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Current relations between us and north korea
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South Korea: A Student’s Insight on Her Homeland
South Korea first came into existence in 1953, following an armistice that split the Korean peninsula at a demilitarized zone. From 1961 to 1979, the new country saw fast economic growth, and held its first Presidential election in 1987 (The World Factbook, 2013). Since then, the country has become a functioning and successful democracy, still somewhat plagued by Northern counterpart with various attacks on ships and islands, as well as alleged nuclear testing in 2012 and 2013. While most of South Korea’s identity does rest with the hostility with North Korea, their economic and military presence has flourished in the last four decades. (The World Factbook, 2013). Hyebin Joo, a student at the University of North Alabama, is originally from South Korea, and has come to the United States to study abroad. In her interview, Hyebin explains South Korea’s economic status from a personal standpoint, and goes in depth on the perception of “freedom” in her home country, as well as media access when compared to information here in the United States. This essay will seek to report, explain, and analyze Hyebin’s thoughts on her own country, as well as express her thoughts on the United States.
Among the first few questions in her introduction, Hyebin explains that her family is middle to higher class in South Korea, as her father is employed at CitiBank and her mother sells insurance for a company called Prudential. According to their website, CitiBank Korea boasts over 200 branches and the title of the first foreign bank in South Korea (CitiBank, 2014). Prudential, a life insurance company known worldwide, advertises having had a presence in South Korea since 1989 (Prudential, 20...
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..., as there was still a lot of underlying government control amongst the media. Overall, Hyebin gave a very insightful and knowledgeable description of her country that correlated with many official resources, and her comparison of South Korea with the United States was both honest and intriguing when comparing our freedoms and economy.
Works Cited
Asia Pacific: Korea. (n.d.). Citi. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://www.citigroup.com/citi/about/countrypresence/korea.html
Prudential. (n.d.). Global Presence - Worldwide. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://global.prudential.com/globalpru/worldwide.html
The World Factbook. (2013). South Korea. Washington, D.C.: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2014, from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world factbook/docs/contributor_copyright.html
Blaine Harden, former national correspondent and writer for the New York Times, delivers an agonizing and heartbreaking story of one man’s extremely conflicted life in a labor camp and an endeavor of escaping this place he grew up in. This man’s name is Shin Dong-hyuk. Together, Blaine Harden and Shin Dong-hyuk tell us the story of this man’s imprisonment and escape into South Korea and eventually, the United States, from North Korea. This biography that takes place from 1982-2011, reports to its readers on what is really going on in “one of the world’s darkest nations” (back cover of the book), that is run under a communist state and totalitarian dictatorship that was lead by Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and currently lead by Kim-Jong un. In Escape from Camp 14, Shin shows us the adaptation of his life and how one man can truly evolve from an animal, into a real human being.
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Salter, Christopher L., and Charles F. Gritzner. "Introducing North Korea,." North Korea. 2nd ed. New York: Chelsea House, 2007. . Print.
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North Korea is notorious as the “Hermit Kingdom”. Defensive and secretive to the point of paranoia, its history as well as its present conditions remains shrouded in mystery. What little we do know can be murky at best. The central govern...
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Soh, C. S. (2001). South Korea. In C. R. Ember & M. Ember (Eds.), Countries and Their Cultures (
This book is pieced together in two different efforts, one which is to understand the latter history of the post-1945 era with its political liberalization and rapid industrialization period, while at the same time centering its entire text on the question of Korean nationalism and the struggle against the countless foreign invasions Korea had to face. The purpose of this book was composed to provide detailed treatment of how modern Korea has developed with the converged efforts of top eastern and western scholars who wanted to construct a fair overview of Korea's complicated history. Also, the writers wanted to create an updated version of Korea's history by covering the contemporary arena up to the 1990's. The ...
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 ... ...
Throughout the global media North Korea’s isolation and Harsh rule has become increasingly secretive, although some facts have been detected (“North Korea Profile”, 1). According to data collected from The Guardian, eighty-one out of one-hundred people in South Korea have access to the internet, yet in North Korea around .1 out of one-hundred people have access to the internet . Not only is the greater population of North Korea disconnected from outside sources, yet leaders in North Korea are also isolated from outside sources; putting themselves at a disadvantage. North Korea may launch a war, but they are unaware as to what they are up against because of its secrecy . Around one million are serving in the North Korean Army, but when South Korea’s army; combined with the U.S’s army (their ally), the ratio of the North Korean Army is signi...
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