South Korea has been a long time friend and ally of the United States of America. However, if this were to change there are many key factors that would need to be analyzed if war was to break out between the two countries. This is a brief look into some of the factors that make South Korea the country it is today and how it operates. Looking at South Korea there is a long time line of different forms of government. Today the South Korea we know is not the same South Korea that uses to exist. South Korea, or The Republic of South Korea is a democratic government with short periods of autocratic rule. It was first established in 1948, and was formed from the divide of the country after World War II, when the country was split between Russian …show more content…
Since the Korean War, with aid from the United States of America the country has seen a dramatic grown in their economy. South Korea has reached such a flourishing state from its heavy industries and large amounts of exports of goods. The average annual growth rate of South Korea is 8.6 percent. (southkoreagovernment.com, 2012) As for the infrastructure of South Korea, the total work force is 26 million strong. There are eight major ports, over 100,000 km of road ways, and 3,000 km of rail ways, that are mainly used for public transportation not industry. However, South Korea only produces 550 bbl of oil a day while it consumes over 2.3 million bbl of oil per-day. Meaning, they are heavily dependent on the import of oil from surrounding countries. Agriculturally, South Korea is self-sufficient in that their import of food from around the world is low, their main source of food is self-grown crops and fishing. This trend, however, is starting to change as a larger western influence is become present in society. Despite this there are some things that are still unique about South …show more content…
For instance, “Tipping is not required in Korea. If you tip a server or the owner of a restaurant, they are more likely to chase you down the street with your change, than to think that you left it behind for them as a token of your appreciation (The Culture Chronicles, 2010). Koreans use mass transportation as oppose to using individual cars. If a country were to attack South Korea the best way to divide the people and keep them separated would be to destroy the massive public transit system. Having well over 2 million Koreans that use the massive transit stations daily it is a vital part of both their infrastructure and society. When looking at South Korea in this perspective it would be very easy to think of it as one big machine, however, the terrain of the country is about as diverse at the people that live
Officially and originally referred to as, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea has had a dictatorship since 1948. (DPRK) On September 9, 1948 the United Nations elected South of Korea to be the Republic of Korea. They then elected North of Korea to be the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea electing Kim Il- Sung as the Prime Minster. This started the dictatorship in North Korea that still reigns on today.
Korea had been united as one country for many years. Japan took control of Korea and made it part of its empire. After World War II, Japan was defeated and its empire fell. Korea was left without a leader or a system of government. This provoked the United States troops to occupy the southern half and Soviet troops to occupy the northern half. The United States and its allies favored democratic government, while the Soviet Union and China favored a communist system of government.
This response will focus on the key issue of fragmentation. In his book Korea’s Twentieth-Century Odyssey, Michael E. Robinson wrote “Multiple interest groups resided within the bureaucracy and even divided the royal house” (p. 16). Arguably, Korea’s sovereignty was lost in large part, due to the lack of unity among different groups and faction. It was clear from the readings that some Korean individuals and groups prioritized their self-interests above their own country’s benefit. Nowhere was this most evident then the issue of national security.
North Korea has a wealth of natural resources its terrain is mostly hilly and mountainous. They have an amplitude amount of mineral deposits, it is estimated that about 200 minerals are of economic value. The Key ones are iron ore and coal, the greater highlight are magnesite, zinc, lead and gold which have led to extradition. They also have plenty of tungsten, barite, graphite and molybdenum. Power production is mainly based on hydroelectricity, however ther...
Korea gained independence from Japanese colonial rule in August of 1945 and also the division of Korea into the republic south and communist north in the 38th parallel. South Korea then was under the United States occupation from l945-48. Before the United States occupation South Korea had already organized a central People’s committees and established the Korean People of Republic (Memorial Foundation). Nevertheless, United States did not recognize any of the provisional or republic government. The United States refused to do so until there had been an agreement among the western allies. In 1954, there was a Mutual Security Agreement signed between the United States and South Korea, which states that they agreed to defend each other in the event of outside aggression (Memorial Foundation). South Korea has been under military authoritarian regime from 1961-1979 under President Park Chung Hee and from 1980-1992 under President Chun Doo Hwan. The Kwangju uprising occurred in May of 1980 after the collapse of the first milit...
The demarcation line dividing Korea into two parts has led a nation to become polarized and also terminated the history of Korea as a single nation. The division of the country by an artificial line gave rise to more problems than solving the existing ones. While the United States was determined to create a trusteeship in the country, which would give its place to independent Korea after five or ten years, the Soviet Union opposed to the idea of an immediate independence. The Soviet Union had an intention to establish communism functioning in Korea. The United States, on the other hand, was not willing to l...
Soh, C. S. (2001). South Korea. In C. R. Ember & M. Ember (Eds.), Countries and Their Cultures (
South Korea grows many crops, but they use a majority of their agricultural land to produce rice and raise Cattle. According to our book, 5-24% of the South Korean population was working in agriculture in the year 2012. In the year 2011 both the United States and South Korea had an average yield of cereals, which is wheat rice and maize, in kilograms per hectare of 4,001 to 9,000 kilograms.
...y say that I was able to get a good overview of Korean history with a strong sense of knowledge gained. What I specifically gained was a better sense of Korea as a unique cultural entity with its own sense of excellence and its individuality. I have also learned that regardless of the hardships Koreans have suffered in this century, they have successfully endured every worst situation a nation can ever experience. From Japan's colonial rule to the heavy influence Korea felt from Russia's communist state and America's democracy, Korea was able to withstand all these instabilities and overcome to what may be a healthy and modernized nation. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who would like a broad yet thorough overview of Korean history because; this book is precisely written and sectioned accordingly to not make learning history difficult or confusing.
Transnational influences for Korean soft masculinity include Japanese colonialism and metrosexual masculinity. The colonialism from 1910 to 1945 was seen as a crisis for masculinity. Following World War II, Japanese products like music, film and manga were banned in Korea. After President Kim Dae Jung took the office in 1998 the bans relaxed and later abolished. The introduction of Japanese manga has influenced the idealized male character with its kind and gentle leads. Boys over Flowers is a perfect example because it was originally a Japanese manga. The popularity of the beautiful actors was originally based on Japanese beauty. The contemporary metrosexual man focuses more on his appearance. This man is generally well-groomed, well-dressed and well-mannered and he does not feel as if he needs to repress his feminine side.
North and South Korea were not very different politically or culturally from one another before mid 1940’s (White, Bradshaw, Dymond, Chacko, Scheidt, 2014, p. 125). However, North Korea started the Korean War when they invaded South Korea in 1950. These two countries, which were once the same, are vastly different in the areas of politics and culture The Koreas’ continue to disagree and not be at peace with each other since the Korean War despite small steps toward progress over the
The Korean War was only a 3 year war, but gosh was it bloody. The war was mainly fought because there was a fear of communism spreading and North Korea’s invasion of South Korea only made things heightened these fears. This paper will show the political, social, and economic effects of the war, along with why communism needed to be contained and the causes that lead up to the war. It will also show how the war ended, especially since there is no real treaty ending the war. 1-1 The Cold War was an important influence on the Korean War.
South Korea is a country that has rapidly developed. But the country also experienced military dictatorship in the 1980s
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.
This country is of particular interest as it is one of the four Asian Tiger economies, whose rapid industrialisation and growth between the early 1960’s and 1990’s caused it to emerge as one of the most dynamic and fast-changing countries in Asia and the world. Much like Japan, its economic development was marked by heavy investments in foreign technology and imitation through reverse-engineering. By limiting FDI, South Korea maintained control over its industrial base and encouraged investments in R&D.