Monday, January 10, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Two Korea's: One tense situation
1. The Democratic People’s Republic of Koreahttp://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/korea_n.htm
2. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Leader of The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He was born on February 16, 1941. His father was Kim Il-sung founded the state. He graduated from college in 1964 and quickly rose through the ruling Korean Workers' Party (KWP). In 1992, his father publicly stated that his son was in charge of all internal affairs in the DPRK. Recently, Kim Jong-Il has been grooming his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to be his successor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il
3. The Americans and Soviet Union won WW II. They decided to split up Korea into the South and North Korea. The Soviet Union was to receive North Korea and the Americans got South Korea. North Korea invaded South Korea, to gain control over them. They did not think that America could stop them, but they did. The Soviet Union and America were unable to agree on implementation of the Joint Trusteeship over Korea and decided to give each Korea their own governments in 1984.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_North_Korea
4. http://www.theodora.com/maps/korea_north_map.html
5. To the north west of North Korea is China and to the south of it is South Korea. The bodies of water surrounding it are the Sea of Japan, Korean Bay, and the Yellow Sea.http://www.intute.ac.uk/worldguide/html/980_map.html
6. The 38th parallel is the name given to the line that demarcates North and South Korea. U.S. military planners chose this at the Potsdam Conference.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/592578/38th-parallel
7. The North Koreans hate the South Koreans. This hatred is what started the Korean war, which really truly is not over. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qWGjHuH42ZcZ_DlR8h7n-hox3HxuwtERUJK4o9v27QI/edit?hl=en#
8. North Korea, after the Korean war was over, had only half the population South Korea had but was lucky enough to have the most industrial and natural resources. It remained in the communist block and rebuilt itself, with their leader Kim Il-Sung. In the late 1960’s North Korea’s propaganda apparatus wove itself a personality cult around him. North Korea now is the most closed of countries in the world. Kim keeps the people of North Korea strictly under his rule, allowing them to believe what he wants them to believe. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-26/world/north.korea.explainer_1_north-korea-kim-il-sung
9. I could not find a specific reference to the U.N.’s position on North Korea’s relationship with South Korea. However, looking through some of the recent article on the U.N.’s News Centre on North Korea leads me to believe that they do not want to take sides on who is right or wrong, but want the North and South to work peacefully on resolving their differences.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=69&Body=democratic+people&Body1=Korea
10. North Korea’s major city is Pyeongyang. http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/asia/north-korea/cities.htm
11. The North Korean army is the fourth largest in the world. They have and estimated 1.21 million armed personnel. North Korea has the highest of military personnel per capita with 1 enlisted soldier for every 25 citizens. Military expenditures account for 15.8% of the state budget and they operate a lot of heavy machinery such as tanks and jets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_north
12. It is the ultimate military weapon that North Korea can threaten South Korea and other countries with. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s The North Korean government worked to establish its nuclear program. Also during this time they entered into agreements to stop making nuclear weapons. However, they never lived-up to those agreements and on October 9, 2006, they announced that they had conducted a nuclear test that was later confirmed. http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/nuke/index.html
13. China is the closest ally to North Korea. Even though China has recently implemented UN sanctions on North Korea they still provide a lot of economic support in order to maintain North Korea’s stability. Kim Jong-Il describes their relationship as “unbreakable.” http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm#foreign
14. North Korea is considered a closed state, which means they do not let people in, but they do not let people out either. It is also because North Korea has a Juche government, which has absolute control over its citizens telling them what they can and cannot do, or even what they can and can’t say.http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_cant_people_in_North_Korea_leave_North_Korea
15. North Korea has a record of consistent, severe human rights violations beginning with the country’s total control of the people. Reported human rights abuses include: lengthy imprisonment, torture and degrading treatment, forced labor, public execution, and many more severe punishments. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm
16. North Korea uses the press to politically control their people. They manipulate the news to always show the government in a positive light and that economic conditions, like crop failures and starvation, are always good. http://www.articlesbase.com/ethics-articles/north-korean-press-3853997.html
17. Elections in North Korea are mostly a formality because most candidates are handpicked by Kim Jung-Il and the ruling party. Officially, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), is the highest organ of state power. Its members are elected every 4 years. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/world/asia/09iht-north.1.20696199.htmland http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm#gov
18. North Korea and the United States’ relationship have been filled with continuous confrontation and mistrust since 1954. North Korea views the U.S. as the strongest imperialist force in the world and the U.S. views North Korea as an international outlaw. http://countrystudies.us/north-korea/68.htm
19. North Korea’s economy is one of the most centrally directed and least open economies. Their GDP (officially exchange rate) is 27.3 billion and their GDP (per capita) is 1,800 dollars. North Korea’s labor force is 20 million, ranking 31st in the world. They are not healthy and thriving. Because of their closed society and centrally controlled government of everything they have problems with food shortages and poor living conditions. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html
20. Traditionally the religious makeup of the country has been Buddhist and Confucianism. However, people are not allowed to practice their own religion in public. The government does sponsor some religious activities, but this is only to provide an illusion of religious freedom. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html
21. North Korea launched an attack on South Korea, dropping artillery shells over Yeonpyong. The attached came a few days after America discovered they had a secret facility with increased amounts of uranium enrichment that could advance their capital’s nuclear ambitions. The attack is significant because it continues the already high tensions between the two countries. http://nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/u-s-condemns-north-korean-attack-on-south-korea-20101123?page=1
22. Laura Ling was a journalist and her sister, Lisa Ling was the host of National Geographic and reports frequently for the Oprah Winfrey show and CNN. Laura Ling was over near the China- South Korea border filming a documentary, with her fellow journalist Euna Lee. The two journalists were taken into custody in North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in one of their prison camps. Her sister states: “…There was never any intention to go anywhere near the North Korean border.” The only way that the North Koreans were going to release the two women, were if the U.S. sent former president Clinton to speak with Kim Jong-il. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126613763
2. Kim Jong-il is the Supreme Leader of The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. He was born on February 16, 1941. His father was Kim Il-sung founded the state. He graduated from college in 1964 and quickly rose through the ruling Korean Workers' Party (KWP). In 1992, his father publicly stated that his son was in charge of all internal affairs in the DPRK. Recently, Kim Jong-Il has been grooming his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to be his successor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il
3. The Americans and Soviet Union won WW II. They decided to split up Korea into the South and North Korea. The Soviet Union was to receive North Korea and the Americans got South Korea. North Korea invaded South Korea, to gain control over them. They did not think that America could stop them, but they did. The Soviet Union and America were unable to agree on implementation of the Joint Trusteeship over Korea and decided to give each Korea their own governments in 1984.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_North_Korea
4. http://www.theodora.com/maps/korea_north_map.html
5. To the north west of North Korea is China and to the south of it is South Korea. The bodies of water surrounding it are the Sea of Japan, Korean Bay, and the Yellow Sea.http://www.intute.ac.uk/worldguide/html/980_map.html
6. The 38th parallel is the name given to the line that demarcates North and South Korea. U.S. military planners chose this at the Potsdam Conference.http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/592578/38th-parallel
7. The North Koreans hate the South Koreans. This hatred is what started the Korean war, which really truly is not over. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1qWGjHuH42ZcZ_DlR8h7n-hox3HxuwtERUJK4o9v27QI/edit?hl=en#
8. North Korea, after the Korean war was over, had only half the population South Korea had but was lucky enough to have the most industrial and natural resources. It remained in the communist block and rebuilt itself, with their leader Kim Il-Sung. In the late 1960’s North Korea’s propaganda apparatus wove itself a personality cult around him. North Korea now is the most closed of countries in the world. Kim keeps the people of North Korea strictly under his rule, allowing them to believe what he wants them to believe. http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-26/world/north.korea.explainer_1_north-korea-kim-il-sung
9. I could not find a specific reference to the U.N.’s position on North Korea’s relationship with South Korea. However, looking through some of the recent article on the U.N.’s News Centre on North Korea leads me to believe that they do not want to take sides on who is right or wrong, but want the North and South to work peacefully on resolving their differences.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocusRel.asp?infocusID=69&Body=democratic+people&Body1=Korea
10. North Korea’s major city is Pyeongyang. http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/asia/north-korea/cities.htm
11. The North Korean army is the fourth largest in the world. They have and estimated 1.21 million armed personnel. North Korea has the highest of military personnel per capita with 1 enlisted soldier for every 25 citizens. Military expenditures account for 15.8% of the state budget and they operate a lot of heavy machinery such as tanks and jets. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea_north
12. It is the ultimate military weapon that North Korea can threaten South Korea and other countries with. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s The North Korean government worked to establish its nuclear program. Also during this time they entered into agreements to stop making nuclear weapons. However, they never lived-up to those agreements and on October 9, 2006, they announced that they had conducted a nuclear test that was later confirmed. http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/dprk/nuke/index.html
13. China is the closest ally to North Korea. Even though China has recently implemented UN sanctions on North Korea they still provide a lot of economic support in order to maintain North Korea’s stability. Kim Jong-Il describes their relationship as “unbreakable.” http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm#foreign
14. North Korea is considered a closed state, which means they do not let people in, but they do not let people out either. It is also because North Korea has a Juche government, which has absolute control over its citizens telling them what they can and cannot do, or even what they can and can’t say.http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_cant_people_in_North_Korea_leave_North_Korea
15. North Korea has a record of consistent, severe human rights violations beginning with the country’s total control of the people. Reported human rights abuses include: lengthy imprisonment, torture and degrading treatment, forced labor, public execution, and many more severe punishments. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm
16. North Korea uses the press to politically control their people. They manipulate the news to always show the government in a positive light and that economic conditions, like crop failures and starvation, are always good. http://www.articlesbase.com/ethics-articles/north-korean-press-3853997.html
17. Elections in North Korea are mostly a formality because most candidates are handpicked by Kim Jung-Il and the ruling party. Officially, the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), is the highest organ of state power. Its members are elected every 4 years. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/09/world/asia/09iht-north.1.20696199.htmland http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2792.htm#gov
18. North Korea and the United States’ relationship have been filled with continuous confrontation and mistrust since 1954. North Korea views the U.S. as the strongest imperialist force in the world and the U.S. views North Korea as an international outlaw. http://countrystudies.us/north-korea/68.htm
19. North Korea’s economy is one of the most centrally directed and least open economies. Their GDP (officially exchange rate) is 27.3 billion and their GDP (per capita) is 1,800 dollars. North Korea’s labor force is 20 million, ranking 31st in the world. They are not healthy and thriving. Because of their closed society and centrally controlled government of everything they have problems with food shortages and poor living conditions. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html
20. Traditionally the religious makeup of the country has been Buddhist and Confucianism. However, people are not allowed to practice their own religion in public. The government does sponsor some religious activities, but this is only to provide an illusion of religious freedom. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kn.html
21. North Korea launched an attack on South Korea, dropping artillery shells over Yeonpyong. The attached came a few days after America discovered they had a secret facility with increased amounts of uranium enrichment that could advance their capital’s nuclear ambitions. The attack is significant because it continues the already high tensions between the two countries. http://nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/u-s-condemns-north-korean-attack-on-south-korea-20101123?page=1
22. Laura Ling was a journalist and her sister, Lisa Ling was the host of National Geographic and reports frequently for the Oprah Winfrey show and CNN. Laura Ling was over near the China- South Korea border filming a documentary, with her fellow journalist Euna Lee. The two journalists were taken into custody in North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in one of their prison camps. Her sister states: “…There was never any intention to go anywhere near the North Korean border.” The only way that the North Koreans were going to release the two women, were if the U.S. sent former president Clinton to speak with Kim Jong-il. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126613763
1/3/11
Today was a fun day because it was my birthday so the class sang happy birthday to me and i got to where a hat. Today in class we started a new section and instead of Asia we are now learning about Korea and the Differences between North and South Korea.
Monday, December 13, 2010
10/13
Today in class my group and I worked on gathering research for our project. I am researching about the poverty of India. I hope our project turns out well.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
12/8
Today in class we didn't get to watch a lot of the movie because people needed to turn in work that was late before we started. It took a whole mod before we were watching it.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Hard Times For India
Today in India there are many problems with human trafficking, child exploitation, and forced labor. India is one of the worst countries with these problems, and it needs to be stopped.
Human Trafficking is when people own other people and they put them up for trade or money. This is a giant problem in India because some people think that they can own other people and make them do a lot of jobs for them. Human Trafficking is basically like slavery, and slavery is completely wrong and you should not be a loud to make other people do work for you unless they are getting paid in some way.
Another huge problem in India is child exploitation and that is when people will use children to have sex with or just get pleasure from. An estimated number of 158 million children at the ages of 5-14 are engaged in child labor because they were rapped or forced into bad situations. I think that this is disgusting and that they should not ever be putting children into these problems, because then the young girl will have to deal with a little child and raise it while she is still being raised.
The other main problem in India is forced labor. Forced labor is a horrible problem because while they are doing the labor and getting threatened they are most likely not getting any food or drink, and both of these things could lead to death for the person anyway. It should be a law in India that people cannot make you do anything and if they are you betting be getting a little bit of pay.
I think India needs to work on many of these problems and I hope everything gets betting for the people in that country.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html
Monday, December 6, 2010
India Essay 12/6
So far in human geography class, I have learned a lot of stuff about India. I have learned about India’s population, India’s poverty, India’s problems with human trafficking, and the life in the slums of Mumbia. I also think that the movie Slum Dog Millionaire is a good and honest example of India, because it has all the problems and poverty that India in real life has.
In India poverty is a huge problem and many people are homeless or dying because they don’t have money to get themselves food or water. Many people live in shanti towns, which is basically a bunch of trash pulled together to make a house for themselves. It is sad to think about it because India has a population of 1,173,108,018 and 25% of all those people are living under the poverty line in India. Also another huge problem is Human Trafficking. This is when people own other people and they put them up for trade or money. This is a giant problem in India because some people think that they can own other people and make them do a lot of jobs for them. Human Trafficking is basically like slavery, and slavery is completely wrong and you should not be a loud to make other people do work for you unless they are getting paid in some way.
The lives in the Slums of Mumbia are very difficult, many people have barely any money and they will do absolutely anything to get some money to get themselves food or water. The people in the slums are very poor and the shanti towns that they usually live in are very crowded and busy.
The movie Slum Dog Millionaire is a great example of real India because it shows pretty much everything in that movie. It shows the poverty, the trafficking, what people will do for money, and how the people live in the conditions. I have learned a lot from the movie and I hope we continue to watch it in class.
I have learned a lot in class about India and their problems and I hope to continue learning about them and hopefully it will get better in their country.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)