South Korea is situated at the southern part of the Korean peninsula between the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. The Korean Peninsula is one of the most homogeneous regions in the world both ethnically and linguistically. The population of South Korea is almost entirely Korean, although there is a small number of Chinese who constitute the only significant minority group in the country. The population of South Korea -- now close to 50 million -- more than doubled from the 1950s to the 1990s. Large numbers of Koreans who emigrated to Japan before World War II returned to South Korea after 1945.

South Korea is located in the southern part of Korean peninsula. Of the almost-50 million people in South Korea, three-fourths of them live in cities that are populated by a larger percentage of young people. Although the overall population growth rate is low in the country, South Korea has one of the world's highest population densities. On the other hand, its vast rural areas are depopulated, with larger percentage of older people. The country is present right in the middle of Japan and Yellow Sea.