North Korea

A very brief history of Korea
from 2333BC to AD 1910, Korea was self-ruled as a series of empires

• often work with China
• often didn't get along with Japan
• known as the "Hermit Kingdom" during the 19th century (very isolated)

1910 - 1945: Korea was occupied by Japan
then came World War 2


A little more Korean history...
Japan is defeated in WWII
in 1947, UN divides Korea into two halves at the 38th parallel
Soviet Union administers thhe nothern half
United States administers the southern half
supposed to be temporary...

 

Division of Korea
USSR and US could not agree on how Korea would be governed
Soviets set up a Communist gov't in the North, ruled by Kim Il-Sung
Americ set up apro-Western, democratic gevernment in the South
each side thought they should rule, leading to the Korean War (1950-1953)
total number killed : 2.5million (36,940 US)

 

Two nations, completely divided
North Korea

• Democratic People's Republic of Korea
• Capital : Pyongyang
• totalitarian Stalinist dictatorship
• single-party state
• cult of personality

Kim Il sung (1948-1994) "Great Leader"
Kim Jong il (1994-2011) "Dear Leader"
Kim Jong un (2011-now) "Great Successor"

• Juche ideology, Songon policy

and, to the South....
South Korea

• Republic of Korea
• capital: Seoul
• presidential republic
• very high standard of living
• fourth-largest economy in Asia
• president: Lee Myung Bak (2008-now)

Economic geography, developed vs. developing nations, and quality of life

Examples of technology creating demand
-Some new technologies have created a demand for a particular natural resources.
-Steam engines need coal
-Internal combustion engines need gas.
-marking computer

Costs and benefits from using natural resources
-Costs
Resource depletion
Environmental destruction
Health problems

Costs and benefits from using natural resources
-Benefits
Help us produce goods and services
Creates employment opportunities
Helps develop new technologies

The effects of unequal distribution of resources
-Because resources are distributed unequally around the world it causes several things to happen
-Interdependence of nations;countries must trade with each other to acquire the goods they do not possess

The effects of unequal distribution of resources cont.
-Uneven economic development (rich and poor countries)
-Energy producers and consumers
-Imperialism (one country domination another)
-Conflicts over control of resources

Differences between developing and developed nations
-Developed nations have better access to natural and capital resources
-Developed nations have more investment in technology and have created better infrastructure

Differences between developing and developed nations cont.
-Developed nations have more skilled labor
-Developed nations have a higher level of economic development
-Developed nations have a higher standard of living and a higher quality of life

What are the indicators of economic development
-Development nations are generally urban
-Most people in developed nations work in secondary and tertiary areas

What are the indicators of economic development cont.
-Most developed nations have a high GDP
-Most developed nations have a highly educated population

Indicators of standard of living and quality of life
High standard of living and high quality of life IF;
-literacy rate is high
-life expectancy rate is high percentage of urban population is high
-infant mortality is low

Video

When you buy something at a big-box retailer, do you read the label to find out the country of origin?
-We can find the China, Thailand, Malaysia... 

Would that influence your purchasing decisions?
-Those countries have low labor cost than other countries. If, some object produced in that country, the object' cost going to be low. Some people show different opinions about China, Thailnad, and Thailand. But some people want to get something more cheaper.

Monday's Class

 Correlations

• There seems to be a correlation between the tertiary and the GDP per captia because the countries that have mostly tertiary tend to have a higher GDP per captia.
• There are also seems to be a correlation between the amount of primary and the GDP per captia because those countries with a low GDP seem to have mostly primary level jobs

Economic Geograph Presentation

Today' class, some group had a presentation about Economic Geograph.
Part of the presentation, The important thing is Clean coal and Deforestration.
Deforestration is the conversation of the forested areas to nonforested areas.
And the clean coal is an umbrella term used primarily to describ technologies that may reduce emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas that arise form the burning of coal for electrical power.
And we also have more presentation in next class.

Economic Geography

We are learning about Economic Geography, that is such as a natural resources, nonrenewable resources, human resources, and capital resources. In my group, we supposed to research about fossil fusels. I think that fossil fuels is most important resources in our life. So we should know about that.

Economic Geography

Natural Resources
-Renewable resources will replace themselves over time
  example : soil, water, and forests

Nonrenewable Resources
-Nonrenewable resources are resources that will not replace themselves,
once they are used, they are GONE
  example : fossil fuels(oil, coal, natural gas), and metals(gold, iron, copper, and bauxite)

Human Resources
-Human resources : People and their minds
-Human resources are affected by level of education, skilled or unskilled labor, and if managerial or entrepreneurial abilities are needed

Capital Resources
-Capital resources are resources that can be used to make more of something, like money or tools
-Key features of capital are the availability of money for lending, the level of infrastructure, the availability and use of tools, machines, and technologies

Three levels of economic activity
-Primary Activities - dealing directly with natural resources
  example : fishing, farming, mining, and forestry
-Secondary Activities - manufacturing and processing of natural resources
  example : steel mills, automobile assembly, sawmills

3rd Level of Economic Activity
-Tertiary Activities - service industries
  example : transportation, retail trade, informational technology services

Energy resources and technology as they have changed over time
-wood - deforestation
-coal - pollution, mining problems, competition with oil and gas
-petroleum(oil, gas) - transportation and environmental considerations

Energy resources and technology as it has changed over time. cont.
-Nuclear - contamination, disposal of waste
-Solar or Wind - cost, aesthetics