The official size of the South Korean ground territory has expanded by about 80 percent of the size of Manhattan Island in New York, thanks to reclamation projects.
 
The Ministry of Land said Monday that the size of the nation’s registered land stood at 100-thousand-339 square kilometers as of late last year, an increase of 44 square kilometers from the same time in 2015. 
 
The size of the nation’s territory has grown as a result of reclamation projects in Busa District South Chungcheong Province, Sihwa District in Gyeonggi Province and near Incheon International Airport.
 
Forests account for the largest portion of the national territory at 63-point-seven percent. Rice fields came in second at eleven point-three percent, followed by farmland and roads.
 
More than 51 percent of the nation’s land is privately owned, while 33 percent is held by government or public agencies. Some 15 percent is possessed by organizational entities, whether they are corporate bodies or not.