The Korean peninsula is located between 33˚ 7´ and 43˚ 1´ N Latitude, and 124˚ 11´ and 131˚ 53´ E longitude at the heart of the North Western Pacific, sharing a border with China and Russia to the north and lying near the Japanese archipelago to the south. It extends about 960 km southward and its width is about 170 km from east to west, It is surrounded by three oceans and nearly 70% of its terrain is mostly mountainous so terrestrial and marine ecosystems have a variety of species with high biodiversity.
The Korean peninsula encompasses 221,000 km2, 45% of which makes up the Republic of Korea (ROK, South Korea). About 20% of the total land area in the ROK is used for agriculture while forests cover 64%. The Korean peninsula lies in the east of the distinct seasonal temperature and precipitation.
The main mountain range of the Korean peninsula is the Baekdu-daegan Mountains. It stretches 1,400 km from Mt. Baekdu in North Korea all the way down to Mt. Jiri in Republic of Korea, forming the great backbone of the Korean peninsula.