Economy

Imports
$666 billion (2022). Crude Petroleum ($89.1B), Integrated Circuits ($56.4B), Petroleum Gas ($46.9B), Coal Briquettes ($26.8B), and Refined Petroleum ($26.1B), importing mostly from China ($150B), United States ($73.6B), Japan ($50.8B), Australia ($41B), and Saudi Arabia ($36B).

Financial inclusion factors (over 15 years of  age)
• 94.9% have an account with a financial institution
• 63.7% have a credit card
• 76% make online purchases

Ease of doing business
It is very easy to conduct business (rated 84 out of 100) 3rd out of 34 Asia Pacific countries 5th worldwide out of 190 countries (2020, World Bank).

Exports
$705 billion (2022). Integrated Circuits ($121B), Refined Petroleum ($61.4B), Cars ($52.1B), Broadcasting Equipment ($24.2B), and Motor vehicles; parts and accessories (8701 to 8705) ($20B), exporting mostly to China ($150B), United States ($112B), Vietnam ($60.7B), Japan($30.5B), and Hong Kong ($28.9B).

Main local online stores
Coupang, 11th Street, Interpark Global, G-market, Kurly Market.

Economic freedom
‘Mostly free’ (73.1 out of 100) 5th out of 39 countries in Asia Pacific, 14th worldwide out of 186 countries (2024, Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal).

Global Innovation Index
Ranked 2nd out of South East Asian, East
Asian, and Oceanian countries, 10th out of 132 worldwide.

The Global Innovation Index captures the innovation
ecosystem performance of 132 economies and tracks the most recent global innovation trends.

Media

Media language Korean, English

Information channels
TV is influential and the major terrestrial networks, including market leaders KBS and MBC, command the biggest audiences. Most South Koreans subscribe to digital cable, satellite or Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). South Korean TV soaps are popular across the region, including in China. They are part of the Korean Wave – the export of South Korean popular culture across Asia. Newspaper readership is high and there are more than 100 national and local dailies. The press is often critical of the government. Many newspapers are controlled by industrial conglomerates. A defamation law that provides for prison sentences prompts self-censorship, says Reporters Without Borders (RSF). A security law banning content deemed favourable to North Korea and is one of the main grounds for online censorship, the group says. South Korea is a trailblazer for high-speed and wireless internet. More than 88% of internet users are connected to a messenger service. Local platform KakaoTalk is hugely popular. Online gaming is a national passion.

The press

Chosun Ilbo – English-language pages
Dong-a Ilbo – English-language pages
The Korea Times – English-language
The Korea Herald – English-language
Hangyore Sinmun – English-language pages
JoongAng Ilbo – English-language pages
Hankook Ilbo – daily
Korea Economic – Daily
Munhwa Ilbo – daily
Segye Ilbo – daily

Television

Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) – public
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) – public
Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) – private
Education Broadcasting System (EBS) – public Jeonju Television Corporation (JTV) – private

Radio

Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) – public
KBS World Radio – external, multilingualRadio Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation – public, operates MBC Radio and music-based MBC FM
Seoul Broadcasting System – operates SBS-FM
Christian Broadcasting System (CBS)
Buddhist Broadcasting System (BBS)
tbs eFM – Seoul, English-language

News agency

Yonhap News Agency – English-language pages

Internet Data

Internet users
97.2% penetration, 50.30 million (2024).

Share of web traffic by device
60.48% mobile phones, 38.68% computers (laptops and desktops), 0.84% tablet devices.

Median speed of mobile Internet connection
136.40 Mbps

Median speed of fixed Internet connection
123.36 Mbps

Mobile connection as a percentage of total population: 128.3%

Percentage of mobile connections that are broadband (3G-5G): 99.7%

Most popular web search engines
Google (52.33%), Naver (40.48%), Bing (3.76%), Daum (1.6%) CocCoc (0.65%), Yahoo (0.43%).

Most used social media
Facebook (59.13%), YouTube (33.25%), Twitter (4.09%), Instagram (2.3%), Pinterest (0.75%),  reddit (0.23%).

Social statistics

Life expectancy
84 yrs (2021)

Current health expenditure
8.36% of GDP (2020)

Current education expenditure
81.5 (2020)

Average age of the population
45.1 yrs (2024)

CO2 emissions
11 metric tons per capita

World Happiness Index
South Korea ranked 59 out of 146 countries, with a score of 5.935.

Corruption perceptions Index
South Korea scored 63 out of 100, ranked 31 out 180 countries worldwide (2023).

Glass Ceiling Index
24.8 out 100, ranked 29th out of 29 countries.

The glass-ceiling index measures the environment for working women combining data on higher education, labor-force participation, pay, child-care costs, maternity and paternity rights, business-school applications, and representation in senior jobs.