Research Essay: North Korea and South Korea
Throughout the history of politics, our societies have encountered a large variety of different political and governing systems. From systems in which idealists introduced to our world, believing that they are capable of letting the world function and operate in a more efficient manner came two of the most popular political ideologies that most would recognize. They are known as democracy and communism. Even now during the twenty-first century, issues relating to the struggle between these two beliefs are still rising in different regions of the world where people are demanding more freedom. Knowing that both democracy and communism are pretty much the total opposite extremes of the other, often we hear events in which democratic countries such as the United States attempting to spread their political principles into other non-democratic areas. An interesting place to look at would be North Korea and South Korea, a place under the same name but ruled in totally opposite fashion as the North seems to valued control, while the South seems to valued freedom. Although people nowadays always encourage and promote individual rights and freedom, does democracy really allow a more efficient governing process? Or are the ways of communist still holding certain advantages over the idea of individualism? Perhaps a more in-depth look into the difference in North and South Korea¡¦s political system would bring answers to this question.
In a certain Point of view, Korea has 2 distinctive Political cultures and values. Starting off with South Korea, or the ¡§Republic of Korea¡¨, the political culture of South Korea is a mix of native, Chinese and Western elements. These elements includes things such as the ¡§belief that human society was an integral part of the whole universe interrelated with it in maintaining order and harmony¡¨, ¡§acceptance of harmony, order, and consensus as major political values and purposes.¡¨, ¡§preference for decision-making by consensus, rather than by majority vote or force of arms; yet at the same time, unwillingness to compromise on matters perceived to involve principle¡¨, ¡§emphasis on form and procedure, as well as substantive performance, as key elements in maintaining order¡¨, and a lot more1. In a certain points of view, South Korea¡¦s values are opposite to man...
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...created and designed by Oldrich Kyn.. 2002. .
17) ¡§South and North Korea.¡¨ ECONOMIC COUNTRY COMPARISONS , Site created and designed by Oldrich Kyn.. 2002. .
18) ¡§South and North Korea.¡¨ ECONOMIC COUNTRY COMPARISONS , Site created and designed by Oldrich Kyn.. 2002. .
Bibliography
1. Robert E. Bedeski. The Transformation of South Korea: Reform and reconstitution in the Sixth Republic Under Roh Tae Woo, 1987-1992. New York: Routledge, 1994.
2. John Kie-Chiagn Oh. Korea: Democracy on Trial. London: Cornell University Press, 1968.
3. Park Chung Hee. Our Nation¡¦s Path: Ideology of Social Reconstruction. West Gate: Dong-a Publishing Company, Ltd., 1966.
4. Ilpyong J. Jim. Communist Politics In North Korea. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975.
5. Donald Stone Macdonald. The Koreans: Contemporary Politics and Society. Boulder & London: Westview Press, 1988.
6. Oldrich Kyn. ¡§South and North Korea.¡¨ ECONOMIC COUNTRY COMPARISONS. 2002.
Blaine Harden, former national correspondent and writer for the New York Times, delivers an agonizing and heartbreaking story of one man’s extremely conflicted life in a labor camp and an endeavor of escaping this place he grew up in. This man’s name is Shin Dong-hyuk. Together, Blaine Harden and Shin Dong-hyuk tell us the story of this man’s imprisonment and escape into South Korea and eventually, the United States, from North Korea. This biography that takes place from 1982-2011, reports to its readers on what is really going on in “one of the world’s darkest nations” (back cover of the book), that is run under a communist state and totalitarian dictatorship that was lead by Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, and currently lead by Kim-Jong un. In Escape from Camp 14, Shin shows us the adaptation of his life and how one man can truly evolve from an animal, into a real human being.
Pearson, Lester B. "Documents on the Korean Crisis." University of Manitoba. January 24, 1951. http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/canada_war/tribune/website/clippings/korea/Documents_on_the_Korean_Crisis1.shtml (accessed December 18, 2011).
Pash, Melinda L. In the Shadow of the Greatest Generation: The Americans Who Fought the Korean War. New York: New York UP, 2012. Print. 141, 150, 154-5.
Delisle, Guy, and Helge Dascher. Pyongyang: a journey in North Korea. Montréal, Quebec: Drawn & Quarterly ;, 2007. Print.
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.
Caraway, Bill. "A New Relationship." Korea in the Eye of Tiger. Copyscape, 16 Dec. 2006. Web.
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.
Soh, C. S. (2001). South Korea. In C. R. Ember & M. Ember (Eds.), Countries and Their Cultures (
Relations between the United States and North Korea have been unstable since the second world war and with each passing decade the relations have become more tense. The U.S has never have formal international relations with North Korea , however the conflict has caused much controversy in U.S foreign policy. North Korea has been the receiver of millions of dollars in U.S aid and the target of many U.S sanctions. This is due to the fact that North Korea is one of the most oppressive regimes on the planet, that uses unjust techniques such as murder, torture, and starvation to get their citizens to be obedient. They restrict contact from their citizens to the outside world, through censorship of technology and rarely allowing visitors to the country. The root of the US-North Korea conflict however ,has been on the basis of nuclear weapons and North Korea threatening to use those weapons against the U.S and neighboring South Korea. The U.S and other nations have been working for the last few decades to stop the regime from purchasing and utilizing destructive nuclear weapons.
This book is pieced together in two different efforts, one which is to understand the latter history of the post-1945 era with its political liberalization and rapid industrialization period, while at the same time centering its entire text on the question of Korean nationalism and the struggle against the countless foreign invasions Korea had to face. The purpose of this book was composed to provide detailed treatment of how modern Korea has developed with the converged efforts of top eastern and western scholars who wanted to construct a fair overview of Korea's complicated history. Also, the writers wanted to create an updated version of Korea's history by covering the contemporary arena up to the 1990's. The ...
Communist North Korea continues to be an underdeveloped country while South Korea continues to prosper in all areas such as technology, and agriculture. These two countries have vast differences with their political and government views. North Korea at one point was influenced by the Soviet Union but no longer. However, North Korea continues to be influenced by and receive aid from China. South Korea continues to be influenced by the United States of America. North Korea is governed and controlled by a dictatorship, which has complete control over media and social
Steinberg, David I., and Donald N. Clark. "Review of The Kwangju Uprising: Shadows over the Regime in South Korea." The Journal of Asian Studies 47.3 (1988): 662-63. Print.
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.
The negotiations talking on the nuclear threaten and the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula has recently shaped the agenda of North Korean system of international relations, thus affecting the patterns of foreign policy of the DPRK. This issue has gained such a priority to lead to the establishment of the 6PT experiment, thus proving to stand at the core of the debate on the stability and safety debate in the Northeast Asia region.
Spalding, Roger. “The Communist Manifesto.” History Review (2000): 8. General OneFile. Web. 4 February 2010.