South Korea

North Koreans think of it as a privilege. It’s the year 2015 and North Korea is still one of the most oppressed countries in the world, they lack in human rights and still have concentration camps while cutting all ties with the outside world. The oppression in North Korea has caused some people to believe it as some kind of joke when there are thousands of people suffering with no way out. When Kim II- Sung took over North Korea in 1948 after the split of the Korean War, he closed the…

policies on its formal colonies, Korea and Taiwan. It was at the apex of Woodrow Wilson’s call for national self-determination that several national independence movements were seen in colonies around the world, among which the March 1 Independent movement in Korea was one of the most fierce and brutal. Although the nature of colonialism in Korea remained the same, the propaganda was indeed changed, if only superficially, by calling for the unity of the Japan metropole and Korea colony as naisei…

Throughout this course we have not only gained factual knowledge about East Asia but also a framework that we can use to understand other countries and cultures around the world. To consider ourselves global citizens, we must have an understanding of the world and the way it works. From learning about the history of East Asia, we now have a better understanding of why it works the way it does today, and that makes us less ethnocentric and more empathetic toward others. This course has allowed me…

developed over the years to become very successful. Korea has made both cultural and technological advancements in the past years. But how could a vast peninsula, with very minimal resources become so successful? Did they have an influence? Were they guided by someone? Research suggests that Korea's success is related to China's rule over Korea and the influence China had on Korea after Korea’s independence. Until 926, China had ruled Korea. When Korea declared independence, China was not…

At the dawn of the 20th century, Korea experienced dramatic transformations in countless aspects such as politics, economy, and international affairs. Under the imperialist Japan’s coercion to adopt the Kanghwa Treaty, Korea had no choice but to open its doors to the outside world in February 1876. Behind this seemingly profitable arrangement for Korea lied Japan’s intention to take absolute control over its colony. Although the treaty provided Korean merchants with an open access to the global…

different economically, militaristically, and politically from the Koreans. The Korean economy was much better way back when, then it is now. The Koreans mainly thrived off of China as China started to make their country mainstream. China took over Korea at one point but when the Chinese realised that the Koreans didn’t have much, the Chinese gave the Koreans their land back along with multiple benefits and considered it as a treaty. Before the events of the takeover, the Koreans mainly thrived…

suffering of Korea under the Japanese colonial rule. During World War II, Japan annexed Korea and made its utmost effort to completely annihilate Korea’s national identity. Koreans were given Japanese names, attended Japanese schools, read Japanese books, and spoke Japanese. In the midst of Japan’s cultural sweep was an ordinary citizen, one with neither political power nor influential status, yet is now revered as one of Korea’s greatest poets. He was a poet not of Japan, but of Korea. Not of…

The language of the United States changed drastically once the Vietnam War began. At the start of the Cold War, the United States' society was caught in an age of consensus. During this time period, the people of the United States conformed to a certain normality which was widespread because of the Cold War. However, once the generation born in the age of consensus came of age, the age of dissent began. Through expanded education and literary works from the Left, the youth began to rebel against…

In the narrative entitled, Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, Barbara Demick focused on the fact that Chang-bo did not feel that the people in the government of the dictatorship were truthful, fair, or kind to the citizens. It also mentioned the consequences of the words that were spoken by him. On the other hand, his wife, Mrs. Song, felt as if the ways of the government were sufficient for the society, and that the officials in the government of the dictatorship were not being…

Although North Korea shares its border with South Korea on the Korean peninsula, the two countries could not be anymore polar opposite. Originally one united country, the separation of the two states along the 38th parallel due to the aftermath of World War II explains the different ideologies that came to found each country. It can be argued that North Korea is one of the world’s most secluded countries. Even in the present day, North Korea has an isolationist stance with the rest of the world…