Korea constituted a single country, dominated by the Chinese. In 1910, after being defeated by Japan, China lost control of the territory to the Japanese. However, in 1945, with the defeat of the Axis (Germany, Italy, Japan) in World War II, Japanese troops were expelled from Korea, with the occupation of the Soviets and the United States.
With the start of the Cold War (conflict between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), Korea, in 1948, it was divided according to the geopolitical interests of the two world powers, a fact that also occurred in the Germany.
The dividing mark constituted by fragmentation was established during the Potsdam Conference, more precisely in Yalta and Ptstan, on the 38th parallel. Two autonomous nations with conflicting geopolitical ideologies were created: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), with a communist system; and the Republic of Korea (South Korea), with the capitalist system.
With the political divergences and antagonistic economic systems between the two Koreas, allied to the demands territorial, created a scenario of instability, which eventually erupted in an armed confrontation between the two countries.
The Korean War began on June 25, 1950, when North Korean military troops, under the pretext of violation of the 38th parallel by South Korea, they invaded the territory neighbor. In reality, the real aim was to unify the country and establish socialism as a political system. US troops were sent to assist South Korea in the confrontation, in which the Chinese provided military support to North Korea.
Only on July 27, 1953, through the signing of the Armistice of Panmunjom, peace was established, given that the agreement maintained the frontier created in 1948. However, the conflict remains unresolved and still provokes tensions between the two countries, especially after the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea.
The two countries present great socioeconomic differences, since the economic policies adopted reflect on the development of each one. Currently, North Korea needs humanitarian aid from other countries, the industrial sector is in decline and agriculture is the main economic activity developed in the country. South Korea, in turn, has great economic development, as a result of the democratic policy established in the late 1980s, investing massively in the educational system, promoting national industrialization and joining the framework of countries called the Tigers Asians.
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Data from both Koreas:
North Korea
Area: 120,538 km²
GDP: US$ 14,753 million
GDP per capita: US$ 618
Population: 23,906,070 inhabitants
Urban population: 63%
Life expectancy: 67 years
Undernourished population: 32%
South Korea
Area: 99,016 km².
GDP: 956,788 million US$
GDP per capita: 9,841 US$
Population: 48,332,820 inhabitants
Urban population: 81.7%
Life expectancy: 78.2 years
Undernourished population: less than 5%
By Wagner de Cerqueira and Francisco
Graduated in Geography
Brazil School Team
North Korea - countries - geography - Brazil School
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FRANCISCO, Wagner de Cerqueira e. "The Two Koreas"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/as-duas-coreias.htm. Accessed on June 29, 2021.
