North Korea vs South Korea

Why people mix them up

They were one country until 1945, share a language, a name and a peninsula, and are split by a line that is barely visible on a world map. Many players know there are two Koreas but hesitate over which half is which, especially because the Korean Peninsula is small and both halves have a similar outline. The official names add noise: North Korea is the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea is simply the Republic of Korea.

How to tell them apart

• North Korea is the top half, bordering China and, for a few kilometres, Russia; South Korea is the bottom half, with no land border except the one with the North.
• South Korea has twice the people, about 52 million against 26 million, on a slightly smaller area (about 100,000 km² against 120,000 km²).
• North Korea's flag is red with blue edges and a red star in a white circle; South Korea's is white with a red-and-blue taegeuk circle and four black trigrams.
• The capitals are Pyongyang (North Korea) and Seoul (South Korea), and Seoul sits only about 50 km south of the border.
• South Korea's coast is fringed with thousands of islands, including Jeju in the far south; North Korea's coast is simpler.
• South Korea faces Japan across the Korea Strait; North Korea's eastern coast looks across the Sea of Japan towards Russia.

Memory hook

North is next to China, South is close to Japan. Whichever Korea touches the mainland giant is the North.

On the map

Find the peninsula hanging down from north-eastern China towards Japan. For North Korea, tap the upper part, the half attached to China along the Yalu River. For South Korea, tap the lower part, the half that ends in a ragged coastline of islands pointing towards Japan. The border runs roughly across the middle, slightly north of Seoul, so aim well above or well below the centre.