The aim of this article is to provide basic geographic background to assist readers in understanding the geography of North Korea. Although few U.S. geographers have traveled to this country, limited information about North Korea can be constructed and compiled. Sources include interviews of South Korean geographers, all volumes of The National…

Secondary school history textbooks in South Korea, Japan, and the United States have long struggled to give meaning and significance to the war waged on the Korean Peninsula between 1950 and 1953. Comparing commonly-used, contemporary history textbooks from each of these three nations, this analysis suggests that students on both sides of the…

This paper discusses the Korean problem, not as an aspect of the East-West conflict, but as a world order problem. The paper is one of a series commissioned by the World Order Models Project in its effort to stimulate research, education, dialogue, and political action which will contribute to a movement for a just world order. The first part of…

How the Korean peninsula came to be divided in 1945 is discussed, and the stalemated situation that has existed since that time is described. This brief history is followed by lesson plans for grades 6-12. The lesson plans include goals and objectives, activities, and assessment techniques for teaching the following concepts: (1) territorial…

Examines projections about the future of Korea, predicting a highly diversified society built upon industrialization and moving toward an information society. Discusses the growing middle class and its societal implications and considers the effects of the country's increasing democratization. (GEA)

Surveys Korean arts and literature of the last 2,000 years, discussing fine arts, performing arts, the Korean language, systems of transcribing Korean sounds, and the beginning of modern Korean literature. Provides an illustration of the Korean language phonetic system and a sampling of Sijo poems in English and Korean. (GEA)

Examines South Korea's economic development from being one of the poorest nations in the world in the 1950s to becoming a "rising giant" in international trade. Surveys the path to growth, the reasons for success, and problems and new challenges facing the country as it seeks developed nation status. (GEA)

Traces the history of Korea from ancient times to the present, discussing the Koryo and Choson Kingdoms, the development of the Republic of Korea, and efforts to unite the country. Examines Korean cultural creativity, the development of new schools of thought, and reforms under Chong Yag-yong, a prominent eighteenth- and nineteenth-century…

Characterizes the past 40 years in South Korea as a time of modernization, industrialization, urbanization, and internationalization. Discusses Korean religion and social values; family, kinship, and social life; education; housing, food, and clothing; leisure and sports; and the maintenance of national identity. Examines the Korean synthesis of…