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Korea
A Brief History
OC Ogburn
1/C Warren
Ancient History
• Evidence of inhabitants
dating back to 4000 BC
• In 668 AD the Silla
kingdom overthrew
Goguryeo and Baekje
kingdoms starting Korea’s
cultural development
• The Mongols invaded Korea in 1231
• In 1392 Yi, a Korean general, setup his own dynasty
and adopted Confucianism
th
19
Century
• Korean rulers tried to prevent
foreign trade from Japanese and
Western traders by closing its
borders in the 1800s
• Japanese began forcing a series of
trade agreements beginning in
1876
• In 1897 King Kojong declared
himself emperor of an independent
Korea
th
20
Century
• The Japan-Korea Protection Treaty gave Japan
control over Korea in 1905
• In 1910 Korea announced the annexation by Japan
• The Independence Movement of 1919 was
brutally repressed
• In 1945 the Japanese surrender
World War II
• Japan took more and more of Korea’s
resources, including its people, to feed its
imperial war machine
• Japanese surrender on August 15, 1945,
causes the peninsula to come under divided
rule: the USSR occupied Korea north of 38th
parallel, while U.S. occupied southern
section
Korean War
• 25 June 1950 Kim Il-Sung
orders the invasion of South
Korea (38th Parallel)
• General Douglas McCarthur
holds off the Communists at
Pusan while planning an
amphibious landing at Inchon
• Marines move into/take Seoul;
Conflict ends in 1953
The Landing at Inchon
• Marines plan to
split the enemy
force by landing
at Inchon and
then marching
on Seoul.
• Invasion is
successful,
conflict ends
1953.
Post War Build-Up (North)
• North Koreans have almost doubled military
capabilities under Kim Il-Sung sense the late
1960’s
– %GDP spent on
Military (Korea)
• 13%
– %GDP spend on
Military (US)
• 3.3%
Military Power Today
• Active Duty Personnel:
1 Million +
• Roughly 7 million men
and women organized
into reservists units.
– Organized under the Civil Def. Dept. however
can be moved to the command of the Ministry of
Defense for “contingencies.”
Military Power Today
• North Korea boasts of 80 military divisions and
brigades (20 Infantry).
• Each infantry division consists of:
– 3 infantry regiments
– 1 artillery regiment
– 1 tank BN of 31 tanks.
– 1 anti aircraft, COM,
and RECON BN
– 1 Chemical
Military Power Today
• Special forces group of 120,000.
– Of these 20,000 can be moved (off the
peninsula at moments notice).
– How good?
• Kang-Nung September
1996.
Kim Jung Il
• Currently the Chairman of the PRK, Supreme
Commander of the Korean People’s Army, and
General Sec. of the Korean Worker’s Party.
• Background:
– Educated in China
– At the age of forty assumed the title “Dear Leader” in
which case a personality cult was built around him.
– Father died in 1994, Jung Il assumed control.
The Nuclear Option
• December of 2002 N.K.
expelled members of
International Atomic Energy
Council
• Declared withdrawal from
Non-Proliferation Treaty
one month later
• By August of 2003
announced the extraction of
weapons grade plutonium
Key Points
• Must consider 2 points of North Korean
Leadership:
– Not only does Jong Il
walk “in the footsteps of
his father”, but so do his
subordinates.
– Entire country (and
particularly upper levels
of leadership) have a
mindset rooted in
Confucian thought.
Korea Today (South)
• Population: 48,422,644 (July 2005)
• GDP: $ 983.3 Billion (2005 Est.)
– Imports: Oil, and
various raw materials
– Exports: Heavy
Industrial Equipment,
Chemical products
Korea Today (South)
• Religion:
–
–
–
–
–
46% Non affiliated
26% Christian
26% Buddhists
1% Confucian
1% Other
Korea Today (North)
• Population: 22,912,177 (July 2005)
• GDP: $40 Billion (Est. 2005)
– Imports: Oil, heavy industrial equipment and
machinery.
– Exports: Non-ferrous metals, textile yarn and
fabrics
Korea Today (North)
• Religion: Traditionally
Buddhist and Confucianist.
– Note that all religious groups
today must be sponsored by
the government. Those
operating outside these laws
must do so in secret.
Terrain of Korea
• Korea’s terrain
(particularly the
northeast region) is
extremely
mountainous.
• North Korea still
contains an
elaborate tunnel
system.
(Okinawa??)
Major Cities of Korea
•Direct Governed Cities: direct administration of Central Gov.
Current Status
• North Korea = Crisis
– Country has been relying
on international aid to feed
it’s people for the last
decade. Primary
Reason….
• Million Man Army +
Military Tech. Spending
– As of December 2005 government was attempting
to expel all “nongovernmental agencies” thereby
cutting off all help for general public
References
• http://www.hendrick-hamel.hennysavenije.pe.kr/oldtonew.htm
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asiapacific/4084249.stm
• http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos
/kn.html
• www.wfp.org/newsroom/in_depth/north_korea_II.
html
• http://www.dega.dk/media/upload/Fotocollage_Da
nsk_Eksportf.jpg