Two countries that were once united as one are now separated by the world’s most dangerous demilitarized zone. How can two countries with the same origin and the same people be so different? South of the DMZ, South Koreans live freely, whereas their neighbors to the north live under strict surveillance. North Korea and South Korea’s differences highly outweigh their similarities, which clearly shows the distinction between the two sides of the border. North and South Korea experience the same climate and have closely similar terrain and elevation. However, geographical differences between the two do exist. North Korea covers over forty-six thousand square miles, almost ten thousand more than its south-bordering neighbors, which extend over a thirty-eight thousand square mile territory (Index Mundi). Though South Korea is significantly smaller, it has more cultivated and irrigated land then North Korea. The large population difference between the two countries could be a correlation to this fact; South Korea has over fifty …show more content…
The split countries are now separated by a demilitarized zone spanning the 150-mile border; this 2.5-mile wide is scattered with over one million land mines (History.com). This border conveys the hostility and the differences between North Korea and South Korea. The DMZ does more than keep the two countries at peace; it keeps North Korean citizens from escaping their country. While South Koreans have the luxury of many human rights, North Korea, under the rule of Kim Jong-Il, are victims of their country. Blind to the outside world by way of strict censorship in all forms of media, the North Koreans praise their leader, regardless of the hardships they face. Cell-phones and Internet access are banned in North Korea while South Korea enjoys such luxuries. South Korean has evolved greatly into a constitutional democracy, while North Korea suffers under a
Salter, Christopher L., and Charles F. Gritzner. "Introducing North Korea,." North Korea. 2nd ed. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. . Print.
North Korea profoundly corresponds with Oceania by being a highly militarized nation. Although it has been decades since the Korean war, there has been an everlasting tension between North Korea and the nations surrounding it. Every minute of everyday the North Korean army remains armed on its border. Whether it is a South Korean or Chinese citizen trying to cross the border, they will be shot at. This highly militarized state of society was influenced by Kim Il Sung, the tenacious tyrant of North Korea from 1912 to 1994. Kim Il Sung was so paranoid about other nations intervening, that he used the conception of violence and war to prevent outsiders from entering, or even North Koreans from leaving. This strange sense of constant tension between North Korea and other nations reflects an important issue occurring in Oceania. The people of Oceania are to believe that Oceania is constantly at war with one of two nation’s, Eurasia and Eastasia. Big Brother uses the word war in the same calculating way to influence the minds of his people. “The very word ‘war,’ therefore, has become misleading... A peace that was truly permanent would be the same as a permanent war. This... is the inner ...
North Korea and China’s geography, mutual history, and ideology proved to make them similar in many aspects in terms of reforms and revolutions; however, it was not until death of Mao Zedong and the rise of Deng Xiao Ping in the mid-1970s that drew the distinct line between North Korea and China communism. In similarity, North Korea began practicing communism when its land was divided between North and South due to the 38th Parallel. In August of 1945, the Soviet Army ruled North Korea until a domestic regime could be formed. Hence, the land of Korea was divided between Soviet forces and American forces.
(migrationinformation, 2008). Citizens of North Korea do not attain the freedom to leave and experience other states. North Korea’s lack of freedom not only affects their citizens but also individuals from other countries in a negative sense, cutting off social bonds as a result. Not having mobility rights is an infringement on their negative liberty on account of the option of immigrating or emigrating not being available to them due to the laws placed by the government. In actuality, citizens “caught emigrating or helping others cross the border illegally are detained” (migrationinformation, 2008).
North and South Korea have apparent differences geographically, demographically, economically, and politically. Quite recently, North Korea tested a missile that landed in the sea between North Korea and Japan. The leaders of North Korea claim that they have nuclear weapons
Japan was imperializing late nineteenth century to early twentieth century. Korea was a Japanese colony. After World War II, the Japanese had to get rid of the colony. North Korea became a Communist. South Korea wants to be democratic.
Korea is considered one of very few homogenous cultures within the world. With the exception of a population of about 20,000 Chinese immigrants located mostly in the city of Seoul, people of both North and South Korea identify as ethnically Korean, all sharing a common language and culture, with a slight sense of regionalism between different parts of the peninsula. (Soh, 2006) The people of the Korean peninsula either call themselves Korean or Choson. The names used to identify themselves come from the two longest lasting dynasties in their history, the Koryo dynasty, which ran from 935 to 1392, and the Choson dynasty, which lasted from 1392 to 1910. (Seth, 2011)
North Korea could be described as a dystopian society. For all of its citizens, the Internet is widely monitored and restricted, allowing only limited access. “One could speculate that it is more propaganda about the country, its leaders, or negative coverage about the US.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Communist North Korea continues to be an underdeveloped country while South Korea continues to prosper in all areas such as technology, and agriculture. These two countries have vast differences with their political and government views. North Korea at one point was influenced by the Soviet Union but no longer. However, North Korea continues to be influenced by and receive aid from China. South Korea continues to be influenced by the United States of America. North Korea is governed and controlled by a dictatorship, which has complete control over media and social
Taylor, Adam. "A Crazy Comparison Of Life In North Korea And South Korea." Business Insider. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Jan. 2014.
One line along the 38th parallel called the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) is all that separates two countries with very different views. North Korea on one side which is ruled by a communist type of view and the South which is more of a democratic view. This is one thing that happens in the story “Cranes” by Hwang Sun-won. Sun-won includes information about life in Korea and the tension between the North and the South.
South Korea, once a broken country filled with broken families, has transformed itself into a fine example of perseverance in a tough situation. South Korea and its neighbor to the north have developed past where they were before the Korean War, but in different ways. The two countries, while certainly dependent on each other, are vastly different. Their conflicting styles of government and their differing cultures speak for themselves in this case. South Korea has, over the years, changed dramatically from the crippled country of the Korean War into a blossoming beacon of Asian cultural and economic changes. The combination of its recent economic importance, its heavy cultural influence, and its constant danger of participating in a war makes South Korea one of the most influential countries in the world.
South Korea is officially called the republic of Korea. It accompanies the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its location is between the Yellow Sea and the East Sea. An artificial boundary called the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separates South Korea from its neighboring country, North Korea. South Korea has a total area of 38,502 square miles. A little known fact is that South Korea is slightly larger than the state of Indiana.
To understand this situation more fully, one must be given some background, starting in the early 1950s. Due to the harsh differences between the peoples of Korea, and especially due to the onset of Communism, the Korean War erupted and the nation split in half, with the Communist-supported Democratic People’s Republic in the north and those who favored democracy in the Korean Republic of the south (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 2000). The two separate countries of North Korea and South Korea went their opposite ways, and each has experienced different fortunes in the past half-century. The South Koreans managed to recover from the turmoil of the 1950s and 1960s to become an economic power and a democracy supporter. On the other hand, North Korea can be viewed as a retro country, based first on a Communist ideology, laid down by leader Kim Il Sung and inherited by his son, the current dictator Kim Jong Il, then evolving into a totalitarian state (Pacific Rim: East Asia at the Dawn of a New Century). Today North Korea holds the distinction of being one of the very few remaining countries to be truly cut off from the rest of the world. Author Helie Lee describes this in her novel In the Absence of Sun: “An eerie fear crawled through my flesh as I stood on the Chinese side of the Yalu River, gazing across the murky water into one of the most closed-off and isolated countries in the world.” (1)
South Korea occupies the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula, which is a country located at the northeastern edge of the Asian continent, shares its northern border with China and Russia, and juts toward Japan to the southeast. It is officially known as the Republic of Korea and its capital and largest city is Seoul. Korea is roughly 1,000 kilometers long and encompasses around 222,154 square kilometers in total. South Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous. (Government, Geography and Climate, 2012)