# Korea

Pronunciation: say "kuh-REE-uh" US /kəˈɹi.ə/, UK /kəˈɹiːə/

## Proper noun

1. A region of East Asia made up of two countries, North Korea and South Korea, that was formerly a single nation.
   - Simple: An area of East Asia split into two countries, North Korea and South Korea, that was once one 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._
2. South Korea, the nation south of North Korea on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: South Korea, the country in the southern part of 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._
3. The East Asian peninsula shared by North Korea and South Korea, known in full as the Korean Peninsula.
   - Simple: A piece of land in East Asia that reaches out into the sea, holding both North Korea and South Korea.
   - _Korea stretches south from the Asian mainland, surrounded by water on three sides._
   - _The mountains running down Korea shape its rivers and coastlines._

## Proper noun

4. North Korea, a country in East Asia whose territory makes up the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. *(rare)*
   - Simple: North Korea, a country in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia.
   - _Korea test-fired another missile, prompting protests from the South._
   - _State media in Korea praised the leader throughout the military parade._

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/korea (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).