and borders North
Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, a major global city
and a leading international financial centre in Asia, being
the second largest metropolitan city in the world.
Korea
is one of the oldest civilizations in the world,[3] first
inhabited as early as the Lower Paleolithic.[4] Following
the unification of the Three Korean Kingdoms under Silla in
668 AD, Korea went through the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasty as
one nation until the end of the Korean Empire in 1910. After
liberation and division, South Korea was established in 1948
and has since become one of the two most advanced democracies
in Asia. It is also a founding member of APEC and the East
Asia Summit, being a visa waiver and major non-NATO ally of
the United States. South Korea is now working towards a peaceful
reunification with North Korea.
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