South Korea Genealogy

Asia South Korea

Guide to South Korea, family history and genealogy parish registers, transcripts, census records, birth records, marriage records, and death records.



Location
South Korea occupies the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, which extends some 1,100 km (680 mi) from the Asian mainland. This mountainous peninsula is flanked by the Yellow Sea to the west, and Sea of Japan (East Sea) to the east. Its southern tip lies on the Korea Strait and the East China Sea.

South Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous, most of which is not arable. Lowlands, located primarily in the west and southeast, make up only 30% of the total land area.

South Korea can be divided into four general regions: an eastern region of high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains; a western region of broad coastal plains, river basins, and rolling hills; a southwestern region of mountains and valleys; and a southeastern region dominated by the broad basin of the Nakdong River.

Research Tools
While the two Korea's have an outstanding history of genealogical record keeping, the division into two countries has made researching these records extremely difficult. An excellent treatise on Korean Genealogy can be found through the following link: Korean records