"Korea" is the modern spelling of "Corea", a name attested in English as early as 1614.

[9][10] Korea
was transliterated as Cauli in The Travels of Marco Polo,[11] of the Chinese 高麗 (MC Kawlej,[12] mod. 
Gāolì). This was the Hanja for the Korean kingdom of Goryeo (Korean: 고려; Hanja: 高
麗; MR: Koryŏ), which ruled most of the Korean peninsula during Marco Polo's time. Korea's
introduction to the West resulted from trade and contact with merchants from Arabic lands, [13] with
some records dating back as far as the 9th century. [14] Goryeo's name was a continuation
of Goguryeo (Koguryŏ) the northernmost of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, which was officially
known as Goryeo beginning in the 5th century.[15] The original name was a combination of the
adjective go ("high, lofty") with the name of a local Yemaek tribe, whose original name is thought to
have been either *Guru (溝樓, "walled city," inferred from some toponyms in Chinese historical
documents) or *Gauri (가우리, "center"). With expanding British and American trade following
the opening of Korea in the late 19th century, the spelling "Korea" appeared and gradually grew in
popularity;[9] its use in transcribing East Asian languages avoids the issues caused by the
separate hard and soft Cs existing in English vocabulary derived from the Romance languages. The
name Korea is now commonly used in English contexts by both North and South Korea.
In South Korea, Korea as a whole is referred to as Hanguk (한국, [haːnɡuk], lit. "country of the Han").
The name references Samhan, referring to the Three Kingdoms of Korea, not the ancient
confederacies in the southern Korean Peninsula. [16][17] Although written in Hanja as 韓, 幹, or 刊,
this Han has no relation to the Chinese place names or peoples who used those characters but was
a phonetic transcription (OC: *Gar, MC Han[12] or Gan) of a native Korean word that seems to have
had the meaning "big" or "great", particularly in reference to leaders. It has been tentatively linked
with the title khan used by the nomads of Manchuria and Central Asia.
In North Korea, Japan, China and Vietnam, Korea as a whole is referred to as 조선,
(Joseon, [tɕosʰʌn]), 朝鮮 (Chōsen), 朝鲜/朝鮮 (Cháoxiǎn/Jīusīn), Triều Tiên (朝鮮) lit. "[land of the]
Morning Calm"). "Great Joseon" was the name of the kingdom ruled by the Joseon dynasty from
1393 until their declaration of the short-lived Great Korean Empire in 1897. King Taejo had named
them for the earlier Kojoseon (고조선), who ruled northern Korea from its legendary prehistory until
their conquest in 108 BCE by China's Han Empire. This go is the Hanja 古 and simply means
"ancient" or "old"; it is a modern usage to distinguish the ancient Joseon from the later
dynasty. Joseon itself is the modern Korean pronunciation of the Hanja 朝鮮 but it is unclear whether
this was a transcription of a native Korean name (OC *T[r]awser, MC Trjewsjen[12]) or a partial
translation into Chinese of the Korean capital Asadal (아사달), [18] whose meaning has been
reconstructed as "Morning Land" or "Mountain".

Geography
Main article: Geography of Korea
See also: Geography of North Korea, Geography of South Korea, and Provinces of Korea

A neighborhood in North Gyeongsang Province

A view of Mount Seorak

Daedongyeojido – this 1861 map of Korea represents the peak of pre-modern mapmaking in the region.

Jeju Island seashore

Korea consists of a peninsula and nearby islands located in East Asia. The peninsula extends
southwards for about 1,100 km (680 mi) from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is
surrounded by the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to the east and the Yellow Sea (West Sea) to the west,
the Korea Strait connecting the two bodies of water.[19][20] To the northwest, the Amnok
River separates the peninsula from China and to the northeast, the Duman River separates it from
China and Russia.[21] Notable islands include Jeju Island, Ulleung Island, Dokdo.
The southern and western parts of the peninsula have well-developed plains, while the eastern and
northern parts are mountainous. The highest mountain in Korea is Mount Paektu (2,744 m), through
which runs the border with China. The southern extension of Mount Paektu is a highland
called Gaema Heights. This highland was mainly raised during the Cenozoic orogeny and partly
covered by volcanic matter. To the south of Gaema Gowon, successive high mountains are located
along the eastern coast of the peninsula. This mountain range is named Baekdudaegan. Some
significant mountains include Mount Sobaek or Sobaeksan (1,439 m), Mount
Kumgang (1,638 m), Mount Seorak (1,708 m), Mount Taebaek (1,567 m), and Mount Jiri (1,915 m).
There are several lower, secondary mountain series whose direction is almost perpendicular to that
of Baekdudaegan. They are developed along the tectonic line of Mesozoic orogeny and their
directions are basically northwest.
Unlike most ancient mountains on the mainland, many important islands in Korea were formed by
volcanic activity in the Cenozoic orogeny. Jeju Island, situated off the southern coast, is a large
volcanic island whose main mountain Mount Halla or Hallasan (1950 m) is the highest in South
Korea. Ulleung Island is a volcanic island in the Sea of Japan, the composition of which is more
felsic than Jeju-do. The volcanic islands tend to be younger, the more westward.
Because the mountainous region is mostly on the eastern part of the peninsula, the main rivers tend
to flow westwards. Two exceptions are the southward-flowing Nakdong River and Seomjin River.
Important rivers running westward include the Amnok River, the Chongchon River, the Taedong
River, the Han River, the Geum River, and the Yeongsan River. These rivers have vast flood plains
and provide an ideal environment for wet-rice cultivation.
The southern and southwestern coastlines of the peninsula form a well-developed ria coastline,
known as Dadohae-jin in Korean. Its convoluted coastline provides mild seas, and the resulting calm
environment allows for safe navigation, fishing, and seaweed farming. In addition to the complex
coastline, the western coast of the Korean Peninsula has an extremely high tidal amplitude
(at Incheon, around the middle of the western coast. It can get as high as 9 m). Vast tidal flats have
been developing on the south and west coastlines.