CULTURAL COMPARISON OF NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA Fahad Hussain

Religion in North Korea  Main Religion 1. Chondosim (13.5%) 2. Korean Shamanism (16%)  Minor Religion 1. Buddhism (4.5%) 2. Christianity (1.7%) 3. Islam ( very less)  Non Religious (64.3%)

Religion in South Korea  Major Religions 1. Protestantism (19.7%) 2. Buddhism (15.5%) 3. Catholicism (7.9%)  Minor Religions 1. Won Buddhism, Confucianism, Chondoism, Deasun, Jinrihoe, Daejongism and Jeungsanism (0.8%)  Non Religious (56.1%)

Important Holidays in North Korea 1. Day of the Sun (Birthday of Kim II-sung on 15 April) 2. Day of Shining Star (Birthday of Kim Jong-il on 16 February) 3. Party Foundation Day (10 October) 4. Day of the Foundation of the Republic (9 September)

Important Holidays in South Korea 1. Seollal (first day of Lunar Calendar, 3 day celebration on 1 January) 2. Independence day (1 March) 3. Buddha’s birthday (8 April) 4. Chuseok (3 day celebration on 15 August)

Linguistic Conflict  Hangul: The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul (/ ˈ h ɑː n ɡ u ː l/ HAHN- gool; from Korean 한글 Korean pronunciation: [ha( ː )n. ɡɯ l]) has been used to write the Korean language since its creation in the 15th century by Sejong the Great.  Chinese characters have been integrated into Korean and are called hanja.  Emphasis; In the North, names of leaders 김일성 (Kim Il- sung), 김정일 (Kim Jong-il) and 김정은 (Kim Jong-un) are always set off from surrounding text, typically by bolding the characters, increasing the font size, or both.

 Pronunciation; The South Korean standard pronunciation is based on the dialect as spoken in Seoul, and the North Korean standard pronunciation is based on the dialect as spoken in Pyongyang.  Consonents, vowel and pitches are also somehow different in both states.  In the South, the rules of spacing are not very clearcut, but in the North, these are very precise.  Vocabulary; Both in the North and in the South, the vocabulary and forms of the standard language come from Sajeonghan Joseoneo Pyojunmal Mo-eum published by the Korean Language Society in 1936, and so there is very little difference in the basic vocabulary between the standard languages used in the North and the South.

Plastic Surgery  South Korea has proven to be a leader in the industry and many beauty products and rituals have begun there.  In North Korea many of the people can’t afford makeup products or cosmetic surgery even if the want.

Women In Militory  In 2005, North korea made it mendatory that all women between the age 17 to 20 must serve in there militory.  But in South Korea men are required to serve but women are not, however in 2010 an attack by North Korea prompted many South Korea women to sign up for the seoul armed forces in droves.

Fashion  South Korea is known for popularizing new fashion style and inspiring fashionistas from all corners of the Globe.  But North koreans are much more unaware with the latest fashion trends, but even if they wanted to keep up with the rest of the world, they are strictly forbidden from wearing clothing inspired by western culture.