Paraguay

A landlocked country located in central South America .

The capital is ASUNCIón , where about 40% of the population lives in Gran Asun Zion, which combines satellite cities .

The country's land area is 406,750 km ² , and although it looks small because it is landlocked and surrounded by larger countries, it is still larger than Germany and Japan . The population is 6,783,272 according to the CIA in 2015 .

Gran Chaco, a savannah plain in southern South America , is a plain country that occupies most of the country. The official languages ​​are Guarani and Spanish . Even the currency is Guaraní , because a lot of blood from the Native American Guaraní is mixed in.

Paraguay is a landlocked country located in central South America , bordering Bolivia to the north and west , Brazil to the east and northeast , and Argentina to the south and southwest . The capital is Asuncion , and the land area is 406,750 km, which is about four times the size of the Republic of Korea .[8] The country is clearly divided into eastern and western parts by the Paraguay River. The eastern part is a fertile area with concentrated population and industry, while the western part is a wide dry plain called 'Gran Chaco'.

Paraguay is a unitary republic that adopts a presidential system , with the president serving as both head of state and head of government . The legislative branch operates as a bicameral system consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives , and the administrative district consists of 17 states and the Capital Territory. Although South American countries maintain a relatively stable democratic system, the 20th century also saw a long period of time under the influence of military and authoritarian regimes.

Paraguay is a country that occupies a unique geopolitical position in South America . Although it is a landlocked country with no access to the sea, trade and economic activities are active thanks to the inland water transportation network utilizing the Parana River and Paraguay River. Its economic structure relies heavily on agriculture and hydroelectric power, and it is known as a world-class soybean exporter and beef producer. In particular, Itaipu Dam is one of the world's largest hydroelectric power plants and plays a key role in Paraguay's electricity production. Based on this, Paraguay maintains a high rate of electricity self-sufficiency and earns foreign currency by exporting surplus electricity to neighboring countries.

The Guarani people have lived in the current Paraguay region for a long time , and Spanish colonial rule began in the 16th century. In this process, Spanish and Guarani cultures naturally fused, and to this day, Spanish and Guarani are still used as official languages . This is considered a very rare feature even in Latin America .

Paraguay established a strong centralized system after gaining independence from Spain in 1811 . However, in the Paraguayan War (War of the Triple Alliance) in the mid-19th century, the country was defeated while fighting against the allied forces of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, and suffered fatal losses in the process, losing more than half of its total population, especially most of its male population. To this day, this war remains one of the most important historical events shaping Paraguayan national identity.

In the 20th century, the Chaco War was won against Bolivia , confirming sovereignty over the current Chaco region. This was followed by the long-running dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner from 1954 to 1989 , one of the longest-lasting dictatorships in South American history. After democratization, political stability and economic growth gradually began to take root.

Today, Paraguay is considered a relatively quiet and inconspicuous country in South America, but it has a unique identity that deeply coexists with Guaraní traditional culture and Hispanic culture. In addition, it has a practical economic structure based on agriculture , livestock industry , and hydroelectric power generation, and has steadily maintained its own language, culture, and strong historical pride even among its large neighbors, Brazil and Argentina .

The official name of the country is "Republica del Paraguay" (Republic of Paraguay).

The country's name comes from the Paraguay River, which flows through the country from north to south . It is derived from the Guarani language , and is a country name similar to Uruguay in that it was originally the name of a river . There are several theories about the origin of both Paraguay and Uruguay. In Guarani , para means river and y means water , so it is often interpreted as a name related to rivers or water.

Guaranier is expressed as paraguái and Spanish as paraguay. Guaranier means paraguay .

In Chinese characters, it can be called巴拉圭(Paragyu).

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Paraguay's climate is distinctly different in the east and west, bordered by the Paraguay River , which runs through the country from north to south. The eastern region (Paraneña) mainly belongs to a humid subtropical climate (Cfa, Köppen-Geiger climate classification), while the western Gran Chaco region exhibits a combination of tropical savannah climate (Aw) and hot semi-arid climate (BSh). These climatic differences are the result of a combination of the influence of wet air masses flowing in from the Atlantic Ocean , the rain shadow effect of the Andes Mountains , and the topographical characteristics of the vast plains.

Eastern Paraguay is a region with relatively abundant rainfall throughout the year. The average annual rainfall is generally around 1,200 to 1,800 mm, and in some areas close to the Brazilian border, it may exceed 2,000 mm. Precipitation occurs throughout the year, but tends to be concentrated in the southern hemisphere summer (October to March) when convection activity is active, and local heavy rain and thunderstorms frequently occur during this period due to strong cumulonimbus . On the other hand, precipitation decreases in winter, but a complete dry season does not occur, so soil moisture remains relatively stable throughout the year. These climatic conditions are very favorable for the development of forest vegetation and agricultural land, forming the center of Paraguay's agricultural production.

The western Gran Chaco region is an area that falls under the rain shadow on the eastern slope of the Andes Mountains, and a relatively dry environment is formed because a significant amount of water vapor flowing in from the Atlantic Ocean has already been consumed as precipitation in the eastern part. The average annual precipitation is approximately 400 to 900 mm, and tends to decrease further towards the northwest. During the dry season, it is common for there to be no significant precipitation for several months, and soil water content is greatly reduced due to high evapotranspiration. This environment is a factor in the development of vegetation such as dry thorn forest, shrubland, and savanna grassland.

Paraguay is located near the Tropic of Capricorn in terms of latitude, making it a country with abundant solar radiation. The average annual temperature in most regions of the country is around 21-24℃, and the average maximum temperature in summer is around 33-36℃, but it is common for it to exceed 40℃ during heat waves. In particular, the Gran Chaco region has a strong continental influence and relatively little vegetation cover, resulting in severe surface heating, and cases where maximum temperatures exceed 45°C are observed. On the other hand, the average winter temperature is relatively mild at around 15-20℃, but when the 'Surazo' or 'Friagem' phenomenon occurs, where a cold air mass originating in Antarctica moves north along the South American plains, the temperature can suddenly drop below 5℃ in a short period of time. In rare cases, mild frost is observed in the southern region.

Paraguay's precipitation system is greatly influenced by the South Atlantic Subtropical High, the South American Low-Level Jet (SALLJ), the seasonal movement of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). In particular, in El Niño years, precipitation increases compared to normal years, increasing the frequency of large-scale floods in the Paraguay and Parana River basins, while droughts and reduced agricultural production due to lack of precipitation frequently occur in La Niña years.

Hydrologically, the entire country of Paraguay belongs to the La Plata River system, so there is a very strong correlation between climate and river flow. During the rainy season, the flow of the Paraguay River , Parana River , and Pilcomayo River increases significantly, and floodplains and wetlands are formed extensively. Conversely, during the dry season, along with a decrease in river flow, some tributaries are temporarily cut off or the wetland area is greatly reduced. These seasonal hydrological changes have a direct impact not only on maintaining the ecosystem but also on inland water transportation and hydroelectric power generation operations.

Climate also has a distinct impact on the natural ecosystem. The eastern region is home to a subtropical broad-leaved forest that corresponds to the western end of the Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica), and is a key area for biodiversity where a variety of birds , mammals , and amphibians live. On the other hand, the Gran Chaco region is considered one of the world's largest dry forest ecosystems, and is home to plants adapted to the dry climate and rare wild animals such as jaguars , Chaco peccaries, and anteaters. However, recently, as forest damage continues due to large-scale clearing of agricultural land and expansion of livestock farming , ecosystem conservation has emerged as an important task.

In recent decades, the effects of climate change have become increasingly evident in Paraguay. As average temperatures rise, the duration of heat waves is lengthening, and the frequency of extreme precipitation and long-term droughts is also increasing. Accordingly, declines in agricultural productivity, large-scale forest fires , disruption of inland water transport due to fluctuations in river water levels, and reduced efficiency of hydroelectric power generation are being pointed out as major environmental and economic problems. In particular, given the nature of Paraguay, which relies on hydroelectric power for most of its national electricity production, the volatility of precipitation and river flow is evaluated as an important climate variable that directly affects the national economy and energy security.

For Paraguay's pole, see Paraguay's pole document.

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As in other South American countries, soccer is the most popular. For information on the national team, refer to the Paraguay national soccer team article.

June 29, 2010 , from 11 a.m. to early morning the next day during the World Cup round of 16 match between Paraguay and Japan.[9] The website of the Paraguay Embassy in Korea went down due to keyboard warriors between Korean and Japanese netizens . Needless to say, it is a byeonglim pick . This happened because of a Paraguayan female model named Larisa Riquelme , and it was thanks to Riquelme's hot promises. For more information, refer to the person's document. In 1999 , they defeated Philippe Trussier 's Japan national soccer team , who had specially participated in the Copa America , by a score of 4-0. However, in this World Cup , they barely won through a penalty shootout .

However, we will not be able to see Paraguay in the World Cup from now on. In 2014 , they placed last and were eliminated from the regional preliminary round, and the 2018 World Cup was not very successful either. They struggled against all teams other than the Argentina national soccer team, whose skills plummeted after Messi disappeared . Fortunately, both games against Argentina were played without Lionel Messi . Due to ambiguous rankings and points[10] Unusually, the final round of the regional preliminary round was all scheduled at the same time, and the Chile national soccer team was being beaten hard by their nemesis, the Brazil national soccer team, and Peru and Colombia were drawing a draw, so Paraguay, who was in 7th place, could have advanced to the finals through the intercontinental playoffs in 5th place by winning against Venezuela, but lost to Venezuela again. In the end, Chile lost and ended up in 6th place, but Paraguay also lost and ended up in 7th place, confirming their failure to advance to the finals of the World Cup in Russia. In fact, Argentina, which was in 6th place, soared to 3rd place by beating Ecuador and advanced directly to the finals.

There is definitely a decline in skill, and this is largely due to the fact that there have been no star players after Chilavert and Santa Cruz. The Venezuelan national soccer team , which had been looked down on as the weakest team, has recently become better than Paraguay and Bolivia thanks to the emergence of a star named Thomas Rincon .

Nevertheless, they actually qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup , and despite losing 1:4 to the home team, the United States , in the group stage, they succeeded in advancing to the tournament by winning 1:0 against Turkye and drawing with Australia . They also showed good performance by beating Germany in a penalty shootout in the tournament .

As a side note, Korea and Paraguay faced each other at the Carlsberg Cup in Hong Kong in January 2001. Kim Byeong- ji , the Korean goalkeeper at the time, made a dizzying mistake by pushing the ball too hard and losing the ball to opposing midfielder Gustavo Morinigo, and was eventually substituted in the second half. In this game, Korea won the penalty shootout, but after this game, Kim Byeong-ji fell out of favor with Guus Hiddink, the Korean coach at the time, and was not seen with the national team for a while.

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Paraguay is where the first generation of Korean immigrants settled, so there are many Koreans.

Migration began with agricultural immigration in the 1960s, and recently, as exchanges in the construction industry have become more active, the number of cases of long-term workers working there has increased considerably. Karaoke is also a hit.[11] I even went to the National Singing Contest , and when I go to the Sashi Market, many of them are owned by Koreans . Compared to Brazil/Peru, where the Japanese are the main Asian ancestors, or other Latin American countries where the Chinese are the main ancestors, Korean immigrants have a much louder voice and presence. Originally, Paraguay itself was a country with few Asians, and although Chinese people came as coolies, most of them migrated to neighboring Argentina, where they could make more money, and the main Asian population in Paraguay became Koreans.

Compared to the very quiet Koreans in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru, Paraguay is a place where Koreans can easily speak up because it is economically and culturally less developed. Koreans in Paraguay use Korean culture as it is, such as soju , samgyeopsal , and Korean youths’ weekend soccer, so it has not been localized. Because of this, locals tend to view things made in Korea favorably. In particular, while Chile and Argentina have severe racial discrimination and tend to ignore and discriminate against Asians, including Koreans, this country is not like that.

However, because Paraguay is not a wealthy country, most of the later generations of immigrants leave for neighboring countries such as Argentina , Chile , the United States , and Mexico when they have the economic power , or reverse immigration to Korea has increased significantly since the Corona crisis, and the number of Koreans living in Korea has now decreased compared to its heyday.

Paraguay retains quite a bit of traditional culture and the unique culture of the Guarani Indians. A variety of traditional specialty products based on handicrafts (Artesania) are introduced as one of Paraguay's representative specialties. A representative handicraft is Ñanduti.

In general, it is a country where people like to party (fiesta) and enjoy singing and dancing very much. It's real. From every Friday evening to Sunday evening, the sound of singing is always heard in the neighborhood. In many cases, it is left open until 3:00 in the morning. They are such a fun people.

Like Paraguay and other Latin American countries, there is also a big party called quinceañera held on a girl's 15th birthday. Also known as Sweet Sixteen, it was brought to Paraguay through the influence of Mexican-Paraguayans who originally lived in western California .

Paraguay, like other Catholic countries, celebrates August 15 as a public holiday as Asunción de Virgen María and the foundation day of the capital, Asunción .

31% of the adult population is overweight and 15.1% is obese. The obesity rate is low in South American countries, but when viewed globally, it is by no means low.

The official language is Spanish and Guaranier . Paraguay Spanish was influenced by Guaranier and became a country with unique Spanish with Argentina , Uruguay and Chile because of the vocabulary and expressions derived from Guaranier. And most paraguers are fluent in both Guaranier and Spanish. But reality recognizes Spanish more sophisticated. In addition to the two languages, the language is used in the first foreign language, the official language of the neighboring Brazil, Portuguese , and the international official language, English .

Guarani is the language used by the Guarani Indians who once dominated Brazil and Argentina. It is different from the Guarani language (Gurani Ñe'ê) that Paraguayan students learn at school. Residents living in rural areas of Paraguay tend to speak Guarani more fluently than Spanish.

In addition to simply used in foreign languages, Portuguese is also used in the first language because of the many Brazilian landlords in Eastern Alto Parana .

It is correct to say that English is not fluent. Fortunately, there are many foreigners in downtown Asunción and the center of Ciudad del Este, so there are many people who understand English even if they cannot speak it, but if you go outside, you have no idea whether it will work or not.

However, as the trend of the times, young people living in urban areas, including Asun Zion , tend to be sophisticated and do not want to learn Guaranier. Guaranier's practicality is also poor[12] It is to accept as a low level language. In fact, the Paraguay government deals with these problems seriously because there is a linguistic characteristic that uses Guaranier fluently as you live in the countryside.

Guaranier is a required course for Paraguay, and has recently been adopted as a required course for a smooth communication with Guaranier .

And because one of the few Americas, the Language Conservation State, Guaranier also appears in Paraguay literature. In many Paraguay literary works, there are poems and songs made of Guaranier. Guaranier is an essential element of Paraguay literature, and in Paraguay, Guaranier is an official language , so it occupies a lot of everyday life.

According to a 2012 survey, of Paraguay's total population of about 7 million, 68.2% speak Spanish fluently, and 31.8% speak Spanish to a limited extent (of which 7.93% speak only Guarani). However, by everyday language standards, Guarani is stronger. A significant portion of the rural population speaks Guarani as their first language and learn Spanish as a second language. However, Spanish is overwhelmingly used in urban areas, and the language of education, administration, and media is Spanish. Currently, the rate of Spanish use is steadily increasing due to urbanization and the spread of education. There are more people who do not speak Spanish than you might think, so if you plan to go to a rural area for volunteer work, it is a good idea to hire an interpreter or learn Guarani expressions.

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According to statistics, Catholicism is 89% and Protestantism is 5%, which means that Catholicism is very strong among Latin American countries. The first protected settlement for the Guaraní was established in 1609, and a long-term positive relationship with the Jesuits , a Catholic religious order , was established thereafter. The movie that reflects this aspect is 《 Mission 》. However, the Guaraní did not fight the Europeans with only primitive weapons, nor did all Europeans, except for a few Jesuits, treat the Guarani as subhuman, as shown in the movie. The Guaraní were trained by the Jesuits to use gunpowder weapons, and in a battle in 1641, they defeated the Portuguese (+ Tupi ) with over 4,000 men.[13] The Guarani were repelled with a volley of fire.

Here you can check the local government population of all states in Paraguay as of 2022.

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namuwiki , AkaraLive[14] As the headquarters of the server and its operator, umanle SRL, are located in the capital, Asunción , Paraguay's awareness has increased to some extent, and it even became a hot topic at one point. The reason that the namuwiki server is headquartered in Paraguay is to ensure that it is not subject to Korean law on issues such as various lawsuits, corporate taxes, database rights, and defamation.[15]

However, since Korean law adopts both personal and territorial principles , if a Korean national commits an act that violates Korean law, he or she will be punished. However, in this case, there is a significant difference in whether the subject of investigation is an individual or a corporation , so in order to apply the personal principle, the individual must be identified.[16] If the act in question also violates Paraguayan law, the individual may be identified through judicial cooperation with the local Paraguayan police, but de facto cooperation can only be received if the act is a very serious illegal act recognized by both Korea and Paraguay.

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