North Korea

The question of Nuclear Proliferation must be qualified as to whether or not it depends on the proliferation of nuclear weapons or on the proliferation of nuclear energy facilities. In response to the first type of nuclear proliferation, which is the proliferation of nuclear weapons, the only resolution available to Japan on this matter is to actively participate in the lobbying against nuclear proliferation in the United Nations Security Council.

It has to take a definite stand and gain the support of other countries in preventing more countries from gaining the capability of manufacturing nuclear weapons. Peaceful negotiations with China and North Korea, which are the only nuclear weapon threats in the region, can also have the intended effect of coming at a peaceful resolution to this problem. With regard to the issue of nuclear capabilities, which may also lead to the manufacture of nuclear weapons, Japan must take a more direct role.

Japan has a lot technologies and techniques at its disposal to aid those countries that resort to nuclear energy to solve their energy crisis. The financial grants that Japan is willing to grant may act as deterrent for nuclear proliferation and instead encourage these energy challenged nations to seek eco-friendly and non-threatening sources of energy to address their needs. South Korea: Peaceful Resolution of the DPRK Nuclear Proliferation and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The only way to talk peace is to lead through a peaceful example. The nearest nuclear threat to South Korea is North Korea which has been aggressively testing or declaring that it has nuclear capabilities. The continued efforts at peaceful negotiations are the only way to attain the non-violent resolution that South Korea wants. To threaten a country that may have nuclear capabilities can lead to disastrous results because any sign of aggression could lead to North Korea’s use of whatever nuclear devices that it could have at its disposal.

South Korea must also be wary of accepting aid from any other parties that North Korea considers as threats of political enemies. While resort to the United Nations Security Council is indeed a viable option for South Korea, history has revealed that sanctions do not necessarily threaten North Korea. Instead North Korea has maintained that it is willing to use its nuclear weapons against anyone that tries to take any aggressive action against them. The key for South Korea is to conduct peaceful negotiations and adopt a maximum tolerance policy towards North Korea.

China: The Further Regulation of SALW (Small Arms and Light Weapons) Internationally. China as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council has quite an advantage in convincing the other nations and members of the United Nations to take a more active role in the regulation of Small Arms and Light Weapons internationally. China must also take measures to prevent the manufacture and distribution of SALW within its own borders as well; the unmonitored arms manufacturing that goes on within Chinese borders is one of the largest sources of these SALW.

By cracking down on these small manufacturing plants, China can drastically reduce the volume of SALW that is being produced. It can also take better measures to enforce the policies and also take a more active role in monitoring its borders, especially those that are near the Eastern European Bloc, Russia and the Middle East. This may not be easy for China to do, however, due to the enormity of its country and the lack of funding to police its own borders and industries. Philippines: support for measures to Decrease Human Trafficking

The problem of the Philippines is more economic than it is in Human Trafficking. The daily minimum wage of the Philippines is roughly US$ 4. Improving the living and working conditions of the people of the Philippines is one way of controlling the Trafficking in Humans that occurs within the country. The problem with the Philippines is that the economic situation is so poor that there is now a fine line between those who leave the country to find a better life voluntarily and those that have been trafficked. Improving the economic situation will greatly alleviate the situation for the Philippines.

While more police measures and tourism regulations are options for the Philippines, the problem remains to be the funding that is needed for police measures and the loss of badly needed revenue caused by tourism regulations. South Korea: Stop Human Trafficking in Asia South Korea is definitely in a better position to do something about the Human Trafficking problem in Asian because of the robust economy that South Korea has. From a geographical perspective, there is not much that South Korea can do to stop this problem.

South Korea, however, has the technology and the funds that are necessary to help the economic status of most of its neighbors. Sending financial aid or investing more in the Philippines will greatly help stop Human Trafficking because it will result in more jobs for the locals and raise the standards of living immensely. The only resolution for South Korea in this matter then lies in being able to encourage the growth of economic conditions within the area to deter the occurrence of Human tracking within the Asian Region.

Malaysia: Measures to eliminate International Terrorism International Terrorism is a problem that Malaysia may be too small to prevent. While there are arguably terrorist cells within the South East Asian region, the hotbed for these cells is not Malaysia but rather Indonesia. There is however a certain criteria for Malaysia that may help in taking measures to eliminate International Terrorism. The strong economy of Malaysia gives it the resources that it needs to fund any efforts that its neighbors are taking in order to address the issue.

Its membership in the ASEAN is also another key since it can ask for aid from the other members and encourage them to take more action against these terrorist groups within the area. Australia: United Nations Reform within the Security Council Australia is currently one of the emerging economies in the world and has gained more and more stature in the United Stations for its involvement in the Invasion of Iraq and the military support that it has been lending to the United States for its war on terror.

Australia makes a perfect candidate as a permanent member of the Security Council because of its military strength and active support of the military mobilizations and also because of its geographical location. The alliances that it has with some of the other permanent members of the Security Council such as the United States and the United Kingdom will certainly provide it with a lot leverage when it lobbies for reform within the Security Council of the United Nations. Indonesia: Energy Security for Developing Countries Indonesia possesses one of the world’s largest coasts.

The energy production potential of Indonesia is enormous. Its geographical location and unique topography give it the potential to not only produce a lot cheap tidal energy and geothermal energy but recent findings have also located oil deposits on the Indonesian Archipelago. This means that if Indonesia is able to tap into these energy reserves it will be able to generate a lot of energy that it can sell to its neighbors, most of them developing countries such as the Philippines. North Korea: supplementing Developing Countries with Energy

North Korea arguably has the nuclear technology needed to supplement the developing countries near it with the energy that they need in order to sustain economic growth. Instead of concentrating on the development of nuclear weapons, North Korea can greatly improve its economic status and the welfare of its citizens by shifting its nuclear production to the production of nuclear energy that it can sell to its neighbors. Its location on the Korean Peninsula gives it access to other countries on the continent and also to South Korea.

All of the developing countries within its area can gain from the nuclear energy that North Korea can produce once it diverts the nuclear production to nuclear energy production. This will greatly benefit North Korea and improve its economy. It is an ideal set up for developing countries because it spares them the costs of manufacturing energy plants and is ideal for North Korea because it has the basic components that are necessary to initiate such a shift. Singapore: Eliminating Illegal Drugs in the International Realm Singapore became the great nation that it is during the administration of Lee Kwan Yew.

The somewhat dictatorial methods of Lee Kwan Yew put many things in order in Singapore and have made it one of the cleanest and most habitable countries in the world. The Singaporean model of government could serve as an international model that could be effective in eliminating the drug problems on an international level. The economic stability and the absence of illegal dealings in drugs that Singapore has been able to sustain over the years is an status that the international community can hope to attain by modeling their policies against the Singaporean model.

Thailand: Support for Humanitarian mine action involvement Thailand is one of the most progressive countries within its immediate regional vicinity. The countries that neighbor Thailand are Cambodia and Vietnam. These countries are still riddled with thousands of unexploded and planted land mines. The problem for these countries however is that they lack the resources to begin the removal of these land mines. Thailand can help in this matter by providing these countries with the economic and technological assistance that they need in order to remove these mines.

Alternatively, Thailand can also use indirect method by encouraging trade with these countries in an effort to revitalize their economies and provide them with self-sustaining methods of funding that can help in the removal of these mines. New Zealand: Support for the UNAIDS audits and education program New Zealand is relatively remote island country that has very little infrastructure as caused by the economic depression that it suffered a few years ago. It has begun focusing on a knowledge economy in an effort to revitalize its economy. It needs the support of the UNAIDS however to succeed in this endeavor.

The key to resolving this problem lies in being able to reverse the “brain drain” problem thus assuring UNAIDS that whatever support is given to New Zealand will ultimately benefit the country and not just relocate to another place. 1Vietnam: Achieving the MGDs The Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations are aimed at improving the overall welfare of the world by the year 2015. In order for Vietnam to achieve these goals, it will need plenty of financial assistance from foreign lending institutions that are willing to take debt-for-nature swaps or debt-for-equity swaps.

For Vietnam to be able to achieve the MGD, it will need to promote economic growth in order to reduce unemployment and poverty. Investments in infrastructure and health care are also essential for Vietnam if it aims to achieve these goals. All of these however can only be achieved through the help of financial institutions and other countries that are willing to provide grants to Vietnam. It must also be important for Vietnam to secure these grants under favorable conditions so as not to unduly burden its fledgling economy.

Recently Weston-McEwen High School has added a new foreign-exchange student. Her name is Soyeong Lee and she is 16 years of age with a birth date of April 7th who came from Yongin, Korea which is an urban area and has a similar climate to Athena, Oregon. This decision was made because her school teacher and parents recommended Soyeong to expand her knowledge by experiencing the American culture.

The main reason for the decision was her ambition to learn the language while being here in which she studied for years in Korea; she said,” I struggled with the language at first, but now that I’m here it is a lot easier. ” Soyeong has made many friends while attending Weston-McEwen High School, and stated,” The students are very kind. ” One of Soyeong’s scariest or weirdest memories here was having a dream where American people she met here spoke Korean.

The Froese family chose Soyeong to be her hosts while she’s in America. There are many differences between the United States and Korea. Some of the biggest differences include: students in Korea attending school from eight in the morning to ten-o’clock at night, having almost no transportation except riding a lot of busses and taxis, teenagers not being able to drive until they are 20 years old, not being able to own a separate house (unless one is really wealthy) and living in apartments due to population.

Soyeong said that the schooling is very different and is taken more seriously. They also have to wear school uniforms and are not allowed to dye their hair or wear make-up. Being away from Korea may sound better to Americans, but Soyeong misses the food, family, and friends as she stated, “The food here is saltier and greasy”. Obviously this is a huge change for Soyeong, but she likes it here too. Most public schools in the United States allow students to wear make-up and dye their hair.

Koreans attend school seven more hours than Weston-McEwen High School and that is Soyeong’s favorite part about being here is having time to actually do activities. Soyeong’s main goal is to learn the full English language and make her understanding of the country better. Soyeong Lee will be attending Weston-McEwen High School until December of 2013 and plans on coming back as an adult to attend a private school in Los Angeles. We all hope your experience is great!

Future of North Korea Economy: Politics Over Economic Policy The terms starvation, isolation, totalitarianism, and nuclear ambitions combined would remind most people the hermit kingdom in East Asia, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and its Kim dynasty. After the demise of the aged dictator Kim Jong Il in December 2011, the country went through a period of mourning the death of their “beloved” Great General and, undergoing a power succession to his 29-year-old son, Kim Jong Un. He has been known to have attended a Swiss school in his childhood years, enjoying playing basketball and video games (Yan & Shubert, 2011).

However, even though many outsiders have a hopeful outlook on this young dictator to be somewhat liberal in both economic and political perspectives, analyzing the situation through levels of analysis suggests that he is unlikely to be any different than his predecessors. In fact, because maintaining the nation’s authoritarian Kim dynasty and communist political system is the most important objective for North Korea, he will probably continue to put low priority on economy, defying international norms as a totalitarian nation of a closed, rigidly planned economy.

The Three Levels Explained The levels-of-analysis is an approach conceptualized by Kenneth Waltz in his book Man, the State, and War to understand global politics through categorizing different factors shaping states’ behaviors (Ray, 2001). The approach can be categorized in to three levels: the individual level, which emphasizes the roles played by individual leaders, nation-state level, focusing on interaction between various actors under the nation’s political system and culture, and the system level, addressing distribution of power in the international system (Dorff, 2004).

Although levels-of-analysis problem, regarding limitation and vagueness of integrating units, is an ongoing issue according to James Lee Ray (2001), the levels can be integrated more simply in to a more structured and comprehensive analysis when they are considered as different explanatory variables of different location as in this case. Individual Level of Analysis

Kim’s past actions show that his main goal is consolidating and maintaining ultimate power through an authoritarian, inhumane method that closely resembles his father’s methods. His fondness for Michael Jordan and his chic, stylish wife may give the impression that he would adopt a more “open” leadership, but since succession, he has been ruthlessly eliminating anyone in his way of solidifying power within the ruling party, while also verbally and physically provoking South Korea.

Not long after ascending to the “throne”, he executed Kim Chol, vice minister of the army, with a mortar round for “reportedly drinking and carousing during the official mourning period after Kim Jong Il’s death” (Ryall, 2012). Moreover Klug (2012) reported that Ri Yong Ho, the military chief who was Kim’s mentor during the power transition and one of the key figures that the former leader relied upon, had also been removed from his position, for health reasons, this July.

Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analysis say that these replacements of influential military officers and purges of over a dozen senior officials are signs that the young dictator is reshuffling the cabinet to appoint people loyal to him, while also keeping check of any possible dissidents (Kim, 2012). In addition, Kim has clearly shown that he is not concerned with international norms when he reportedly played a major role in planning the shelling of South Korea’s territory, Yeonpyeong Island, a couple of years ago (Yang, 2012).

Statements threatening to attack South Korea and its key figures have also escalated in a harsher, specific tone after the change of leadership, even out threatening to send revolutionary armed forces to “reduce all the ratlike groups and the bases for provocations to ashes in three or four minutes, in much shorter time, by unprecedented peculiar means and methods of our own style” in April (Choe, 2012). Byman and Lind (2010) claim that these provocations help Kim to stoke popular nationalism, while strengthening his position within the military.

It has been only a few years since Kim entered politics, but these series of eliminating potentially threatening figures, including even those who have helped in smoothing the transition, and continuous provocation to the international society suggest that consolidating power through provocation and purging is the main focus of Kim on the individual level. Even if Kim Jong Un succeeds in gaining stable power, it is unlikely that he would be enthusiastic in bringing forth major economic reforms as expected by some analysts because such extensive reforms could undermine his authority as they would risk loyalty of the military and the party.

As Ben Ascione (2012) argues, unless the military becomes a major stake holder in economic reforms through generating profit instead of depleting huge amounts of North Korea’s budget, economic reforms will have to be pursued at the cost of the military first policy, which is a guideline his father, prioritizing the military in allocating resources to foster loyalty from the army by strengthening its position. Therefore, Kim would have to face dissatisfied military elites if he were to start expensive economic reforms.

He may have vowed to develop the economy, and rumors have spread that he will push through reforms allowing farmers to keep 30% of their yield, eventually replacing the state rationing system, but these reforms have been postponed numerous times, while the state has even officially denied any intent to reform and called the expectation “a foolish and silly dream” (“Where the Sun”, 2012). Nuclear aspiration is another major characteristic of Kim Jong Un that makes economic reforms unlikely in the near future as this deters the possibility of the army profiting from economy growth.

Pouring billions of national money into developing nuclear program can be traced back to more than half a century ago, when his grandfather had allegedly became intimidated by the United States placing nuclear-tipped Matador missiles in South Korea (Pincus, 2006). Kim Jong Un shares the same goal for developing nuclear weapons, showed by launching North Korea’s forth rocket, criticized by the international community as a disguise for developing long distance missile, while also declaring to launch once more this December (Ramstad, 2012).

North Korea’s drive for nuclearization has been condemned by the international society and resulted in a UN Security sanction that aim to deter North Korea from acquiring goods for its nuclear programs (Albright & Walrond, 2012). Therefore, since profiting from the military sector is nearly impossible without trade, which is difficult under current international sanctions unless Kim gives up nuclearization, heavy economic reform is a dangerous option for Kim if he wishes to heighten loyalty from the military to maintain power.

Nation-state Level of Analysis The unique culture and political system of North Korea combined with the military first policy create an environment where opposing the leader is almost impossible, resulting in an ideal political system for sustaining totalitarianism regime. After decades of propaganda, the juche ideology, emphasizing autarky, or self- sufficiency, and suryong ideology, which means “leader” and which idolizes the Kim family, have now become almost a religion for the North Korean people (Byman & Lind, 2010).

These ideologies have permeated every aspects of the closed society to an extent that many North Koreans are xenophobic, feeling strong hatred and disgust toward the United States and South Korea (Byman & Lind, 2010). According to Brian Myers (2010), North Korean math textbooks ask questions of ‘Three People’s Army soldiers rubbed out thirty American bastards. What was the ratio of the soldiers who fought? ’, while dictionaries and schoolbooks endorse students to call foreigners “muzzles” and “snouts”.

Myers continues on to say that these kinds of propaganda leads to form a culture of ethno-centric nationalism, where the North Korean people sincerely believe in their blood’s pureness and superiority over other races, while honoring their ‘great father’. South Koreans were shocked when they heard the news of the modernized looking North Korean cheering squad turning furious with tears when they saw a portrait of their ‘beloved father’ soaked in rain, running out of the bus to protect his face on the banner ad (Kum, 2003).

Even if the effects of propaganda might have weakened through the influx of South Korean movies and drama series, Ken E. Gause (2012) found that the state constantly conducts surveillance and investigation on ordinary citizens through various overlapping security organizations, which can even lead to execution of those who have been found to violate law and order, thereby effectively blocking the civilian sector from forming any opposition groups.

Government and military officials are no exceptions but are rather even more spied upon through organizations such as the Political Bureau and Military Security Command (Gause, 2012). On the other hand, the military first policy favoring the military serves to encourage loyalty from the group most needed to enforce power and stability. These conditions of propaganda, surveillance, and favoritism form a somewhat stable domestic politics, consisting of only the supreme leader and his favored military officials, that has lasted for three generations of dictatorship and seen by some, including Albright and Walrond, to last for ore. Moreover, these dimensions shaping the domestic cultural and political nature of North Korea act as countervail to economic reform, which cannot be successful if the state does not give up its military first policy and rigid rules. The ethno-centric nationalism promoted by the two ideologies deters many North Koreans from accepting their system to be a failure in comparison with democratic countries such as the United States and South Korea (Myers, 2010).

Thus, North Koreans would have greater utility from any minor improvements in standard in living through weak reforms. This would incentivize Kim to focus more on propaganda and security, while maximizing the use of propaganda to indoctrinate people of how successful the economic reforms, if any, were, thanks to the regime. This could be the reason why Kim Jong Un continuously emphasize that he will improve economy, but drags on doing much change.

Also, Un-Chul Yang found that momentum of economic reform diminishes because economics is strictly considered to be subordinate to politics, which leads to rejection of economic policies, no matter how rational they may be, if they challenge the authority of the supreme leader (2012). The two largest and only players in domestic politics, Kim and the military, due to the unique structure of the society, will thereby choose to continue the military first policy to conserve their power and maintain the totalitarian regime. System Level of Analysis

It is highly unlikely for North Korea to give up its only mean of leverage in international relations – nuclear weapons. Not only are they significant in building support from the military internally, they bolster North Korea’s stance more than any other weapon in the power and legitimacy struggle with its South Korea (Byman ; Lind, 2010). Moreover, the weapons allow North Korea to have an upper hand in negotiations for food, energy, and other economic assistance with other major powers. They even incentivized its only ally, China, to bribe the country with cash and energy aids to just sit them down at the negotiating table (Kim, 2006).

Because of these power incentives, North Korea will be more unwilling to give its nuclear ambitions up, leading to further economic sanctions from the international society, while North Korea would try to maximize its gains from utilizing the leverage to compensate for the loss from sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council. David Albright and Christina Walrond (2012) says that China continues to be a major loop hole of this international sanction, giving North Korea plenty of opportunities to secure resources for developing its nuclear program.

Albright and Walrond (2012) also predicts in their ISIS report that North Korea’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment efforts will continue, and succeed in building at least 28 nuclear weapons by 2016. Therefore, as North Korea’s nuclear programs continue rather successfully regardless of international condemn, it is ironically rational for North Korea to keep its economy closed and planned to strengthen its power, stability, and leverage in international relations. Conclusion and Future Perspectives

In conclusion, Kim Jong Un’s own motivations to hold power, the unique political system and culture of North Korea, and rational choices that the country should make to win the power struggle would all act in favor for a closed, planned economy. Unlike South Korea and other democratic nations where the economic situation greatly influences politics, North Korea have been steered by the regime for so long that everything including economy now depends only on the government.

Hence, despite recently being named as the ‘sexiest man’ of the year 2012 by The Onion, Kim Jong Un would also remain an unappealing Kim for his democratic counterparts. The major stakeholders including the Unites States, South Korea, and China should continue to negotiate with North Korea to convince them that their gain from opening up is greater than following their traditional acts of provocation. Also, China should not allow North Korea to exploit its weak implementation of export controls and should bind to the U. N.

Security Council’s sanction to put greater pressure on North Korea. Even though future prospective is still dark in the current situation, more intimate negotiation and actions of responsibility from Beijing could result in positive news in the future. References Albright, D. , & Walrond, C. (2012, August 16). North Korea’s estimated stocks of plutonium and weapon-grade uranium. Institute for Science and International Studies. Retrieved from http://isis-online. org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/dprk_fissile_material_p

Korea is divided country of eastern Asia. It occupies a peninsula, about 450 miles (725 km) in length, between the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. China and a tip of the Soviet Union border Korea on the north. The nearest Japanese islands are about 30 miles (48 km) away, in the Korea Strait. Since 1945, Korea has been divided into two political units—the Democratic people’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). They are separated by a demilitarized zone, about 2 ½ miles (4km) in width, along the armistice line established in 1953 at the close of the Korean War.

The total area (including the demilitarized zone) is 85,049 square miles (20, 538 km2) and South Korea 38,025 square miles (98, 484 km2). This paper intents to: (1) know the physical geography of Korea; (2) understand the culture and customs of the country; (3) be acquainted on how basic human needs are met (types of careers, vocations, jobs, average yearly); (4) be aware of their language, religion, education, and types of food in their diets; (5) know about their television, newspapers, and other media and; (6) know its cultural differences related to the expected roles of men & women. In terms of land, the Korean Peninsula has rugged, mountainous terrain, with barely one-fifth of its surface in lowlands or plains. Few of the mountains are high compared to those of some other Asian countries, but they are so extensive that there are few places in Korea where mountains cannot be seen.

Rivers are generally short, winding, and fast-flowing. A few streams drain northward into the Yalu or Tumen rivers. Among the larger rivers are the Taedong, the Han, and the Kum. With some exceptions, the climate resembles that of the eastern seaboard of the United States from Maine to the Carolinas. There are sharp contrasts between the seasons, with cold winters and warm, humid summers. The climate is strongly affected by seasonal monsoons. In winter, cold dry air flows out of Siberia, dropping average temperatures over most of the peninsula (McCann, 2000).

Distinct styles of living have emerged over the centuries and in much of Korea remain unchanged. The typical house in rural Korea is a two- to four- room structure with walls of clay or pounded earth and a thatched roof. Windows are small and may be of semi-transparent paper rather than glass. There is a crude outhouse but no bathing facilities. Water is obtained from a well often a village well. Most rural dwellings do not have electricity. Houses of the urban middle class and of well-to-do Koreans have walls of stucco, often with red and blue painted designs and perhaps a stone or cement foundation.

Windows are of glass, sometimes set in fancy wooden frames, and roofs are tiled. Toilet facilities may be inside, but Western-style plumbing is rare. There may be a running outlet in the courtyard, but seldom inside the house. New housing mostly deviates from this traditional pattern, in the direction of the bungalow and other Western styles (McCann, 2000).  There is a considerable residue to Japanese-style homes, and many wealthier people live in essentially Western-style houses, though with some Korean or Japanese features. There are few apartment buildings.

Principal national holidays are New Year’s Day, Samil Day (March 1, the anniversary of the 1919 independence), Constitution Day (July 17), Liberation Day (August 15) and many traditional festive days are still celebrated by some Koreans, especially the older generation in the countryside. Chief of these are the birthday of Buddha on April 8 and tano on May 5 (celebrated by feasting).

South Korea’s economy was largely agricultural at the time of the Korean War, when much damage was inflicted on the nation. Reconstruction and recovery were rapid after the war, in part because of large amounts of economic aid from the United States and other nations. In the early 1960’s industry began to grow rapidly; by the mid-1980 and at present, South Korea had become one of the world’s chief exporters of manufactured goods. While on the other hand, with the division of Korea after World War II North Korea acquired most of the mineral resources, hydroelectric dams, manufacturing plants, and industrial facilities developed during the Japanese occupation. Much damage was quickly repaired with aid from the Soviet Union and other Communist nations (Yi, 2001).

Moreover, the South Korean government played a major role in directing and developing the economy, particularly through central planning and direct and indirect control of many manufacturing industries and banking. Rapid industrial development was also aided by large investments of capital and technology from the United States and Japan and by an abundance of skilled, cheap labor. Though few in number, corporate conglomerates—called chaebols— produce most of the nation’s goods and services.

At present, there are various jobs which South Korea has offered to its people especially it is an industrialized nation and many investors invested their capital aside from agriculture, fishing, lumbering and mining. While it North Korea, all industry is nationalized, agriculture is collectivized, and the entire economy is rigidly planned. North Korea’s total output of goods and services is roughly one-third to one-fourth that of South Korea’s (Yi, 2001). Soviet technical and financial aid has played a major role in the development of North Korea’s economy.

The Korean language is believed to be unrelated to any known tongue. There is, however, a strong infusion of Chinese words in the vocabulary. A phonetic alphabet—originally 28, now 24 letters—has been in use since 1443.

Korea’s principal religions are Buddhism, Christianity, and Chondokyo (a native faith combining elements of Christianity and Buddhism). Korean ethics and morals are also shaped by Confucianism, which is not strictly a religion in the Western sense. Shamanism is strong in some rural areas. North Korea largely represses religious practices.

In South Korea, education is free and compulsory through six years of primary school, which begins at age six. It is followed by three years of middle school and then three years of high school. The chief institution of higher learning is Seoul National University. In North Korea, education is free and compulsory through five years of primary school (which begins at age six), four years of middle school, and two years of high school. The major institution of higher learning is Kim II sung University at Pyongyang.  Technical education and the teaching of Communist ideology are stressed in North Korean education (Yi, 2001).

Moreover, Korean people are known to be fond of noodles, rice, meats and vegetables. Steamed rice is the main dish of any Korean meal, so much so that the word for cooked rice, pap, has come to mean “food” or “meal”. Rice is eaten together with a variety of side dishes (panchan), the most basic of which is kimchi, a fermented saladlike food prepared mostly from a white radish (mu) and Chinese cabbage (paechu). Soups are frequently served and usually contain seaweed or chunks of meat or fish. Korean dishes typically are very highly seasoned. Beef and pork are the common table meats, chickens being something of a delicacy (Caldwell, 2004).

Publishing. The daily press of South Korea is predominantly concentrated in Seoul. Leading Seoul papers are the Dong-A Ilbo, Chosan Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, and Kyunghyang Sinmun. The first two were founded in 1920 and boast proud records as voices of Korean nationalism. The Korean press is noted for detailed economic reporting, although it is often biased in favor of government policy. It is also depends on one semi-official news agency for foreign coverage. The Pusan Ilbo and the Taego Maeil Sinmun are prominent provincial papers (Schmid, 2002).

More than one thousand periodicals are published regularly in South Korea, many devoted to business topics. Popular Arts and Entertainment. Radio is dominated by the government’s Korean Broadcasting System, with three main and 39 affiliated local stations. Of 12 private stations, four are owned and operated by Christian groups (Schmid, 2002).

The native film industry is very largely a development of period since 1945. A great many foreign films, especially American, are imported, and they draw four fifths of the movie audience. Korean filmmakers contribute an annual domestic production of about 100 titles.

Marriage in the old Korea was arranged by the parents through a go-between, and the most important consideration was the social standing of the bridegroom’s family. In yangban, or upper class, families it was customary for boys to be married when they reached 12 or 13, sometimes even earlier, in many cases to girls in the late teens.

This custom has entirely changed, and men often are 30 or more before they can undertake the financial responsibilities of marriage. Social pressure still requires girls to marry relatively early. Marriage within the same clan is still forbidden by law. Concubinage is far less common today than it was in the past, but it is not rare for a man simply desert his wife for another woman (Caldwell, 2004). Women may now have recourse to the divorce court, though at the risk of social opprobrium.

Nowadays, Korea is one of the most admired countries. Its people are really working hard to make their country more progressive and developed. The sciences are still in their fancy. There is an advanced of experimental technique, and facilities for scientific education and are research are improving.