Transcript Japan & the Koreas Chapter #28

Japan & the Koreas
Chapter #28
I. Japan
A. Physical Geo:
Four main islands:
Hokkaido
Shikoku
Kyushu
Honshu
– Most populated island in Pacific
70% of area is mountainous
Commercial forestry is LIMITED!
Lies on a subduction zone
Earthquakes that lead to…
Tsunamis =
– Large sea waves (“Harbor wave”)
No major natural or energy resources
Oil & Coal?
Led to empire expansion (WWII)
Earthquake: March 11, 2011,
8.9 magnitude w/tsunami
Video
B. Modern History
Portuguese, Spanish, & Dutch (1500s)
Missionary activity led to Euro dismissal
Closed Door Policy (1638-1853)
1853: Matthew C. Perry (U.S. Navy)
Modernization of Japan (early 1900s)
Japan’s sphere of influence spread
Took Taiwan, Korea, Manchuria, & others
Needed RAW MATERIALS & military bases
Japan’s WWII allies:
Germany & Italy
Attacked Pearl Harbor (1941)
Hiroshima & Nagasaki (Aug. 1945)
Post WWII Japan
American occupation (1945-1955)
US technology patents to Japan (transistor)
Japan improved these technologies
Japanese economic miracle = post WWII economic
growth
Acted as counterweight to USSR influence
Adopted democratic govt.
constitutional monarchy w/Diet
World’s 3rd largest economy
3rd in automobiles & 1st electronics
Work ethic:
Belief that work has moral value
Employee loyalty = lifetime employment
Success & failure of company is reflection of its workers
Karoshi:
Death from overwork
Export economy:
Goods are produced for export, not domestic use
Trade surplus:
When a country exports more than it imports
II. Korea
Post WWII Korea?
North = communist (USSR)
South = democratic (US)
Border = 38th parallel
Korean War
1950: North invades South
US pushed North back
1953: armistice was signed
38th parallel became the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
Buffer zone in which no opposing armies may enter
fortified & tense
A. North Korea
People are isolated
Strict communist country
under Kim Jong Un
(Supreme Leader)
Command economy
Inefficient state owned
farms & factories b/c of…
Large military spending
(>33% of GDP)
Most people live in poverty (rely on UN aid since
USSR collapse)
Cult of Personality of Kim Il-Sung
B. South Korea
Democratic govt. w/free
market economy
Post WWII: received aid
from US
“Asian Tiger”
(export economy)