Divided Peninsula:

The Two Koreas since 1945

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

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South Koreans Cheer Their

Soccer Team at the World Cup

North and South Korea

At Night, 2008

North Koreans Cheer

The Launch of a Rocket

 

 

Key Terms

1) 38th Parallel and the DMZ

2) ÒAsian TigersÓ

3) State Capitalism

4) Kim il-Sung

5) Juche

6) North Korean Famine

7) ÒThe Cleanest RaceÓ (BR MeyerÕs Thesis)

 

I. Historical Background and Division

 

á    Korean Kingdoms

 

á    Chinese Influence and Indirect Control

 

á    Japanese Influence and Occupation, 1905/1910-1945

 

á    US and Soviet Occupation, 1945-1948

 

á    The Division of Korea (The 38th Parallel)

o South Korea: August 15, 1948

o North Korea: September 8, 1948

 

á    The Korean War, 1950-1953

á    The Last Cold War Border: The DMZ

 

 

II. South Korea: Authoritarianism, Economic Growth, and Democratization

 

á    Authoritarian/Military Rule 1948-1987

o Syngman Rhee (1948-1960)

o Park Chung-hee (1963-1979)

o Chung Doo-hwan (1980-1988)

 

á    Becoming an ÒAsian TigerÓ

o (East Asian) ÒStateÓ Capitalism and ÒExportÓ Capitalism

o A Different Kind of Five Year Plan

o  GDP  (Per Capita: $28,000 vs. $1,900 for North Korea)

o Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, STX Shipbuilding: $465 billion in exports (6th)

 

á    Becoming a Democracy

o Protest Movements: Students, Workers, Leftists

o A Growing Middle Class

o The Elections of 1985, Student Protests, and the ÒRevolutionÓ of 1987

o The 1988 Olympics and the ÒArrivalÓ of South Korea

 

á    South Korea Today: Globalized, Prosperous Democracy

 

III. North Korea under the Kim Dynasty: The Worst Place on Earth?

 

á    Kim il-Sung: The Great Leader (1948-1994)

 

á    Kim Jung-il: The Dear Leader

 

á    The Workers Party of Korea

 

á    Communism, Confucianism, Juche?

or

á    ÒParanoid Race-Based NationalismÓ: BR MeyerÕs Thesis of The Cleanest Race

 

á    Economic Stagnation and Collapse, 1970s-1990s

o North KoreaÕs Famine, 1993-1996

 

á    Nuclear Weapons, Missiles, and Saber Rattling

 

á    The Future of North Korea

o The Death of Kim Jung Il and Kim Jung-un: WhoÕs really in Charge?

o Economic Collapse and Implosion?

o A New Korean War?

o Reunification with South Korea?

 

á    The 75th Army Anniversary Celebration (2007)