Korea lies in the northeastern part of the Asian continent. It is located between 33 degrees and 43 degrees in Northern Latitude, and 124 degrees and 132 degrees in Eastern Longitude. China, Russia and Japan are adjacent to Korea. Local time is nine hours ahead of GMT.

Korea's climate is regarded as a continental climate from a temperate standpoint and a monsoon climate from a precipitation standpoint. The climate of Korea is characterized by four distinct seasons: spring, summer, fall, and winter.

All Koreans speak and write the same language, which has been a decisive factor in forging their strong national identity. Koreans have developed several different dialects in addition to the standard used in Seoul. However, the dialects, except for that of Jeju-do province, are similar enough for native speakers to understand without any difficulties. Linguistic and ethnological studies have classified the Korean language in the Altaic language family, which includes the Turkic, Mongolic and Tungus-Manchu languages. The Korean Alphabet Hangeul, was created by King Sejong the Great during the 15th century. Hangeul, which consists of 10 vowels and 14 consonants, can be combined to form numerous syllabic groupings(in modern Hangeul, there are 11172 possible combinations, even though not all of them are used). Yet, it is simple, systematic and comprehensive, and is considered one of the most scientific writing systems in the world. Hangeul is easy to learn and write, which has greatly contributed to Korea's high literacy rate and advanced publication industry. 'The Hunminjeongeum', a historical document which provides instructions to educate people using Hangeul, is registered with UNESCO.

A diverse array of foods and dishes can be found throughout Korea.

Korea was once primarily an agricultural nation, and have cultivated rice as their staple food since ancient times. These days Korean cuisine is characterized by a wide variety of meat and fish dishes along with wild greens and vegetables. Various fermented and preserved food, such as kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage), jeotgal (matured seafood with salt) and doenjang (fermented soy bean paste) are notable for their specific flavor and high nutritional value.

The prominent feature of a Korean table setting is that all dishes are served at the same time. Traditionally, the number of side dishes varied from 3 for the lower classes to 12 for royal family members. Table arrangements can vary depending on whether a noodle dish or meat is served. Formal rules have developed for table setting, demonstrating the attention people pay to food and dining. Compared to neighboring China and Japan, a spoon is used more often in Korea, especially when soups are served.