Less than one-fourth of the republic’s area is cultivated. Along with the decrease in farm population, the proportion of national income derived from agriculture has decreased to a fraction of what it was in the early 1950s. Improvements in farm productivity were long hampered because fields typically are divided into tiny plots that are cultivated largely by manual labor and animal power. In addition, the decrease and aging of the rural population has caused a serious farm-labor shortage. However, more recently productivity has been improving as greater emphasis has been given to mechanization, specialization, and commercialization.

Rice is the most important crop. Cultivation of a wide variety of fruits including tangerines and other citrus fruits, pears, persimmons, and strawberries, along with vegetables (especially cabbages) and flowers, has become increasingly important. Although it constitutes only a small portion of Korea’s agricultural production, the country’s ginseng is valued for its superior quality and is exported. Barley, wheat, soybeans, and potatoes are also cultivated, but most of the country’s needs for these commodities must be imported.

Livestock and dairying are also important. The top three agricultural products after rice are pork, beef, and milk. The number of livestock farms fell from 1990 through the early 21st century even as production of dairy products and meat, especially pork, increased. Consumption of meat and dairy products also grew during the same period.

From the 1970s successful reforestation efforts were mounted in areas previously denuded. Domestic timber production, however, supplies only a negligible fraction of demand. Logging, mainly of coniferous trees, is limited to the mountain areas of Gangwon and North Gyeongsang provinces. A large plywood and veneer industry has been developed, based on imported wood.

Fishing has long been important for supplying protein-rich foods and has emerged as a significant export source. South Korea has become one of the world’s major deep-sea fishing countries. Coastal fisheries and inland aquaculture are also well developed.

Resources and power

Mineral resources in South Korea are meager. The most important reserves are of anthracite coal, iron ore, graphite, gold, silver, tungsten, lead, and zinc, which together constitute some two-thirds of the total value of mineral resources. Deposits of graphite and tungsten are among the largest in the world. Most mining activity centers around the extraction of coal and iron ore. All of the country’s crude petroleum requirements and most of its metallic mineral needs (including iron ore) are met by imports.

Thermal electric-power generation accounts for more than half of the power produced. Since the first oil refinery started to produce petroleum products in 1964, power stations have changed over gradually from coal to oil. Hydroelectricity constitutes only a small proportion of overall electric-power production; most stations are located along the Han River, not far from Seoul. Nuclear power generation, however, has become increasingly important.

Manufacturing

Textiles and other labor-intensive industries have declined from their former preeminence in the national economy, although they remain important, especially in export trade. Heavy industries, including chemicals, metals, machinery, and petroleum refining, are highly developed. Industries that are even more capital- and technology-intensive grew to importance in the late 20th century—notably shipbuilding, motor vehicles, and electronic equipment. Emphasis was given to such high-technology industries as electronics, bioengineering, and aerospace, and the service industry grew markedly. Increasing focus has been placed on the rise of information technology and the promotion of venture-capital investment. Much of the country’s manufacturing is centered on Seoul and its surrounding region, while heavy industry is largely based in the southeast; notable among the latter enterprises is the concentration of steel manufacturers at Pohang and Gwangyang, in the southeast.

Finance

The Korean won is the official currency. The government-owned Bank of Korea, headquartered in Seoul, is the country’s central bank, issuing currency and overseeing all banking activity. All banks were nationalized in the early 1960s, but by the early 1990s these largely had been returned to private ownership. Foreign branch banking has been allowed in South Korea since the 1960s, and in 1992 foreigners began trading on the Korea Stock Exchange in Seoul.

South Korea borrowed heavily on international financial markets to supply capital for its industrial expansion, but the success of its exports allowed it to repay much of its debt. However, the accumulation of a staggering amount of foreign debt and excessive industrial expansion by major conglomerates caused severe economic difficulties in the late 1990s. Government and business leaders jointly created reforms, such as the restructuring of foreign debt and a bailout agreement with the International Monetary Fund, to create a more stable economic structure.

Trade

The country generally has maintained a positive balance in annual trade. The major imports are machinery, mineral fuels, manufactured goods, and such crude materials as textile fibers and metal ores and scrap. Principal exports include machinery, electronics, textiles, transportation equipment (notably, automobiles), and clothing and footwear. South Korea’s principal trading partners are the United States, Japan, and Middle Eastern, East Asian, and Southeast Asian countries.

Services

Some two-thirds of the labor force is employed in the service sector, which contributes roughly three-fifths of the gross domestic product. Tourism alone constitutes a significant portion of this amount annually. The majority of visitors come from other Asian countries—mostly from Japan and, to a lesser extent, from China—although the number of tourists from the United States also has been appreciable. Tourists are drawn by South Korea’s many palaces and other historical attractions, religious sites, including Buddhist temples, and natural beauty. The increasing international recognition of South Korea’s popular culture, such as music, films, and television dramas, also has generated tourist interest.