Transcript South Korea

By Eeshana Hamed
South Korea is one of the most important
places that is known for technology. Korea
has a great population and its capital Seoul is
one of its largest cities with a population of
over ten million.
Korean is the official language of South Korea as
well as one of the two official languages in
China's Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.
About 78 million people speak Korean worldwide.
For over a millennium, Korean was written with
adapted Chinese characters called hanja, and also
punctuation systems like hyangchal, gugyeol, and
idu. In the 15th century, a national writing system
called hangul was commissioned by Sejong the
Great, but it only came into use in the 20th
century, because of the yangban aristocracy's
preference for hanja.
Religion in South Korea is very diverse. The majority of
the population does not have any religious
connections. Christian groups (Roman Catholics,
Protestants, and others) represent 26 percent of the
people, Mahayana Buddhists another 26 percent,
Confucianists 1 percent, and other religions are 1
percent. Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism,
Chondogyoism, and Korean Shamanism (the original
religion of the Korean people) are the traditional
religions of the country and have played an important
role in shaping the main rules of the people of South
Korea.
One thing South Koreans do is gift giving. Gift giving is common in South
Korean society, where gifts reflect the consideration and thoughtfulness of
the giver. They also have holidays which are very similar to ours. They are
like the Korean version of American holidays and here are some:
Sinjeong (International New Year’s Day), Seollal/Seol-nal (Lunar New Year),
Jeongwol Daeboreum (Great Full Moon), Samil Jeol (March 1st
Movement), Labor Day, Eorininal (Children’s Day), Seongtanjeol (Christmas
Day), Jungyangjeol/ Junggu (Buddha’s Birthday) etc. Korean cuisine shows
some similarities to Japanese and Chinese cooking, but the overall flavor
of Korean dishes are stronger. Many dishes are prepared simply with few
ingredients. As is to be expected on a peninsula, fish and seafood are the
most popular sources of protein. The traditional clothes for the south
koreans were the top part called a jeogori is blouse-like with long sleeves
with the men's version being longer, stretching down to the waist. Women
wear skirts (chima) while men wear baggy pants (paji). Common people
wore white, except during festivals and special occassions such as
weddings. Clothes for the upper classes were made of bright colors.
South Korea over the past four decades has shown incredible growth to
become a high-tech industrialized economy. In the 1960s, GDP per capita
was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. In
2004, South Korea joined the trillion dollar club of world economies, and
currently is among the world's 20 largest economies. At first, a system of
close government and business ties, including directed credit and import
restrictions, made this success possible. The government encouraged the
import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer
goods, and encouraged savings and investment over consumption. The
Asian financial crisis of 1997-98 showed longstanding weaknesses in South
Korea’s development model including high debt/equity ratios and massive
short-term foreign borrowing. GDP plunged by 6.9% in 1998, and then
recovered by 9% in 1999-2000. Korea got many economic reforms
following the crisis, including greater openness to foreign investment and
imports. Growth got better to about 4% annually between 2003 and 2007.
With the global economic downturn in late 2008, South Korean GDP
growth slowed to 0.3% in 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, the economy
began to recover, in large part due to export growth.
The political system of South Korea is based on a
Republic form of government with the President
as Chief of the State and Prime Minister as the
Head of Government. Powers of the government
is shared between the executive, legislature and
judiciary. The Cabinet includes a council of
ministers who are appointed by the President on
the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The
political system of South Korea continues to
suffer from the aftermath of several years
authoritarian rule.
The Korean public education structure is divided into
three parts: six years of primary school, followed by
three years of middle school and then three years of
high school. In 1996 only about five percent of Korea's
high schools were boys and girls together. The
proportion of coeducational schools has increased by
almost ten percent. However, classes in many
coeducational high schools are still divided along
gender lines. The curriculum is standardized so now
both boys and girls study technology and domestic
science. South korea also has a very high ranking for
education
The nation is divided for a number of reasons today, the music of
Korea can be divided in a number of ways: ancient and modern;
court, aristocratic, and folk; Confucian, Buddhist, and Shamanist. As
a result of its long history, the music of South Korea celebrates
ancient traditions while also reflecting influences of its Asian
neighbors and the West. Buddhism has been a great source of
inspiration for Korean artists and the examples of the outstanding
Korean artwork and architecture are seen in Buddhist temples and
paintings .The earliest examples of Korean painting can be found on
the walls of tombs in Manchuria. Paintings in Korea were
traditionally forgotten to celebrate nature or religious themes. In
the 18th century some artists deviated from the norm and started
presenting in pictures the dramatic landscape or daily life. Korean
artists were introduced to Western oil painting at the time of
Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945. Contemporary South
Korean artists incorporate the western style with classical Korean
styles and themes, to create work of genius and originality.
Officially known as the Republic of Korea, South
Korea has transformed itself over the last sixty
years from an underdeveloped society to a
vibrant industrialized nation. Government
policies accelerated science and technology
developments. South Koreas technology is
better than ours right now and they have
much faster internet service than we do.
For recreation they play a lot of sports. Some
like martial art tae kwon do and traditional
belt wrestling are practiced nationally in the
country. There are professional baseball and
football (soccer) leagues like the red devils.
The country’s system of national parks attracts
large numbers of hikers, campers, and skiers.
Fun facts
+ south koreas national sport is taekwando
+ they love shopping
+ The South Korean diet is perfect for good health and staying slim.
+ the taxis are colour coded
+ a traditional Korean roof curves up with a smile
+ Tipping is not required in Korea.
+ Because of the high level of rain, fruit in Korea is very expensive. A
watermelon is about $30,000 won – about $26.50 in US dollars.
+ Many people in Seoul live in high-rise, high-tech apartments; some
of them have robots to do the housework.
+ You can have custom phone rings on house phones, not just cell
phones, and many people do.
Buddhism
Holidays
Christianity
Food
Education
Art
Music
Technology
Traditional clothing for men and women
Recreation
Political map
Physical map