Korea, located on the Korean Peninsula in North-East Asia, consists of two separate states – North Korea and South Korea. What makes it a peninsula is the fact that it has the Yellow Sea on its western coast, the East China Sea on it southern coast, and the Sea of Japan on its eastern coast. Its neighbors, and only land access, are China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast. Occupying a land mass of over 84,000 square miles, Korea has a mixture of plains, mountains, and coastlines. The combination of such varied geography provides many elements to consider when analyzing Korea’s physical environment. This essay will seek to provide a general understanding of the geography, climatology, and biogeography of the components that make up Korea’s physical environment.
Geography
The northern and eastern part of the Korean Peninsula terrain is covered with both high and low mountains. Baekdudaegan, the mountain range that runs along the eastern portion of the peninsula, contains some of the highest elevations in Korea. Mount Sobaek, Mount Kumgang, Mount Seorak, Mount Taebaek, and Mount Jiri are all part of the Baekdudaegan mountain range. Just north of this chain of mountains, through which the border with China runs, is Mount Paektu, the highest mountain in Korea. Running in a northwesterly direction, and very much perpendicular to the Baekdudaegan mountain range, are a series of lower mountains. Though most of Korea’s mountains were formed by volcanic activity there are no active volcanoes in Korea. However, the existence of hot springs throughout the peninsula serves as an indicator to low-level volcanic activity.
With almost seventy percent of the Korean Peninsula covered in mountains, rivers and plains become the secondary p...
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...ng and drastic weather changes cause havoc on the peninsula. Taking into consideration forestall and wildlife situations in Korea makes it clear to understand why they would incline themselves toward a more industrialized way of life
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The Takeshima/Dokdo Island, also known as the Liancourt Rocks by other nations, is an island that is located 215km away from mainland Korea while and is also located 250km away from Japan and has been a very well known cause for Japan and Korea to fight over. The two countries have been arguing against one another trying to declare that the island actually belongs to them, rather than trying to find peaceful talks of resolving such an issue. Such dispute did not occur in recent years, but has been going on for decades, from the Japanese declaring annexation in the early 1900s until today, where the current Korean president does not feel there i...
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.
Blij, H.J. de , Peter O. Muller, Jan Nijman, and Antoinette M.G.A WinklerPrins. The World Today Concepts and Regions in Geography. Fifth Edition ed. United States of America: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2011. Print.
The land of the morning calm, this was what Korea was called many years ago. Unfortunately, circumstances have changed. Korea is now no longer a single country but has been split into two parts; North Korea and South Korea.
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The book I chose for this book review assignment is titled Korea Old and New: A History by author Carter J. Eckert along with other contributing authors Ki-baik Lee, Young Ick Lew, Michael Robinson and Edward W. Wagner. The book is published at Korea Institute, Harvard University in 1990. The book consists of 418 pages and it is more of a survey of Korean history and reference type of book, rather than selected readings on modern Korean politics. I chose this book because it is a complete survey of Korean history from the ancient Choson period up to the economic boom of the 1990's, a span of over 2000 years. Each chapter covers a different period, but they all share the same organization of describing the social, cultural, political, philosophical and scholarly aspects of the period in respective subsections. This made it easier to later refer to previous chapters and compare different periods in order to learn the comprehensive history of Korea.
From Korean Pop stars to dramas, South Korea has it going on. It seems that there is not one Asian country that has not had the Korean Wave, a Chinese term given to South Korea referring to the exportation of their culture, completely wash over it. What started as an Asian sensation, the Korean Wave is now beginning to spread globally, ranking South Korea as one of the top countries known for its exportation of culture. Between music, television, and video games, South Korea’s economy is rapidly increasing as the world continues to fall in love with its entertainment industry.
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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.
South Korea is occupied by the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula which extends 680 miles from the Asian mainland. The mountainous regions on the sides of South Korea one by the Yellow sea to the west and the other by the Sea of Japan to the east. South Koreas total area is 38,462.49 square miles. It can also be divided into four general regions: an eastern region with high mountain ranges and some narrow coastal plains, river basins and rolling hills; a southwestern region filled with mountains and valley’s; and a southeastern region along the Nakdong River. Around 3,000 islands, mostly small and uninhabited lie off the western and southern coasts. The country’s largest island is Juju Island it is located about 60 miles off of the southern coast of South Korea. Jeju Island has an area of 712 square miles. The local climate of South Korea is relatively temperate with rain heavier in the summer during a short rainy season called ‘jangma’ and some winters that can be bitterly
Korean food is unique. It’s known for its spicy flavor and the use of other seasonings to enhance the taste. Dishes are usually flavored with a combination of soy sauce, red pepper, green onion, bean paste, garlic, ginger, sesame, mustard, vinegar, and wine. The Korean peninsula is surrounded water on three sides, but connected to the Asian mainland. This environment contributes to the uniqueness of Korean cuisine. Seafood plays a very important role as do vegetables and livestock. Let’s examine three of the most common and famous types of Korean food.
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