1. Korea

2. Early History The Korean peninsula juts off the edge of China, just across the Sea of Japan (East Sea) from Japan Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cultures are closely related as areas were invaded and conquered over the years Japan added Korea to its empire in the early 20 th century After Japan lost World War II, the Soviet Union an the U.S. took control of Korea

3. Korean War They split the country at the 38 th parallel and the Soviets controlled the North, the US set up a democracy in the South In 1950, the North invaded and the Korean War began – 50,000 American soldiers lost their lives fighting in this war

4. Still at it? Both sides came to a “cease- fire”, but never signed a peace treaty, so they’re still technically at war – even though there are no battles That’s why there’s a North and a South Korea Created a Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to act as a buffer – No military troops can enter it – 150 miles long and 2.5 miles wide

6. Don’t mess with them… The Korean border is one of the most fortified and tense borders in the world Barbed wire, concrete walls, armed guards, mines, etc But almost no humans…

7. New Ecosystem The almost complete lack of humans in that area for over 50 years has allowed a unique ecosystem to develop Many species nearly extinct on the rest of the peninsula thrive inside the DMZ

8. Reconciliation South Korea hopes that the whole peninsula will one day be reunited Until then, families are separated by more than just distance…

10. Korean People Nearly all inhabitants are ethnic Koreans who speak a single language Their written language, hangul, is easily recognizable and MUCH easier to learn than Chinese or Japanese – It has a 24 letter alphabet – Because of this, Koreans were always more literate than Japanese or Chinese (until recently)

12. Religion About 30% of Koreans are Buddhist About 30% are Christian About 30% are classified as “other” Strong influence of Confucianism from China

13. Seoul The capital city of South Korea is Seoul It’s the 10 th largest city in the world with over 10 million inhabitants!

14. Beautiful countryside and architecture

15. Education Very competitive, challenging system Many students are not done with school until 8-12 at night! Parents pay for extra tutors to help b/c getting into university is so competitive School rules are very strict! All middle and high school students wear uniforms

16. Korean high school students in uniform

17. Regular clothes for the rest of the time….

18. The Singing Rooms Naraebang are singing rooms – kind of like karaoke, only instead of singing in front of the whole bar, your group gets a private room so you can make total fools of yourselves in private Very popular activity – it’s a lot of fun!

19. Food Korean food is mostly very healthy – Lots of vegetables and fish Kimchi is a major part of the diet and is served daily – it’s a fermented cabbage dish

20. A popular dish is Bulgogi, which is a beef barbecue you make yourself at your table. It’s YUMMY!

21. Notice all the dishes?

22. Why didn’t I think of this?

23. More interesting ideas…

24. South Korea’s Economy The economy of South Korea is a remarkable story In 30 years, they went from being a poor farming country to one of the strongest industrial economies in the world! It took England and the U.S. over a hundred years to do it.

26. North Korea North Korea is a different story… It’s a communist country under the control of Kim Jong Il and it’s very very poor We’ll learn more about it next time…