South Korea is the 5th largest export economy in the world and the 6th most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI). In 2015, South Korea exported $537B and imported $422B, resulting in a positive trade balance of $115B. In 2015 the GDP of South Korea was $1.38T and its GDP per capita was $34.6k.

The top exports of South Korea are Integrated Circuits ($63.8B), Cars ($41.9B), Refined Petroleum ($29.5B), Passenger and Cargo Ships ($21B) and Vehicle Parts ($20.4B), using the 1992 revision of the HS (Harmonized System) classification. Its top imports are Crude Petroleum ($50.6B), Integrated Circuits ($31B), Petroleum Gas ($20.5B), Refined Petroleum ($14.6B) and Cars ($9.8B).

The top export destinations of South Korea are China ($131B), the United States ($72.7B), Vietnam ($26.6B), Hong Kong ($26.3B) and Japan ($25.5B). The top import origins are China ($90.1B), Japan ($44.6B), the United States ($42.7B), Germany ($20.2B) and Saudi Arabia ($17.7B).

South Korea borders North Korea by land and China and Japan by sea.