Why is South Korea called the Republic of Korea?

Answer 1

South Korea is officially called the Republic of Korea to distinguish it from North Korea, which is officially called the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The term "Republic" signifies that South Korea is a democratic state with a government elected by its citizens. The name also reflects the country's political system, which is based on a presidential republic with a multi-party system.

Answer 2

There are two parts of this question. The first is why the term "Republic" is involved in the title and the second is why the word "South" is not in the title.

"Republic" is part of the name since South Korea has a republican form of government, with a legislature and presidency. During the Cold War, it was an authoritarian republic, but since 1987, it has been a true democracy.

"South" is a laymen's way of distinguishing the two governments in Korea, because the democratic government controls the territory to the south of the communist government. However, the South Korean government claims that it is the sole legitimate government in Korea and reserves the right to control the entire peninsula, not just the southern half. (The North Korean government has the same view, that it reserves the right to control the whole peninsula.) As a result, the official name of the country reflects that the current government's ideal is to rule the entire peninsula.

Answer 3

South Korea called Republic of Korea because government of South Korea is republic.