Korea
- 1A region of East Asia made up of two countries, North Korea and South Korea, that was formerly a single nation.
Korea was governed as one country until the middle of the twentieth century.
The two halves of Korea have followed very different paths since the split.
- 2South Korea, the nation south of North Korea on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia.
Korea hosted the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988.
Many tourists visit Korea for its food, music, and historic palaces.
- 3The East Asian peninsula shared by North Korea and South Korea, known in full as the Korean Peninsula.
Korea stretches south from the Asian mainland, surrounded by water on three sides.
The mountains running down Korea shape its rivers and coastlines.
Less common meaning
- 4North Korea, a country in East Asia whose territory makes up the northern part of the Korean Peninsula.
Korea test-fired another missile, prompting protests from the South.
State media in Korea praised the leader throughout the military parade.
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Origin
First recorded as Core in a 1598 English translation of van Linschoten's Itinerario, from Dutch Core, itself said to be from Portuguese; the spelling Corea later became common in Early Modern English. Ultimately it was a sixteenth-century European borrowing from some variety of Chinese (compare Mandarin Gāolí and especially Hokkien Ko-lê), reflecting Sino-Korean Goryeo, Korea's official name from 918 to 1394, which itself is a shortening of Goguryeo, an ancient Korean kingdom.