South Korea (Korean: ํ๊ตญ, ้ๅ Hanguk), officially the Republic of Korea (๋ํ๋ฏผ๊ตญ, ๅคง้ๆฐๅ Daehan Minguk) is a country in East Asia. South Korea occupies the southern half of the Korean Peninsula, with North Korea to the north, China across the sea to the west and Japan a short ferry ride to the southeast.