This position contributes on the higher tensions that divide the peninsula, and both of those states declare to be the only reputable governing administration of Korea. South Korea is actually a regional power plus a created place, with its economic climate rated as the entire world's fourteenth-largest by GDP (PPP). Its armed forces are one of several world's strongest militaries, with the globe's second-premier standing Military by armed forces and paramilitary staff. South Korea continues to be renowned for its globally influential popular culture, particularly in audio (K-pop) and cinema, a phenomenon referred to as the Korean Wave.

South Korea has two volcanic islandsJeju, from the peninsulas southern tip, 토토 and Ulleung, about eighty five miles (140 km) east with the mainland within the East Seaand a little-scale lava plateau in Gangwon province.