South Korea · share of its news about armed violence, last 12 months
South Korea: how tense is it right now?
6.0% of the news located in South Korea this week is about armed violence (war and terrorism): #28 of the 74 countries we track. Compared with its own history since 2017, that is above its usual level (74 out of 100).
Armed-conflict intensity6.0%of its news, last 7 days
Rank#28of 74 countries
Vs its own history74above its usual level
Share of the world’s war news0.79%weighed by severity
In the news nowAll headlines
31 OctDIPLOMACYU.S., South Korea, Japan vow ‘complete’ North Korea’s denuclearisationThe HinduSouth Korea · weekly average since 2017 (highest: 10 October 2022)
The tensest weeks for South Korea since 2017share of its news about armed violence, 7 days
| Week ending | Intensity | Nearby event |
|---|---|---|
| 10 October 2022 | 13.9% | — |
| 8 January 2024 | 13.5% | — |
| 30 September 2020 | 13.5% | — |
| 15 August 2017 | 12.2% | — |
| 15 April 2017 | 11.7% | — |
Year by year
| Year | Average intensity | Highest week | Typical rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 5.4% | 8.6% | #47 |
| 2025 | 5.1% | 9.3% | #48 |
| 2024 | 5.9% | 13.5% | #43 |
| 2023 | 5.6% | 11.5% | #45 |
| 2022 | 6.5% | 13.9% | #37 |
| 2021 | 4.8% | 8.5% | #53 |
| 2020 | 4.5% | 13.5% | #54 |
| 2019 | 4.5% | 10.2% | #55 |
| 2018 | 4.2% | 6.6% | #56 |
| 2017 | 7.7% | 12.2% | #24 |
Compare South Korea
Elsewhere in Asia-Pacific
All countriesFrequently asked questions
How tense is South Korea right now?
6.0% of the news located in South Korea over the last 7 days was about armed violence (war and terrorism), which ranks it #28 of the 74 countries Riftrate tracks.
Is South Korea more tense than usual?
Compared with its own history since 2017, South Korea is above its usual level: it has been calmer on 74% of days.
When was South Korea most tense since 2017?
The highest reading was 13.9%, in the 7 days to 10 October 2022.
Which countries in Asia-Pacific are the most tense right now?
Myanmar (16.2%), Afghanistan (13.1%), North Korea (11.0%).
Where does this data come from?
From the GDELT Project, which codes events reported in the world’s news in more than 100 languages and locates them. Riftrate measures the share of each country’s news about armed violence, excluding ordinary crime and policing. It measures the news, not casualties.
How it is measured: GDELT locates every event reported in the news. We take all the coverage of events located in the country over 7 days and measure the part about armed violence: war and terrorism, excluding ordinary crime and policing. It does not depend on the size of the country or on how many newspapers cover it. It measures the news, not the number of victims. Methodology