Korea
Created | Updated Jul 2, 2002
Korea (in Korean, han-guk) is a penninsula in the north-eastern part of the Asian continent. It's home to eighty million people who have a common culture which includes a language and writing system that are not found elsewhere on Earth. Although split into two states since 1948, the people who live there are further bound together by the unusually high proportion of them who have a common ethnicity.
The area is mostly mountainous, the highest peak being Mount Baektu at 2,744 metres. Several thousand islands are historically considered part of Korea, the largest being Jeju Island to the south. The climate has four very distinct seasons, and is significantly warmer in the south of the penninsula. The summer is hot and rainy (20 to 26 degrees centigrade mean temperature) and the winter cold, dry and sunny (minus 20 to plus 2 degrees mean).
The penninsula has been governed independently since at least 2000BC, apart from the period between 1910 and 1945. Since 1948, wars have meant that Korea has had two governments, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (north Korea), and the Republic of Korea (south Korea). Neither of these governments, nor the majority of citizens in each half, want this divide to continue, and it is a temporary but unresolved situation. Hitch-hikers who require information on Korea subsequent to 1948 should refer to the Guide entry for the appropriate half of the country, as the two states have diverged somewhat since that date.
Cultural values that were established before the Korean War are common to both halves of the penninsula. As well as language, these include the unusual cuisine (see kimchee), Korean Confusionism, folk music, eclectic religious belief, Chinese influence, art (particularly ceramics)
Prior to 1905, Korea was probably most notable for its academic prowess. Wood-block printing was commonplace as early as 1100, when large numbers of blocks were produced for duplication of Buddist scriptures. Movable metal type printing was invented here in the early 13th century, 200 years before it was independently invented by Gutenberg in Europe. Many ancient Buddist texts are still available for visitors to Korea to view today.
The best known folk song is "Arirang", still equally popular in both north and south Korea. Although usually associated with patriotic feelings, it is in fact a love song: an abandoned lover who is unable to forget her sweetheart urges him to come back. The song is hundreds of years older than the division of the peninsula but the sentiment is highly appropriate given the large number of families separated unexpectedly in 1948. It is estimated that 10% of all Koreans come from such families.
Koreans' common values are perhaps most simply illustrated by their approach to patriotism in sport. Arirang was the two Koreas' adopted national anthem at the 1991 China World Table Tennis Championships, when a unified Korean team won in the women's group. At the 2002 Football World Cup Finals, south Korean supports waved banners reading "Again 1966", a reference to north Korea's win over Italy at the finals 36 years earlier. Although most Koreans would probably prefer to compete as a single nation in all international sporting events, political problems make this almost inconceivable.
In 1905, Korea was invaded by Japan, and the occupation continued until the end of World War Two in 1945. T
In modern times, Reunification films.
The area is mostly mountainous, the highest peak being Mount Baektu at 2,744 metres. Several thousand islands are historically considered part of Korea, the largest being Jeju Island to the south. The climate has four very distinct seasons, and is significantly warmer in the south of the penninsula. The summer is hot and rainy (20 to 26 degrees centigrade mean temperature) and the winter cold, dry and sunny (minus 20 to plus 2 degrees mean).
The penninsula has been governed independently since at least 2000BC, apart from the period between 1910 and 1945. Since 1948, wars have meant that Korea has had two governments, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (north Korea), and the Republic of Korea (south Korea). Neither of these governments, nor the majority of citizens in each half, want this divide to continue, and it is a temporary but unresolved situation. Hitch-hikers who require information on Korea subsequent to 1948 should refer to the Guide entry for the appropriate half of the country, as the two states have diverged somewhat since that date.
Cultural values that were established before the Korean War are common to both halves of the penninsula. As well as language, these include the unusual cuisine (see kimchee), Korean Confusionism, folk music, eclectic religious belief, Chinese influence, art (particularly ceramics)
Prior to 1905, Korea was probably most notable for its academic prowess. Wood-block printing was commonplace as early as 1100, when large numbers of blocks were produced for duplication of Buddist scriptures. Movable metal type printing was invented here in the early 13th century, 200 years before it was independently invented by Gutenberg in Europe. Many ancient Buddist texts are still available for visitors to Korea to view today.
The best known folk song is "Arirang", still equally popular in both north and south Korea. Although usually associated with patriotic feelings, it is in fact a love song: an abandoned lover who is unable to forget her sweetheart urges him to come back. The song is hundreds of years older than the division of the peninsula but the sentiment is highly appropriate given the large number of families separated unexpectedly in 1948. It is estimated that 10% of all Koreans come from such families.
Koreans' common values are perhaps most simply illustrated by their approach to patriotism in sport. Arirang was the two Koreas' adopted national anthem at the 1991 China World Table Tennis Championships, when a unified Korean team won in the women's group. At the 2002 Football World Cup Finals, south Korean supports waved banners reading "Again 1966", a reference to north Korea's win over Italy at the finals 36 years earlier. Although most Koreans would probably prefer to compete as a single nation in all international sporting events, political problems make this almost inconceivable.
In 1905, Korea was invaded by Japan, and the occupation continued until the end of World War Two in 1945. T
In modern times, Reunification films.
