# Japan and South Korea compared Japan and South Korea side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 7 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/jpn-vs-kor Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Japan: 660 BCE (traditional) — The traditional accession of Emperor Jimmu - South Korea: 918 — Wang Kŏn founds Goryeo, which gives Korea its name ## Economy | Metric | Japan | Observed | South Korea | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $4.03 T | 2024 | $1.88 T | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $32,487 | 2024 | $36,239 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 0.1% | 2024 | 2.0% | 2024 | | Inflation | 2.7% | 2024 | 2.3% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 46.4% | 2024 | 84.6% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Japan | Observed | South Korea | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 124 m | 2024 | 52 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 84.0 yrs | 2024 | 83.6 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 92.2% | 2024 | 81.2% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.1 | 2024 | 0.7 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Japan | Observed | South Korea | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 76.4 | 2024 | 71.0 | 2024 | | Political stability | 85.3 | 2024 | 76.8 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 91.9 | 2024 | 80.2 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 75.8 | 2024 | 70.8 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 83.0 | 2024 | 76.2 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 75.3 | 2024 | 65.1 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Japan | Observed | South Korea | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 10.7% | 2023 | 8.7% | 2024 | | Physicians | 2.65 | 2022 | 2.61 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 2.4 | 2024 | 2.8 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 95.0% | 2024 | 97.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 98.7% | 2024 | 99.3% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | Japan | Observed | South Korea | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Education spending | 3.3% | 2021 | 5.4% | 2022 | | Primary enrolment | 101.1% | 2023 | 100.9% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 101.5% | 2023 | 96.3% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 64.5% | 2023 | 111.9% | 2024 | | Adult literacy | — | — | 98.0% | 2008 | ## Technology | Metric | Japan | Observed | South Korea | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 3.4% | 2023 | 4.9% | 2023 | | Researchers (per million) | 5,609 | 2023 | 9,472 | 2023 | | Internet users | 85.5% | 2024 | 97.9% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 178 | 2023 | 173 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 17.6% | 2024 | 36.3% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Japan | Observed | South Korea | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 364,569 km² | 2023 | 97,600 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 68.4% | 2023 | 64.1% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 12.6% | 2023 | 16.1% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 7.8 | 2024 | 11.4 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 8.8% | 2021 | 3.6% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Japan | Observed | South Korea | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | Japan | Observed | South Korea | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.4% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $55 B | 2024 | $48 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 261,000 | 2020 | 569,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/JPN.md and https://terralore.co/country/KOR.md. ## Entangled histories (7 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1592-1598 CE: **Japanese (Imjin) invasions repelled** — Toyotomi Hideyoshi's forces invade Korea; resistance led by Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his turtle ships, with Ming Chinese aid, ultimately drives them out. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Joseon dynasty; Korea (history)) - 1905 CE: **Korea made a Japanese protectorate** — After defeating Russia, Japan imposes a protectorate treaty stripping Korea of its diplomatic sovereignty, a prelude to full annexation. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Korea Under Japanese Rule; Korea (history)) - 1910 CE: **Annexation and colonial government** — Japan installs a Government-General in Seoul, ruling Korea through military and police power and beginning systematic economic exploitation. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Korea Under Japanese Rule) - 1910 CE: **Japanese annexation of Korea** — Japan formally annexes Korea, ending the Joseon dynasty and more than five centuries of Korean monarchy and beginning 35 years of colonial rule. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Korea Under Japanese Rule; Korea (history)) - April 1919: **Korean Provisional Government formed** — Korean nationalists establish a Provisional Government in exile in Shanghai to coordinate the independence struggle against Japanese rule. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Korea Under Japanese Rule; Korea (history)) - c. 1939-1945 CE: **Forced labor and wartime mobilization** — As the Pacific War expands, Japan conscripts hundreds of thousands of Koreans for forced labor and military service and coerces women into sexual slavery. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Korea Under Japanese Rule) - 15 August 1945: **Liberation from Japan** — Japan's surrender ends 35 years of colonial rule; Koreans celebrate Gwangbokjeol, the Restoration of Light, even as foreign occupation and division loom. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Korea Under Japanese Rule; The Korean War and Japan's Recovery) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/JPN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/KOR/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Japan and South Korea compared", terralore.co/compare/jpn-vs-kor, retrieved .