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DETAILED OUTLINE
CHAPTER 9
The East Asian Realm
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES OF THE REALM
- East Asia is encircled by snowcapped mountains, vast
deserts, cold climates, and Pacific waters.
- East Asia was one of the world's earliest culture
hearths, and China is one of the world's oldest
continuous civilizations.
- East Asia is the world's most populous geographic
realm, but its population remains strongly concentrated
in its eastern regions.
- China, the world's largest nation-state
demographically, is the current rendition of an empire
that has expanded and contracted, fragmented and unified
many times during its long existence.
- China today remains a mainly rural society, and its
vast eastern river basins feed hundreds of millions in a
historic pattern that continues today.
- China's sparsely peopled western regions are
strategically important to the state, but they lie
exposed to minority pressures and Islamic
influences.
- Along China's Pacific frontage an economic
transformation is taking place, affecting all the coastal
provinces and creating an emerging Pacific Rim
region.
- Increasing regional disparities and fast-changing
cultural landscapes are straining East Asian
societies.
- Japan, the economic giant of the East Asian realm,
has a history of colonial expansion and wartime conduct
that still affects international relations here.
- East Asia may witness the rise of the world's next
superpower as China's economic and military strength and
influence grow-and if China avoids the devolutionary
forces that fractured the Soviet Union.
- The political geography of East Asia contains a
number of flashpoints that can generate conflict,
including Taiwan, North Korea, and several island groups
in the realm's seas.
DEFINING THE REALM
DEFINING THE REALM: CHINA
- Concentration of population, cities, agriculture, and
industry in the eastern part of China
ISOLATION of an advanced culture
- made possible by it's physical geography
- Natural Protective Barriers: almost encircled by
high mountains and dry deserts keeping outsiders
out
- Distance: far from other centers of
development
- Chinese interacted little with rest of world:
- Inward Looking (Central Kingdom) with Minor
incidences of cultural diffusion
- A History of emperors who restricted use of the
coastline, except in local circumstances
- still few overland roads and railroads connect
China with neighboring realms
- as recent as the early 1970's only a few dozen
foreigners were in China
- China's isolation began to change with US
President Richard Nixon's visit to china in 1972
- Now, for the first time in it's long history,
China is a major player on the world stage.
- Today the ocean is playing a major role in the
economic (and cultural) transformation of coastal
China.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA: Extent and Environment
- China - US Locational and Size Comparison (China
in Red, the US in black)
- China is slightly smaller than the US including
Alaska
- China is considerably wider latitudinally,
extends further north (colder climate) and further
south (more tropical ) than does the US

- China - US Climate Comparison
- similar climatic pattern
- Large area of C climate in the
southeast
- D climates in the northeast
- both drier, B climates, as you go west
- then highland , H, climates further
west
- differences
- China has no west coast and therefore no C
climates in the west
- China's northwestern D climates extend
further south and are more severe than in North
America.

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QUESTION:
- Compare the physical geography
(climate) and size of China with the
physical geography (climate) and size of
the United States.
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HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA
- Evolving China
- One of the world's great culture hearths
- Continuous civilization for over 4,000 years
- "People of Han"
- Han Dynasty reigned 2000 years ago (206 BC to
220 AD)
- breakdown of the old feudal order
- rise of military power
- unification of a large empire; added Xinjiang
and Vietnam
- institution of property rights
- flourishing of architecture,, the arts, the
sciences,
- development of trade along the Silk Road to
Rome
- feudal periods, but always followed by a more
united China
- rural society ruled by dictator
- View of China as the center of the civilized
world
- Inward Looking
- Closed Society
- sinicization: Chinese acculturation: making
the lands conquered by China culturally more like
China
- Kongfuzi (Confucius)
- China's most influential philosopher and
teacher
- 551- 479 BC- Took on spiritual proportions
after his death- Confucianism
- Focused on the suffering of ordinary people
during the Zhou Dynasty
- Emphasized that human virtues, rather than
godly connections, should determine a person's
place in society
- Teachings have dominated Chinese life and
thought for more than 20 centuries
- A Century of Convulsion: Europeans arrive
- China believed it was superior to the Europeans
and cared little about their arrival
- Initially China kept the Europeans isolated in
small coastal enclaves like Macao therefore, Europeans
had little effect on the Chinese economy
- Later the Europeans improved their products and
were able to compete with, and beat, Chinese
industries
- British imported the drug opium into China where
it had a devastating effect
- When the Chinese government tried to stop the
opium trade in 1834 armed combat with the British
began
- First Opium War - 1839-1842; China lost
- British got Hong Kong
- 5 ports were open to more trade
- Opium flooded into China
- Second Opium War - 1847
- Extraterritorially
- A doctrine of European International
Law
- Employed in China during the late 1800s
- Afforded Europeans immunity from Chinese
laws
- An erosion of Chinese sovereignty
- Extraterritorial Enclaves established: port
areas, the best residential areas, certain parks
and buildings were reserved for Europeans
only
- Colonial Spheres
- Germans on the Shandong Peninsula
- France in the far south
- Portugal in Macau
- Russians in the north and Manchuria in the
northeast
- Japan annexed Korea, the Rykuyu Island and
island of Formosa (Taiwan)
- Recent History
- anti-colonial uprisings
- as well as uprisings against the Manchu (Qing)
emperor
- in 1911 the emperor was overthrown
- After Word War I Japan took over Germany's
holdings in China
- infighting between the "Nationalist" Chinese
and the Chinese Communist Party
- Nationalist leader Chang Kai-shek fought the
foreigners and the Communists
- Driving the communists into the interior, by
1933 it looked like they would be victorious
- The Long March
- 100,000 communists marched 2000 miles in
1934
- 3/4 were killed by the nationalists along
the way
- as new recruits joined the Communist Party

- The Japanese took advantage of the fighting
between the Nationalists and the Communists
- Japan takes control of Manchuria - The
Northeast
- established a puppet state called
Manchukuo
- full scale ware breaks out between the
Chinese nationalists and the Japanese in
1937
- Japan conquers more of China
- China was then divided into three areas
controlled by the Japanese, the Nationalists,
and the Communists

- "The Japanese committed unspeakable
atrocities in their campaign in China." (p. 442)
including the "Rape of Nanking"
- Communist China
- Japan defeated in 1945 ending WW II
- Civil war in China resumes
- Mao Zedong leads the Communist to victory in
1949
- Chiang Kai-shek retreats with nationalists
to Taiwan taking control of the government there
and proclaiming Taiwan to be the independent
country of the Republic of China
- Mao Zedong, Oct. 1, 1949, proclaims the
birth of the People's Republic of China
(Communist China)
- Reorganization Under Communism: The Great
Leap Forward
- 1950s- 1976 Communist Regime Launched
Massive Programs Of Reconstruction And
Reform
- Based On The Soviet Model
- Land Was Expropriated (taken from the
rich)
- Farming Was Collectivized = socialized
agriculture
- Industries Were Reorganized As
State-Owned Communal Enterprises.
- Emphasis On "Heavy Industry"
- Dramatic Social Changes- Education,
Religion, Population Growth
- "Terrible mistakes" (p. 443)
- emphasis on heavy industry and
reorganization of agriculture removed
incentives to produce food as a result 10-30
million starved to death between 1958 and
1962
- Mao refused to recommend controls on
population growth resulting in large
increases in China's population
- Great Proletarian Cultural
Revolution
- 1966-1976
- Mao's campaign against emerging
elitism in Chinese society
- organized youth into "Red Guard"
brigades who attacked opponents to Mao's
ideas
- all schools were closed
- intellectuals were persecuted
- anarchy, terror, and economic
paralysis followed
- food and industrial production
declined and 30 million died from violence
and famine
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY OF CHINA
- China's Political Map
- 4 Central-government-administered municipalities
called shi's
- Beijing (Capital);
- Tianjin (Port City);
- Shanghi (Largest City);
- Chongquing (Interior River Port)
- 5 Autonomous Regions to recognize the non-Han
minorities living there
- Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia);
- Ningxia Hui;
- Xinjiang Uygur (Nw);
- Guangxi Zhuang (South);
- Xizang (Tibet)

- 22 Provinces
- Grow In Size From East To West like US
States

- Two Special Administrative Region (SAR)
- Hong Kong - returned to china from the British
in 1997
- Macao - returned to China from Portugal in
1999
- Population Issues
- Read: http://geography.about.com/library/weekly/aa071497.htm
- China's population in 2006: 1,323,000,000 (1.323
BILLION)
- most populated country on earth
- slow population growth rate of 0.6% per year still
adds 8 million every year
- after Mao's death in 1976 - vigorous population
control program: "one-child policy"
- Population growth rate declined from 3 % to 1.2 %
in the mid-1980's to 0.6 % in 2006
- Results:
- may have prevented a "population
explosion"
- population growth should equal 0 % around 2050
and then start to decline
- rapid increase in the proportion of the
population that is elderly and needing care with
fewer workers to care for them
- excess of males over females implying selective
abortion, female infanticide and female child
neglect
- China's Minorities
- China is still an empire
- see map below showing where the minorities are
located
- China Proper is the home of the Mandarin speaking
Han Chinese
- Minorities constitute only a small percentage of
total population
- Han Chinese 91.9%,
- Zhuang, Uygur, Hui, Yi, Tibetan, Miao, Manchu,
Mongol, Buyi, Korean, and other nationalities
8.1%


- Religion
- Daoist (Taoist),
- Buddhist,
- Muslim 1%-2%,
- Christian 3%-4%
- note: officially atheist

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
- China's Population
- 1.306 Billion
- Annual Natural Increase 0.6% (1970s - 3%)
- Doubling Time: 100 Years
- Life Expectancy: 70 (Males), 73 (Females)
- Fertility Rate 1.8 Born/Women (1997)
- Arithmetic Density: 353 People/Sq Mi
- Physiological Density: 3,524 People/Sq Mi
- Only 10% Of The Land Is Arable And 69% Of The
Population Lives On This Land
- Distribution: Western 2/3's Is Sparsely Populated
(Minorities)
- Urban China
- 38% Urbanized
- Largest cities are insignificant on a global
scale
- Urban environmental problems
- Air pollution
- Congestion
- Water pollution
- Economic Problems
- Problems Stemmed From The State Controlled
Economy.
- Serious Energy Shortage
- Transportation Infrastructure Poorly
Developed
- Popular Resistance And Changes In Central Policy
Have Weakened China's Population Control Program.
- Environmental Degradation
Deng Xiaoping Era
- Took Power In 1979 As A "Pragmatic Moderate"
- Attempted To Wed Communist Political Rule With
Capitalist Economic Practices
- Opened China To Foreign Science And
Technology
- Permitted Students To Study Abroad
- Introduced Economic Liberalization Measures
- Decentralized Decision-Making
- Shifted To The Responsibility System In
Agriculture
- Created SEZs, Open Cities, Open Coastal Areas
- Attempted To Create A "Socialist Market
Economy"
- Economic Initiatives
- Special Economic Zones
- 5 SEZs Established; 3 In Guangdong
Province
- Investment Incentives: Low Taxes, Import/Export
Regulations Eased, Land Leases Simplified,
Etc.

- Open Cities
- Included 14 Coastal Cities
- Scaled Back To 4 Cities
- National Investment Focused On Shanghai
- Open Coastal Areas
- Also Designed To Attract Foreign
Investments
- Concentrated Along Pacific Coast Deltas And
Peninsulas
Special Economic Zones
- Investor Incentives
- Low Taxes
- Easing Of Import And Export Regulations
- Simplified Land Leases
- Hiring Of Contract Labor Permitted
- Products May Be Sold In Foreign Markets And In
China (Under Certain Restrictions)
- Location Was Prime Consideration
Open Cities
- Size
- Overseas Trading History
- Links To "Overseas Chinese"
- Levels Of Industrialization
- Pool Of Local Talent And Labor
- Confined To Coastal Areas
REGIONS OF THE REALM
- China Proper
- China's Pacific Rim: Emerging Region?
- Xizang (Tibet)
- Xinjiang
- Mongolia
- Jakota Triangle
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- China Proper
- China Proper contains most of the Chinese
population


- REVIEW: Where do people live and why
- Read Online lecture: Where
do People Live and Why?
- East Asia is one of the world's three major
population clusters
- 5 Criteria:
1. near coasts
2. along rivers / near fresh water
3. flat terrain
4. temperate (C) climates (55% of pop.)
5. fertile soil (river valleys, volcanic soils,
other)

- Read pp. 447-448
- Near coasts?

- Near Rivers? [Four major river basins
contain more than 75% of China's 1.3 billion
people}

- C Climate ?

- Flat Terrain ?

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QUESTION:
- Know where most people live in the
China and assess how well the 5 reasons
discussed in the online lecture explain
the population distribution.
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- Subregions of China Proper
- Northeast China
- North China Plain
- Basins of the Chang/Yangzi
- Basins of the Xi and Pearl Rivers

- Northeast China
- Used to be called Manchuria
- former (1950s-1970s) industrial heart of
China, but now looks like a rust-belt
- former Japanese colony of Manchukuo
- cold climate thin soils as you go north
- mineral and oil wealth (iron ore, aluminum,
oil, lead, zinc
- declined with the structural restructuring
of the post-Mao era
- still has potential
- North China Plain
- flat
- fertile (loess)
- farmland: wheat
- heavily populated
- national core area
- capital city: Beijing
- port of Tianjin
- Inner Mongolia
- northwest of the core
- along the border with the state (country)
of Mongolia
- drier
- more and more Han Chinese have migrated
here so that the Mongol nation is now a
minority
- Basins of the Chang/Yangzi
- variations in elevation and relief
- port of Shanghai
- 18,500 miles of navigable rivers: navigable
to oceangoing ships for 600 miles to the city of
Wuhan, further for smaller ships, several
navigable tributaries
- rice and wheat
- 1000 mile long canal to connect this
breadbasket with the northern core
- Three Gorges Dam (New China Dam)
- 600 ft. high
- 1.3 miles across
- 380 mile long reservoir
- controversial, displaced millions of
people

- The Sichuan Province Basin
- west of the Three Gorges Dam
- agricultural region (rice, wheat, corn,
soybeans, tea, sugarcane,fruits,
vegetables)
- city of Chongqing, inland port, new
growth pole
- 120 million people
- Basins of the Xi and Pearl Rivers
- subtropical China
- somewhat dry
- double-cropping of rice
- economically growing coast
- Guangdong
- Hong Kong
- Shenzhen
- Xizang (Tibet)
- A harsh physical environment; mountainous
- Sparsely populated
- Came under Chinese control during the Manchu
Dynasty in 1720
- Gained separate status in the late 19th
century
- China's Communist Regime Took Control in the
1950s; uprisings crushed by China
- Buddhism, the Buddhist leader is called the Dalai
Lama
- The Dalai Lama was ousted in 1959 by Chinese
military
- Harsh rule by Chinese as they tried to destroy the
Buddhist culture
- some relaxation of harsh control after Mao's death
in 1976
- Formally annexed in 1965 and administered as an
Autonomous Region
- many consider it to be an occupied territory and
there are "Free Tibet" organizations around the
world
- Two subregions
- core area between the Himalayas and the Kunlun
Mountains (see map below)
- lower, some valleys down to 7000 feet
- more mild climate
- main population cluster
- includes capital of Lhasa
- Chinese economic development
- mineral deposits
- Qaidam Basin
- east of the Kunlun Mountains (see map
below)
- nomadic pastoralists
- newly found oil and coal fields

- Xinjiang
- China's northeastern corner, north of the Kunlun
Shan (mountains - see map above)
- Xinjiang-Uyghur Autonomous Region
- Comprises one-sixth of China's total land
area
- A region of high mountains (Kunlun. Tian Shan,
Altay) and basins (Tarim, Junggar)
- Takla Makan Desert
- Chinese only account for 40% of the population,
but control most economic and political activity
- Muslim Uyghurs account for half of the
population
- majority Muslim leaders have called for succession
(balkanization) from China; al-Queda and the "war on
terror" ?
- Boasts extensive reserves of oil and natural
gas
- oasis and irrigated agriculture
- Unresolved boundary disputes with Tajikistan and
India
- China's Pacific Rim: An Emerging Region
- A New Region?
- rapid economic growth in the eastern, coastal,
provinces of China
- creating wide differences in income between the
newly rich and the poor AND between the coastal
provinces and the interior provinces
- China is a low-income country with a GNI per
capita of $4990 BUT the average incomes of Chinese
in the coastal provinces is above this average and
the average incomes of people in the interior is
way below $4990
- These coastal provinces are more similar to the
Jakota Triangle countries
- Therefore geographers may consider creating a
new regions out of these Pacific Rim Provinces
- Geography of Development: WHY is the Pacific Rim
doing so well economically?
- REMEMBER: Geography studies WHERE? and WHY
THERE?
- WHERE in China is the economy growing
the faster? [THE PACIFIC RIM]
- WHY THERE? [SEE BELOW]
- Rostow's Stages of Economic Development
- traditional society
- preconditions for takeoff
- takeoff
- drive to maturity
- high mass consumption
- In China takeoff conditions exist in
much of the Pacific Rim, but not in the
interior
- WHY THERE?
- The Pacific Rim of China has always been
more open to the world and to new ideas
- See online lecture: China-A
Land of Contradictions
- Most Chinese who migrated overseas came from
the Pacific Rim provinces especially in the
southeast and their links with their home
provinces facilitated foreign investment
- Transforming the Economic Map
- REVIEW
- China's transformation of their economy
(structural adjustment) occurred WITHOUT a
transformation of their communist political system
(NOT a movement toward democracy) HOW?
- by spatially separating the market
economy areas from the command economy
areas
- done by setting up Special Economic Zones
(SEZs), Open Cities, and Open Coastal Areas
- Where?

- Four SEZs
- Shenzhen (close to Hong Kong)
- Zhuhai (close to Macao)
- Shantou (close to Taiwan, home of many
Chinese living in Thailand)
- Xiamen (home of many Chinese now living
in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia)
- Two more added in 1988 and 1990
- Hainan Island (island near Southeast
Asia)
- Pudong
- In these areas:
- lower taxes
- easier to import and export (freer
trade)
- simpler land leases
- private hiring of labor allowed
- foreign investment encouraged
- profits can be sent to foreign
owners
- China's Pacific Rim Today
- Guangdong Province and the Pearl (Chang Jiang)
River Estuary
- includes the Pearl (Chang Jiang) River
Estuary
- Hong Kong and Macao located just off the
coast
- Core of this economic area is the Pearl
River Delta (PRD) includes:
- Guangzhou - the province's capital
city
- Hong Kong SAR
- Shenzhen SEZ
- Zhuhai SEZ
- Macao SAR
- Zhongshan (city)
- PER CAPITAL INCOMES
ARE 10 TIMES THE NATIONAL AVERAGE
- Problems do exist causing some investment to
move to other areas in China, especially The
city of Shanghai in the Xi/Yangzi river Delta
further south
- Example of a "Regional State" as defined by
economist Kenichi Ohmae
- "natural economic zone"
- shaped by the global economy

- Hong Kong
- means "Fragrant Harbor"- An excellent deep
water port
- great economic growth during the Korean War
in the 1950s
- 6 million people within 400 sq. miles
- Economy is larger than half of the world's
countries
- 1 July 1997- British transferred control to
China
- "one country, two systems
- Hong Kong renamed Xianggang
- Acquired a new status as China's only
Special Administrative Region (SAR)
- WHY has there been so much economic growth
THERE?
- during Korean War trade with China was
prohibited so this British Colony specialized
in producing textiles for world export
- the industrial base diversified
- also became a world financial center and
available to help finance development in
china when the communist government began its
"open door" policy
- became and "economic tiger"
- The Other SEZs
- Chinese government granted special economic
advantages
- also made investments in infrastructure
- Pudong in Shanghai has surpassed the
economic development seen in Guangdong
(Shenzhen)
- the other four SEZs have not been able to
compete with Pudong and Shenzhen
- China: Global Superpower?
- growing military power
- largest standing army of nay country
- nuclear power
- US vs. China in the 21st century? -- potential
problems
- the Taiwan issue
- American troops in Japan and South
Korea
- Eastern culture vs. western culture: grounds
for misunderstanding
- possible remedies:
- cultural exchanges
- trade
- education to better understand each others
culture and history
- Mongolia
- Landlocked, isolated country
- Steppe and desert physical environment
- Sparsely populated with an estimated 2.6 million
inhabitants
- Part of the Chinese Empire from late 1600s until
1911
- Became a People's Republic (Communist) in the
1920s
- Functions as a buffer state between Russia
and China
- Economy is focused on herding and animal
products
- Free elections in 1990
- Close ties with Russia declining and ties with
China growing stronger
- The Jakota Triangle
- Characteristics
- Great cities
- Rapid economic growth
- Enormous consumption of raw materials
- state-of-the-art industries
- Voluminous exports
- Global links
- Trades surpluses
- Rapid development
Challenges
- Social problems
- Political uncertainties
- Vulnerabilities
- Japan
- HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY: Outline of Japanese
history
- Ainu people, Caucasian, inhabit all four
island
- 600 - 800 Chinese cultural influence
- 1000 -1300 War, medieval society arises,
shoguns evolve
- 1600 -1867 Tokugawa Shogunate
- isolation
- prevented European colonization
- foreigners and Christianity expelled
- individualistic culture
- emphasis on Shinto belief system
- "stagnant and tradition-bound"
society
- 1853 -Americans arrive
- Commodore Perry acquires new treaties
with the outside; "one-sided trade
agreements"; use of force
- Meiji Restoration
- 1868 Rebellion brought in reformers
- Reinstated the emperor and began to
transform Japan from a feudal society with
pre-machine age technology to an industrial
power
- Adopted aspects of the British model
- Launched a systematic study of the
industrialized world
- Focus was on industrialization and
education system
- strong military
- Expansionist Japan: Creating a Japanese
Empire; need for natural resources
- Ryukyu islands 1879
- Taiwan 1895
- Korea 1910
- Pacific Islands Post W.W.I
- Manchuria 1931
- China 1937
- Hong Kong 1939
- Southeast Asia 1941

- Japan's Post W.W.II Transformation
- 1945 Japan lost the war and it's
empire
- BUT the Europeans lost their colonies in
the Pacific Basin
- 1945 -1952: Allied Occupation
- Economic Reshaping: became an industrial
giant
- today: second largest economy in the
world
- Labor Legislation
- Constitution
- Civil Rights
- Land Reform
- US "Helping Hand" Policy
- PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY: Spatial Limitations
- four large islands plus
- slightly smaller than California

- high relief topography therefore only about 18%
is habitable; habitable area is about the size of
Indiana
- Population: 127.9 Million
- arithmetic population density 876.5 people per
square mile
- physiologic population density 8101 people per
square mile
- earthquake prone
- only narrow coastal plains; need to build
artificial islands and shoreline limited and
fragmented farmland
- few natural resources: little iron ore, some
coal, no oil
- Climate

- ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
- Highly developed country; economic giant on
the Pacific Rim
- Population growth rate = 0.1%; will begin to
decline around 2010
- Population: 127.9 Million
- Birth Rate: 9 Births/1,000
- Death Rate: 8 Deaths/1,000
- Growth Rate: 0.0%
- Life Expectancy: 78 (M), 85 (F)
- Urbanization: 78%
- beneficial relative location: access to
oceans
- well protected Seto Inland Sea

- well educated work force
- currently some economic problems resulting
is slower economic growth
- collapsing economies in neighboring
southeast Asia
- more competition from the other economic
tigers: Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and
more recently China's pacific coast
- CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
- Nation state; homogeneous

- Korea
- Peninsula of Korea:
- size of Idaho
- population of 73 million
- North-South Contrasts: A Divided Nation
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North Korea
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South Korea
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% of Korean Peninsula:
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55%
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45%
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% of Korean Population:
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33%
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66%
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Population:
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23,100,000
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48.700,000
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GNP (Billions)
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$ 21.3
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$ 508.3
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GNP/Capita
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$1000
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$17,930
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Agriculture
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Inefficient
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Good
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Agriculture As % Of GNP
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25 %
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8 %
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Agriculture % Work Force
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36 %
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20 %
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Life Expectancy
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64 years
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76 years
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Economy
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poor, Communist
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economic tiger, Capitalist
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Government
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Communist
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Democracy
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- HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY
- Turbulent political history:
- Once a dependency of China
- Once a colony of Japan's
- Divided along the 38th parallel by Allied
Powers after W.W.II (1945) creating two countries
- North Korea, communist, aligned with the
Soviet Union
- South Korea, democratic, aligned with the
United States
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- 1950 North Korea invaded south Korea
- UN troops (including the US) fought on the
side of South Korea
- China entered war on the side of the North
Koreans
- TV show: M*A*S*H
- Cease-Fire line established in 1953; heavily
fortified de facto boundary; DMZ
- South Korea: ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
- Regional complementarity between North and
South Korea, but separated by history/politics
- One of the economic tiger's rapid economic
growth after the war
- State capitalism
- Seoul
- Capital of South Korea
- 9.9 Million People
- Located in the northwest corner of South
Korea - just south of the DMZ
- The urban-industrial center!
- Textiles, clothing, footwear, electronic
goods
- HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY:
- original inhabitants: Malay-Polynesian
people
- A Chinese Province for centuries; settled by
Han Chinese who displace the original inhabitants
in the plains but not those in the mountains
- Colonized by Japan in 1895
- Returned to China after W.W.II
- 1949 - Chinese Nationalists (Supported by the
US) led by Chiang Kai-shek, fled from the mainland
and established the Republic Of China (R0C);
initially an authoritarian state
- recognized as the legitimate government of ALL
OF CHINA
- State or "wayward" province? / two Chinas
- Taiwan controlled by Chinese nationalists
after the Chinese Revolution of 1949
- Taiwan, or the Republic of China (ROC)
- Taiwan (ROC) had a seat in the UN
- the mainland was controlled by the
communists
- the communists establish the People's
Republic of China (PRC)
- President Nixon's visit to the People's
Republic of China (PRC) in 1971
- the PRC replaced Taiwan (ROC) in the UN
- US recognized the PRC as the legitimate
government of ALL of China including Taiwan
- PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
- Mountainous interior in the east; dense
forests
- wide fertile coastal plains in the west facing
the Taiwan Strait
- ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY
- Territory - Approximately 14,000 Square Miles;
smaller than Switzerland
- Population - 22.8 Million
- 77% Urbanized
- per capita income of $15,000
- economic tiger
- irons and steel industry
- nuclear power plants
- shipyards
- chemical industry
- electronics
- CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY / Political Future?
- now democratic
- thoughts of independence
- Chinese government threatens that any move
toward independence could provoke military
intervention
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Question:
- Is Taiwan a "state" (country)?
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Four Economic Tigers
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- Taiwan
- South Korea
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