NORTH AND SOUTH

KOREA
GROUP 5
 HISTORY
After the defeat of the Japanese
empire in World War II, Korea was
split into two spheres. The Soviet
Union controlled the territory in the
north and the US controlled the
south.
In 1950, North Korea invaded South
Korea, starting the three-year-long
Korean War. Since the signing of the
armistice agreement in 1953, the
north and south have been divided
by a 4km wide demilitarised zone
stretching 250km.
 NORTH KOREA

• Isolated economics
• Nuclear ambition over
economic development
• Has plenty of unexplored
natural resources that are
worth $6-$9 trillion
• Has chronic food shortage
that resulted
undernourishment among
the people
• TOURIST ARE ALLOWED BUT JOURNALISTS ARE RARELY ALLOWED
• CITIZENS REQUIRE PERMISSION FROM THE GOVERNMENT TO LEAVE THE
COUNTRY
• MANY CITIZENS LIVE IN POVERTY YET THESE POOR LIVING CONDITIONS
FOR MANY IN THE COUNTRY ARE NOT REPORTED.
• INSTEAD OF THE INTERNET NORTH KOREANS HAVE AN “INTRANET”. THIS
HAS LIMITED ACCESS TO OFFICIAL NORTH KOREAN WEBSITES. PHONES
CAN’T MAKE INTERNATIONAL CALLS.
• NORTH KOREA IS ALSO ACCUSED OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES. SPEAKING
OUT AGAINST THE REGIME WILL GET YOU INTO SERIOUS TROUBLE.
CRITICISE THE GOVERNMENT AND YOU RISK BEING “DISAPPEARED” OR
SENT TO A LABOUR CAMP. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORTS THAT
PEOPLE ARE ROUTINELY ARRESTED AND TORTURED.
• 1,500 Westerners visit
each year. Business
Insider reports how
simple it can be to
travel to the country as
a tourist. Don’t expect
to explore unattended:
North Korea appoints
special tour guides for
anyone entering the
country
 SOUTH KOREA

• 12TH Largest economy in terms of

GDP
• The economy of South is multiple
times of North in terms of GDP
• Some known brands from South:
Samsung, Kia Motors, Hundai
motors
 DIFFERENCES
CRITERIA NORTH SOUTH
POPULATION 24.54 MILLION 50.22 MILLION
COMMUNIST STATE ONE-
TYPE OF GOVERNMENT DEMOCRATIC
MAN DICTATORSHIP
AREA 122,762 SQ KM 99,313 SQ KM
ECONOMY SECLUDED TOTALINARIAN WESTERNIZED & ADVANCE
COAL , LEAD, TUNGSTEN,
ZINC, GRAPHITE, COAL, TUNGSTEN,
MAGNESITE, IRON ORE, GRAPHITE, MOLYBDENUM,
NATURAL RESOURCES
COPPER, GOLD, PYRITES, LEAD, HYDROPOWER
SALT, FLUORSPAR, POTENTIAL
HYDROPOWER
GDP $33 BILLION $1.07 TRILLION
revenues: $3.2 billion revenues: $296.1 billion
BUDGET expenditures: $3.3 billion expenditures: $287.2 billion
(2007 est.) (2013 est.)
 CRITERIA NORTH SOUTH
MILITARY PRODUCTS; ELECTRONICS,
MACHINE BUILDING, TELECOMMUNICATIONS,
ELECTRIC POWER, AUTOMOBILE PRODUCTION,
INDUSTRIES
CHEMICALS; METALLURGY; CHEMICALS, SHIPBUILDING,
TEXTILES, FOOD STEEL
PROCESSING; TOURISM
SEMICONDUCTORS,
WIRELESS
MINERALS, METALLURGICAL
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
PRODUCTS,
EQUIPMENT, MOTOR
MANUFACTURES
VEHICLES, AUTO PARTS,
EXPERT COMODITIES (INCLUDING ARMAMENTS),
COMPUTERS, DISPLAY,
TEXTILES, AGRICULTURAL
HOME APPLIANCES, WIRE
AND FISHERY PRODUCT
TELECOMMUNICATION
EQUIPMENT, STEEL, SHIPS,
PETROCHEMICALS
LIFE SPAN 69 YEARS 79 YEARS
INFANT MORTALITY (PER
26.21 4.08
1000)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/datablog/2013/apr/08/so
uth-korea-v-north-korea-compared
http://www.indexmundi.com/factbook/compare/south-
korea.north-korea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjlJUj_VbiM
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/040515/north-
korean-vs-south-korean-economies.asp