Before the Korean peninsula was divided into North Korea and South Korea, it was known as "the Hermit Kingdom." Can you guess why? A hermit is defined as a "person who lives in solitude." Korea was in a state of solitude for thousands of years. The powerful country of Japan lies close to the East and the dominating presence of China is to the West. Not far to the North is the country that we now know as Russia. In order to protect itself from the powerful countries that surrounded it, Korea rarely interacted with foreign cultures for most of its history.
Korea's environment is special because the country itself is very small, but also teeming with nature. When most people see pictures of Korea, they see pictures of Seoul. In many ways, Seoul is the epicenter of Korea, however, it shows only a small part of what Korea looks like. The eastern region of Korea is actually covered with lush forests and sprawling hills, and the western region of Korea is mostly lowlands with some arable land. All in all, it is a small country with a diverse landscape.
