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| Map of Korean Pennisula at Night Showing Vast Differences |
History
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| North Koreans |
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| South Koreans |
North Korea and South Korea have not always been at each others throats. In fact, up until 1945, the two nations were under one rule and simply known as Korea. Throughout history Korea has been repetitively under attacks by local powers such as Japan, China, and Mongolia. Despite the attacks that have gone on, Korea was able to maintain its culture and traditions which were a part of life since ancient times. The division between the two nations was a direct result of an Allied victory in 1945 after the second World War. The Soviet Union occupied North Korea, while the Americans occupied the Southern half below the famous 38th parallel. Regardless of the name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is very far off from a democracy, as it was very much influenced by the former Soviet Union’s communist regime. American ideas have grown strong in the south however, making South Korea a very economically prosperous democratic republic.
Location
Location is a crucial aspect of geography that describes where something is. We shall explore both absolute and relative locations of these countries. North Korea (40.3399° N, 127.5101° E) and South Korea (35.9078° N, 127.7669° E) are located next to each other on a land mass known as the Korean Peninsula which is in Northeast Asia. The official name of North Korea is the Democratic Republic of Korea, where South Korea’s official name is the Republic of Korea. Their location is one of the few similarities that they share. When describing their relative locations we examine where they are located compared to other countries and geographic features. The Yalu River separates North Korea from China and to the northeast, the Tumen River separates North Korea from Russia and China, making North Korea a very close nation to two superpowers.
To the east of the peninsula is the East China Sea, and to its right is the Yellow Sea. To the south of the Korean Peninsula is the Sea of Japan. The northern parts of Korea are very mountainous while the southern and western parts have very well developed plains. At a total of 99,720 square kilometers, South Korea is geographically smaller than North Korea which comes in at a total of 120,538 square kilometers, including water controlled by the nation. Comparatively speaking, South Korea would be about the size of Indiana, while the area of North Korea would be slightly above the size of Virginia. These countries are very small compared the likeness of Russia, China, and the United States.
North Korea’s capital is Pyongyang, a city which boasts huge skyscrapers, which is very
contrasting to it’s nearly empty roads and is located on the mid west part of North Korea. It is very empty and completely underdeveloped. South Korea’s capital, Seoul is the largest metropolis in the Republic of Korea and is the 16th largest city in the world. It is modern, prosperous and full of life.
Some common natural resources both countries produce are coal, tungsten, graphite, and lead. Because of the vast mountains in North Korea, more metals are produced in the north than south, however to think that this leads to more economic prosperity in the north would be a mistake. Because of its large cities, South Korea does face problems with air pollution, acid rain, and water pollution from sewage and industry. North Korea arguably faces more challenges as the people most deal with inadequate supplies of water, waterborne disease, deforestation as well as many other geographic challenges.
Demographics and Politics
Though similar in Geographical features, the demographics of North and South Korea is strikingly different. North Korea is a communist country led by political figures who value doctrines of self reliance and a military-first society. This truly creates what some people call a repressive state. It’s leader Kim Jon-un’s nuclear ambitions often cause controversial global headlines as he places this ambition above feeding the people of his isolated nation. Their are many opportunities to create a prosperous economic system in North Korea as many of its natural resources are untapped. Because of this many countries such as China and Russia are eager to do business with them. However because of the oppressive regime that runs the country trillions of dollars going to feeding it’s people have gone to waste and no other country will intervene due to the possibility of a nuclear war.
South Korea on the other hand, truly embodies what the Americans wanted to do by spreading democracy and stopping the spread of communism. They have truly bounced back from the turmoil that was going on the in region not to long ago. South Korea is now ranked the 12th largest economy in the world, because of its democratic ideas and rich development of industry. South Koreas current president is Park Geun-hye and is the 11th president to hold office since the birth of their democratic nation.
It seems that chronic food shortage has plagued North Korea, leaving it’s people undernourished, and it’s children starving. Life expectancy compare the average number of years to be lived by people born in the same year. The life expectancy is 79 years old in South Korea, while that of North Korea is 10 years younger. Such drastic different for regions so close to each other. Infant mortality rates compare the number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per one thousand live births in a nation. It is often a good indicator of the heath in a country and is a huge indicators of the stark differences between the nations. Only 4 out of every 1000 births are killed by complications, where the mortality rate of infants in North Korea is more than 6 times as much as 26 deaths per 1000 births.
North Korea has give or take half the population of South Korea. As of July 2014, according to the CIA Factbook there are 24,851,627 people living within North Korea. The same survey shows that the population of South Korea is at an estimated 49,039,986 people. South Korea’s density of people is 1,267 persons per square mile which makes it one of the most dense areas in the world. Korean is the official language of the two countries that we are comparing. Though not an official language, Madarin is very commonly heard spoken in both countries.
The Republic of Korea ranks 57th on the 2014 Press Freedom Index ranking. North Korea ranks over one hundred nations below at 179th place. Very contrasting indeed. Internet is a huge part of freedom and self expression on this modern age. Unlike neighboring states such as China, South Koreans have unhindered access to the world wide web. North Koreans on the other hand, have virtually no access to the internet at all which is one more way their oppressive government keeps it’s people shielded from the influence of the outside world. Only few North Koreans are given limited access to the internet, however, the number is small.
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| North Korea's Leader Kim Jon-un |
Culture
Food and traditional cultural habits are shared by the two nations as they did share a very similar past. Though they share many of the same festivities, they are generally more extravagant in the southern nation as the people are more free to express themselves as they please. This is perhaps the best part of the blog post as I try to convince you to agree with me that Korean food is perhaps the best type of food in the world, OK, maybe after Mexican food. The seriousness of the differences between North and South Korea can be a bit statistically depressing however let me get a little of track and share some of my favorite Korean dishes. Every birthday I try to get Korean Barbecue, which consists of sitting down and cooking meat directly at your own table. Not only is it fun to sit around and cook with friends, but they way restaurants prepare these traditional meats is delicious as they marinate in all sorts of different spices. The side dishes often consists of picked vegetables which are sometimes covered in spices. If you ever go to a Korean BBQ places I recommend ordering the bulgogi, which is marinated beef. The Chadol bagi is also something I order every time which is a thinly cut beef. Korean BBQ is not only something they enjoy, it has become an international sensation.
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| Korean BBQ |
Though the foods are similar the cultures of North and South Korea differ like night and day. South Korea’s culture today has been shaped by their desire and willingness to modernize their culture. Because of it’s rapid modernization, South Korea is struggling to
maintain its traditional values. Over the past few years Korean culture has even made its way to the west, with popular musicians such as PSY creating the song and world wide phenomenon known as GANGNAM STYLE. Most South Koreans have cell phones and access to the internet. One of the biggest phenomenons to come out of Korea is professional video gaming, which Koreans have dedicated television channels just to watch others play. South Korea is the mecca when it comes to online video gaming. At any given moment their are 4.5 million South Korean people playing video games online, which is almost 10% of the population!
Modern day North Korean culture is drastically different to what was just described above. North Korea is a military first culture, so strict regimes are ingrained into everyday life for its citizens. While South Korean has done an incredible job at modernization itself, the contemporary culture of North Korea is still based on traditional Korean culture. The state and the Korean Worker’s Part control the entire countries production of literature and art, not allowing its citizens to participate in free thought and self expression. The countries music and literature are also not ways for people to express themselves, but rather for a way to allow the countries main parties to express their ideologies. Rather than playing video games as their main sport, North Korea is famous for its “mass games” which are exhibitions where thousands gather to perform choreographed dances. Quite a difference from their friends in the south.
It is truly amazing to see how two countries can be so geographically related and share so much history, yet be polar opposites when it comes to freedom and economic prosperity. The future of North Korea is very unpredictable as the thought of another nuclear war is something most people do not want to think about. I am glad I was able to share what I found about these two places with my classmates. Though many people would most likely want to visit South Korea I would rather visit North Korea. This may sound odd, but I think going to North Korea would be an extremely bizarre and invaluable experience as I have never been to a communist country. It would be sad to see those impoverished people their but I doubt they would let me see that the ugly side of North Korea. I think with new leadership in our country, we may see some drastic changes happen in this part of of the world. What will the outcome be. Will these two nations ever get along. Will North Korea ever develop into a modern country. After writing this post and doing my research these questions race through my head. These countries were absolutely awesome to compare. I cannot wait to read my classmates posts and gain some more geographical insights.
Works Cited
"South Korea vs. North Korea." South Korea vs. North Korea - Country Comparison. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Haub, Carl. "North Korea Census Reveals Poor Demographic and Health Conditions." North Korea Census Reveals Poor Demographic and Health Conditions. PRB, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Lambert, Tim. "A BRIEF HISTORY OF KOREA." A Brief History of Korea. LocalHistories.org, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Adams, William. "What Modern South Korea Is Like." Return Of Kings. Return of Kings, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.
Lambert, Tim. "A BRIEF HISTORY OF KOREA." A Brief History of Korea. LocalHistories.org, n.d. Web. 27 Nov. 2016.
Adams, William. "What Modern South Korea Is Like." Return Of Kings. Return of Kings, n.d. Web. 25 Nov. 2016.
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