Japan and South Korea – country comparison | Japan vs South Korea

Japan and South Korea are two developed countries in East Asia. The following is a comparison between these two countries. Let’s read.

Japan and South Korea – country comparison

	Japan	South Korea (Republic of Korea)
Area	approximately 378,000 square kilometers	approximately 100,350 square kilometers
Population	126 million (2020)	51.8 million (2023 estimate)
Region	East Asia	East Asia
Highest mountain	Mount Fuji (3,776 m)	Hallasan (1,947 m)
Major Rivers	Shinano River, Tone River, Ishikari River, Teshio River, etc	Nakdong River, Geum River, Yeongsan River, Han River, etc
Most popular sport	Baseball	Baseball and football (soccer)
Type of government	Parliamentary Government with a Constitutional Monarchy	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
Most spoken language	Japanese	Korean
Busiest Airport	Haneda Airport, Tokyo	Incheon International Airport
National Tree	Cherry blossom	Korean red pine
National Bird	Green pheasant	Korean magpie
National Animal	–	Tiger
Currency	Japanese Yen	South Korean won
Number of Islands	over 14,000	over 3,300
Capital City	Tokyo	Seoul
Largest City	Tokyo	Seoul
Number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites	25	15
Largest Metropolitan area	Greater Tokyo Area	Seoul Capital Area
Largest Island	Honshu Island	Jeju Island

Which country is larger in area, Japan or South Korea?

Japan is more than 3.7 times larger than South Korea.

• Area of Japan – approximately 378,000 square kilometers
• Area of South Korea – approximately 100,350 square kilometers

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Which country has a larger population, Japan or South Korea?

Japan has a larger population as compared with South Korea.

• Population of Japan – 126 million (2020)
• Population of South Korea – 51.8 million (2023 estimate)

Which country is more densely populated, Japan or South Korea?

The population density in South Korea is way more than Japan’s population density.

• Population density in Japan – 330-340 people per square kilometer (2020)
• Population density in South Korea – 510-520 people per square kilometer (2023 estimate)

Top 3 largest cities by population

Japan

1. Tokyo
2. Yokohama
3. Osaka

South Korea

1. Seoul
2. Busan
3. Incheon

Also read

• 17 interesting facts about Japan
• 10 fun facts about South Korea, the Republic of Korea

Flag of Japan

Flag of South Korea