The Korean Hub: all about Korea!

From north to south Korea measures approximately 1000 kilometres and has a surface in excess of 220847 square kilometres. In the north, it borders China and Russia. The other parts of the country are surrounded by sea.

Korea numbers 65 million people, of which 22 million reside in North Korea. North and South Korea are separated by a demilitarized zone which lies around the 38th degree of latitude. 

If you look from an economic perspective you could say a Korean miracle has taken place. Worldwide it is known as the miracle on the Han river. Right after the Korean War (1950-1953), it was the poorest country in the world. Hanguk has managed to climb to the thirteenth spot at the present time. Some considerations are necessary though. There are big industrial companies and the middle and upper classes are doing really well. The reality however is that most of the Koreans have a salary of around € 1,000 a month, which is very little considering the current prices of real estate.

The Korean economy is dominated by big companies (Chaebol) and the different layers of governmental interference. This could be an obstruction during the business, but if the government supports an initiative it really speeds everything up.

At the mercy of global powers.

Korea had to face great nations since it came existence. Surrounded by Japan, Russia and China as a great tactical peninsula forced the Koreans to defend their country and culture till the end was safeguarded. Just like the Chinese, the Japanese claimed the peninsula of Korea. It is still hotly debated who actually founded the Eastern Asian civilisation. This has caused quite a lot of rivalry between the different parties. The rivalry between Koreans and Japanese is very heavy and the Koreans suspect the Chinese would love to eventually incorporate North Korea into their territory. And if they don’t they are at the very least wanting great benefits from North Koreas natural resources. If you add the interests of both the United States and Russia to the mix, it becomes clear that Korea is a very tense piece of earth.

This is just as old and rich as ancient Greek or Chinese societies. The Koreans played a major part in prehistoric East Asia, starting at around 700.000 years ago, till now. In the past, they controlled Manchuria and stopped the advance of Eastern Jin. In modern times they overcame the Japanese domination in which the conservation of Hanguk culture was much loved by the Koreans themselves, and so hard fought by them. It’s a great melting pot of Shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Christianity. The culture was gone, lost and found again.