Where?[earealmp]
[eaout]
East Asia, as defined by the authors of our textbook, includes the
countries [eacount]
of Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, and China, as well as
the island of Taiwan.
I prefer to discuss "The Chinese Realm" and "The Japanese Realm" rather than "East Asia". We'll learn why below. For now, please look at the following criteria and familiarize yourself with the realm.
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Japan and China in the Same Realm?
Previous editions of a textbook by the same authors as that which are using placed China and Japan in different realms (different chapters). Take a look at the following maps and data to see why this might be a good idea.
See table I-1 (p.28), [wbgnpmap] [chhdi] [chaglab] [wwldc] [wrurban] [wwtrans] [wrpopgr]
China is definitely a less developed country (LDC) [wwldc] and Japan is definitely a more developed country (MDC). Compare the GNP per capita figures [eameacnt.htm]. Japan's is $32,350 and China's is $750. The infant mortality, urbanization [eameacnt.htm], and % of labor force [chaglab] in agriculture also highlight the great differences in the economic development of China and Japan.
Where would you place the other countries of the realm [eameacnt.htm]? (Hint: South Korea and Taiwan are sometimes classified as neither an LDC nor an MDC, but rather as NICs (Newly Industrializing Countries) together with Singapore and Hong Kong (when it wasn't part of China).
In these lectures we will concentrate on the physical, cultural, economic, and historical geography of China and Japan - separately. Also, in the "Regions of the Realm" section we will take a look at the other countries and areas of the realm.
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