# South Korea and North Korea compared

South Korea and North Korea side by side: 28 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 9 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/kor-vs-prk
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

- South Korea: 918 — Wang Kŏn founds Goryeo, which gives Korea its name
- North Korea: 918 — Wang Kŏn founds Goryeo, which gives Korea its name

## Economy

| Metric | South Korea | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $1.88 T | 2024 | — | — |
| GDP per capita | $36,239 | 2024 | — | — |
| GDP growth | 2.0% | 2024 | — | — |
| Inflation | 2.3% | 2024 | — | — |
| Trade openness | 84.6% | 2024 | — | — |

## Society

| Metric | South Korea | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 52 m | 2024 | 26 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 83.6 yrs | 2024 | 73.7 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 81.2% | 2024 | 63.9% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 0.7 | 2024 | 1.8 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | South Korea | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 71.0 | 2024 | 22.1 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 76.8 | 2024 | 71.4 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 80.2 | 2024 | 26.6 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 70.8 | 2024 | 25.3 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 76.2 | 2024 | 30.7 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 65.1 | 2024 | 16.3 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | South Korea | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 8.7% | 2024 | — | — |
| Physicians | 2.61 | 2022 | 3.63 | 2017 |
| Under-5 mortality | 2.8 | 2024 | 16.7 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 97.0% | 2024 | 99.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 99.3% | 2024 | 66.6% | 2023 |

## Education

| Metric | South Korea | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 98.0% | 2008 | 100.0% | 2008 |
| Education spending | 5.4% | 2022 | — | — |
| Primary enrolment | 100.9% | 2024 | 92.1% | 2018 |
| Secondary enrolment | 96.3% | 2024 | 94.3% | 2015 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 111.9% | 2024 | 26.7% | 2018 |

## Technology

| Metric | South Korea | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 4.9% | 2023 | — | — |
| Researchers (per million) | 9,472 | 2023 | — | — |
| Internet users | 97.9% | 2024 | 0.0% | 2004 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 173 | 2024 | 24 | 2022 |
| High-tech exports | 36.3% | 2024 | — | — |

## Geography

| Metric | South Korea | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 97,600 km² | 2023 | 120,410 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 64.1% | 2023 | 49.6% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 16.1% | 2023 | 21.6% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 11.4 | 2024 | 2.5 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 3.6% | 2021 | 14.7% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | South Korea | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 0.0% | 2021 | — | — |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | — | — |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | — | — |
| Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | — | — |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 57.5% | 2023 |

## Military

| Metric | South Korea | Observed | North Korea | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 2.6% | 2024 | — | — |
| Defense spending | $48 B | 2024 | $1.6 B | 2018 |
| Armed forces | 569,000 | 2020 | 1.5 m | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/KOR.md and https://terralore.co/country/PRK.md.

## Entangled histories (9 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.

- 9 September 1948: **Founding of the DPRK** — The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is proclaimed under Kim Il Sung, weeks after the Republic of Korea is established in the south, institutionalizing the division. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: History of North Korea; Kim Il-Sung)
- 25 June 1950: **North Korea invades the South** — North Korean forces cross the 38th parallel, opening the Korean War; the North nearly overruns the peninsula before a US-led UN coalition intervenes. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: The Korean War and Japan's Recovery; NSC-68 and the Korean War)
- 25 June 1950: **The Korean War** — North Korea invades the South; a US-led UN force and Chinese intervention turn the war into a grinding stalemate that devastates the peninsula and kills millions. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: The Korean War and Japan's Recovery; Korea (history))
- 27 July 1953: **Korean War armistice** — An armistice halts the fighting near the 38th parallel and creates the Demilitarized Zone; no peace treaty is signed, freezing the division to the present day. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: The Korean War and Japan's Recovery; Korea (history))
- 27 July 1953: **Korean War armistice** — An armistice halts the fighting and creates the Demilitarized Zone; no peace treaty is signed, freezing the division of the peninsula to the present day. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: The Korean War and Japan's Recovery; US Enters the Korean Conflict)
- 17 September 1991: **North and South Korea join the UN** — Both Korean states are admitted to the United Nations with separate seats, an acknowledgment of the durability of the two-state division. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: United Nations Member States (admission of the two Koreas, 1991); History of North Korea)
- June 2000: **First inter-Korean summit** — President Kim Dae-jung meets North Korea's Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang under the Sunshine Policy; Kim Dae-jung receives the Nobel Peace Prize that year. (from the South Korea chronicle; sources: Kim Dae-Jung)
- June 2000: **First inter-Korean summit** — Kim Jong Il hosts South Korean president Kim Dae-jung in Pyongyang in the first summit between the two Koreas, briefly easing tensions. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: History of North Korea; Kim Jong Il)
- January 2024: **South Korea declared principal enemy** — Kim Jong Un renounces the goal of peaceful reunification, declaring South Korea a hostile separate state and the North's principal enemy and calling for constitutional revision. (from the North Korea chronicle; sources: North Korea's Nuclear Weapons and Missile Programs; Kim Jong-Un)

## 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
- Education statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · 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/KOR/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/PRK/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "South Korea and North Korea compared", terralore.co/compare/kor-vs-prk, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.