South+Korea

= TIMELINE = =SOUTH KOREA= by Rebecca Wagner

Geography 1. Location on a map:

2. Size compared to other countries: Slightly larger than Indiana 3. Bordering countries/ oceans: North Korea, Japan is just south of it, and the East sea, east of South Korea, and the Yellow Sea is west of South Korea.

Economy 1. Major Industries: Electronics and automobile production 2.Natural Resources: Graphite, Lead, Hydropower potential 3. GDP: $1.007 trillion

Culture 1. Lifestyle: In Korea, the father is the head of the family, and it is job to approve of all marriages within the family 2. Education: Like the US, South Korea has three main parts of the public education system. 6 years is spent in primary school, 3 in middle and another 3 in high school. The public education system is far more rigorous than the average school in the united states. For example: the high school begins at 8:00 am and ends at 4:30 pm. Then following the intense 8 and a half hours of instruction, the students go home for dinner, only to return for tutoring or private lessons immediately, running until usually 10:00 pm. Extracurricular activities are also an important part of a Korean education, for example, the fine arts are valued highly in the education system.

History: 1. TIMELINE 2. Historical Enemies: The Japanese have been Korea's foe since Japan colonized them for 35 years. It ended when Japan lost WWII in 1945. The hatred toward Japan comes from when they took away their culture and language and the military forced the Koreans into labor.South Korea has always had tension and animosity with North Korea, ever since the split of the democratic and communist sides of Korea. Things were looking up for the two countries in the 90's, especially when they started trading, but in 2010 when a South Korean ship was allegedly shot down by a North Korean torpedo, all trade was called off. 3. Historical conflicts: Although both North and South Korea hope for reunification, only each side wishes for the other to be their own government. There has been rising tension between the two Koreas and there has even been brief speculation that they are on "the brink of war" on the peninsula. North Korea hasbeen accused and caught with nuclear weapons supposedly meant for South Korea. There have been many smaller attacks within the last ten years, mostly made by North Korea on the South, causing animosity and tension.

NOW... How does the history of the country inform the decisions it makes in current times? Are there conflicts that persist over generations? Have there been lessons learned that impact how the country interacts with other nations? Why does the history of the nation matter?

1). A conflict that never ceases is the tension between North and South Korea. Ever since 1950, when the Korean war began, the two have been at each other's necks, trying to get the other to come over to their own side. North Korea has also had numerous nuclear bombings on South Korea, even after South Korea sent in support and supplies for North Korea's famine and poverty issue.

NOW... How do the geography of the country impact its behavior? Does it make it vulnerable to attack? Does it provide a tourist economy? Does it hold valuable resources that make it powerful or the target of external threats? Is it a challenging environment in which to establish a society, and if so how did this reality shape the people and their culture? How has the country been shaped by its neigh bors?

1). Korea was ruled by numerous empires throughout the centuries, so South Korea's culture is influenced by its former neighboring mother countries, like Japan and China. Even today, especially within the younger generations, Japanese and Chinese pop culture and music is very popular in South Korea.

NOW... How does the country's economic standing affect its relationships with other nations? Is the economy on the rise or is it declining? Is the country economically powerful or weak? What trading relationships does it have established and how do these inform national decisions?

1). The South Korean economy since the 80's, which was when t hey became more technologically advanced, has steadily increased. The automobile industry has been a key part of South Korea's dynamic economy. Hyundai created hundreds of thousands of jobs in South Korea, and was what started the automobile boom in South Korea.

NOW... How does the particular culture, with religions, social norms, values, etc. impact the behavior of the nation? How do other nations characterize this country? Is the culture of the country tied to the culture of other nations? If so, how does this alter their relationships? Is the country heterogeneous or homogeneous?

1). South Korea is mainly consisted of native Koreans, with ancestors they could trace back thousands of years, and with a small population of Chinese, so South Korea, unlike the US, is very homogeneous.