Analysis of the Korean Economy

Following the Korean War and the rebuilding of their societies, both North Korea and South Korea’s economies have depreciated and fluctuated. With their different economic systems, one using the military and the other using trade, they both have received different results.

In this seemingly peaceful world, the Korean Peninsula has been seen as one of the hottest potatoes in the world. Many people do not acknowledge that the Korean War has not ended, but the event settled with just an armistice since the tension of the war became so intense between not only two Koreans, but other major countries such as Russia, China, and the United States. Even an armistice of the war, there still remains severe tensions in the Korean Peninsula and because of this, questions like why Korea has been the only divided country in the world and what has increased the tension between two Koreans have been brought up to historians. And to the answers to the questions about the modern Koreans is the war

After Japan started to industrialize, they began to imperialize and try to take over other surrounding countries. They gained control of Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands after China broke an agreement with them to keep military out of Korea. They also went to war with Russia over Manchuria, and won. Finally, in 1910, Japan annexed Korea and gained control of it until the end of World War II. Once World War II ended in 1945, and the Allies had defeated Japan, the Soviets invaded Korea from the north. The United States, fearing that the Soviets wanted total control of Korea, invaded it from the south. The two countries decided that, to not make any long-term decisions, they would divide the country in about half, at the 38th parallel (5). This division of Korea was only supposed to be temporary, but in 1948, both halves of Korea established separate governments. They both claimed that they were the true Korea (1). Kim Il-Sung, who became the leader of the north of Korea in 1948, decided that the Democratic People’s Republic should have a communist government (6). Syngman Ree, who had previously been exiled by Korea, returned to oppose the DPR’s leader, and created his own government for the south of Korea, or the Republic of Korea. Each side wanted to gain control over the whole, previously unified country (2). The Korean War started in June of 1950 because North Korea took it upon itself to end the

After Japan’s defeat from the World War II in 1945, Japan lost its colonies and the fate of colonized countries was given to the United States and the Soviet Union. The victorious allies, the United States and the Soviet Union, finally agreed to divide Korea into two nations, with Soviet troops occupying the north and U.S. troops in the south regardless of Korean’s opinion. Under the short-lived joy of liberation from Japan, Koreans had to suffer from the tragic division. This arrangement was meant to be temporary until elections could be held to unify the country under a single government. However, those elections were never held. The allies from World War II were broken into the communist and capitalist society. The Soviets installed a communist

When Korea liberated from Japanese control at the end of the Second World War, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed temporarily to divide Korea at the 38th parallel of latitude north of the equator. This division resulted in the formation of two countries: communist North Korea (supported by the Soviets) and South Korea (supported by the United States). Five years after the country’s partition, the communist leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, decided to attempt to reunify Korea under his control. On June 25, 1950, Kim launched a surprise invasion of South Korea.

Korea a land of mystery due to its isolation. Though it has been an isolated country and is slowly opening up to the world. Though isolation has shrouded much of Korea and what goes on, what is known was that it’s history impacting Korea such as the Korean War has ultimately lead it into a divided peninsula. Korea has divided itself into north and south. Though North and South Korea are so close to each other and once one in the same, history has forged several differences from the two countries over the years of its existence. The conflict of Korea has resulted in them both being in an uneasy peace watching the borderline between the two.

Due the Potsdam Declaration, Japan was required to revert back to the size of its empire prior to 1894, subsequently forcing Japan to give up all of the territories they had acquired during World War 2, (such as French Indochina, Burma, the Philippines, and parts of China) and even before World War 2 like Taiwan and Korea. Since the Korean Empire had dissolved after Japanese annexation, the new Korea was left without a government. The United Nations decided that the best solution was to split the Korean peninsula at the 38th parallel, put the Soviet Union in control of the North, the United States in control of the South, and to hold free democratic elections in both areas. The idea behind this was to set up a temporary government and eventually the two would merge. In the South, Syngman Rhee was elected while in the North, the Soviets ignored the United Nation’s plan, established a communist state, and put Kim Il-Sung in charge. (Young) “The war had begun with North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung 's desire to unify the peninsula under communist rule. Before WWII, the peninsula had been one

Korea was the Empire of Japan in 1910. In World War II, after the Japanese surrendered, the Unites States and the Soviet Union decided to break Korea into two countries. They are now known as North and South Korea. The North was occupied by the Soviet Union, and the South was occupied by the United States. North Korea, Democratic Peoples Republic Government, has a population of around 23 million people, who’s under control by one man, Kin-Jun-Un. Kin-Jun-Un, a dictator that has absolute power over his country, has guided his country to unfair treatment, violent actions, and a lot of conflicts with the Unites States.

Following the end of World War II in 1945, a conflict arose between North and South Korea, sucking in the United States into war in order to protect its influence abroad. In the article America Becomes the World's Policeman: 1950, Richard Schwartz provides an explanation of events that led to Korean reinstatement as an independent nation from Japanese rule, division, and rise to conflict. Divided at the 38th parallel, Korea split into communist North Korea and capitalist South Korea. North Korean leader Kim Il Sung pledged to dissolve the 38th parallel uniting North and South

The Soviet’s attempt at gaining control and thus, making a new nation a communist one, can be seen when Korea was split at the 38th Parallel. The top half, North Korea turned into a communist nation, while the bottom half, South Korea, remained as a Pro-Ally nation. This caused more tension with the spread of communism and an effort from the U.S. to stop this. Throughout this fight, North Korea and South Korea territory changed constantly based on who won battles. By the end of this Korean War, more than 50,000 troops were killed and the two nations remained split near the 38th

Under Yi Sŏng-Gye’s son King Sejong, considered Korea’s greatest ruler, inventions like the rain gauge, the use of a movable type, and the birth of Korean alphabet called Hangeul, still in use today, surfaced. (Piddock, 27-28) They ruled the entire peninsula for 500 years. Then Korea was annexed by neighbors Japan in 1910. Korea continued to be under Japan until 1945 when it was liberated at the end of World War II. (“North Korea”, Culturegrams) “With the defeat of Japan in 1945, the Allies agreed to divide the Korean Peninsula between the Soviet Union and the United States at the thirty-eighth parallel as a temporary measure.” (Piddock, 30) The Soviet Union received the Northern part of Korea, and the United States the South. “.. Soviet forces closed off northern Korea at the thirty-eighth parallel and placed Korean communists in power there.” Evidently, North Korea was bound to turn communist.

Korea has experienced Japanese encroachments for decades, however, up till the early 20th century, they have only experienced imperial encroachments from Japan. Starting from the early 20th century, Japan infiltrated Korea’s economy and tightened its grasp around Korea’s economic growth. Paek Namun was an important intellectual figure who analyzed the growth of Korea’s economy during the early 20th century. According to his The History of Korean Society and A Theory on the Present Stage of Korean Economy, “Korea was being ravaged by a social class conflict and an imperial conflict with Japan, which ultimately allowed for Japanese dominion over Korean economic progression” (Namun, pg. 107). The National Reconstruction movement began with Yi

"South Korea is a country with a population of 50,924,172 and counting" ("The World Factbook: KOREA, SOUTH"). It is a nation that has been the center of many tug-of-wars. It is a nation that has had to fight in order to survive independent. Years ago, no one thought much of this country. So what is it about this little place now, that sets it apart and breaks it out of the mold of just another Asian country? Though South Korea may be a small country, the style of cuisine, community culture, and generosity are just

South Korea and Japan have had a close relationship from ancient history to the present day. Because of this reason, their economic growth and development have similarities and disparate differences. This paper will discuss some of the two countries’ major characteristics including geographic, social, and political characteristics and look at their histories and economies.

At the end of World War II, Korea was a poor former agricultural colony of Japan. But the rapid growth of Korea’s industrial economy has been remarkable. The economy of South Korea is now the third-largest in Asia and the 13th largest in the world by GDP as of 2007. To trace back the economic development of South Korea, the former president Park Chung-Hee played a pivotal role, and was credited for shifting its focus to export-oriented favoring a few large conglomerates. Unlike his predecessors, Park showed a strong commitment to economic development, believing good economic performance as a primary means for enhancing his political legitimacy. Under the President Park Chung-Hee’s era, the government played a dominating role in a