EverydayKorea.com

A Country Study: South Korea

South Korea Foreword Acknowledgements Preface Country Profile Country Geography Society Economy Transportation and Telecommunications Government and Politics National Security Introduction Chapter 1 - Historical Setting (Chong-Sik Lee) Origins of the Korean Name The Three Kingdoms Period The Evolution of Korean Society Silla Koryo The Choson Dynasty Characteristics of Society Under Dynasties Korean Identity Political and Social Institutions Korea Under Japanese Rule World War II and Korea South Korean Under United States Occupation, 1945-48 Economy and Society Establishment of the Republic of Korea The Korean War, 1950-53 The Syngman Rhee Era, 1946-60 Society Under Rhee The Postwar Economy The Democratic Interlude South Korea Under Park Chung Hee, 1961-79 The Military in Politics Economic Development Society Under Park Foreign Relations Relations with North Korea Relations with Japan Relations with the United States The Transition The Democratic Republican Party The New Democratic Party Students in 1980 General Hun Doo Hwan Takes Over The Kwangju Uprising The Chun Regime The 1980 Constitution Purges Chun's "Cultural Revolution Economic Performance Foreign Policy United States Japan China and the Soviet Union The Demise of the Chun Regime Chapter 2 - The Society and Its Environment (Donald M. Seekins) Physical Environment Land Area and Borders Topography and Drainage Climate Population Population Trends Population Settlement Patterns Urbanization Koreans Living Overseas Social Structure and Values Traditional Social Structure The Emergence of a Modern Society Social Classes in Contemporary South Korea Traditional Family Life Family and Social Life in the Cities Changing Role of Women Cultural Identity Korea and Japan The Korean Language Education Primary and Secondary Schools Higher Education College Student Activism Religion Religious Traditions Shamanism Daoism and Buddhism Christianity New Religions Religion in Contemporary South Korea Public Health and Welfare Health Conditions Health Care and Social Welfare Chapter 3 - The Economy (Daniel Metraux) The Japanese Role in Korea's Economic Development The Government Role in Economic Development Industrial Policies Economic Plans Revenues and Expenditures The Government, and Public and Private Corporations The Origins and Development of Chaebol The Role of Public Enterprise Pohang Iron and Steel Company Korea Electric Power Corporation Financing Development Industry Steel Electronics Shipbuilding Automobiles and Automotive Parts Armaments Construction Textiles and Footwear Chemicals Energy Agriculture Major Crops Forestry and Fishing The Agricultural Crisis of the late 1980s Prospects Service Industries Money and Banking Small and Medium-Sized Businesses The Labor Force Wages and Living Conditions Industrial Safety Transportation and Telecommunications Roads Subways and Railroads Civil Aviation Telecommunications Foreign Economic Relations Aid, Loans, and Investment Foreign Trade Policy Exports and Imports Korea in the Year 2000 The Setting The Role of Science and Technology The Economic Future Chapter 4 - Government and Politics (William Shaw) The Constitutional Framework The Government The Legislature The Executive The State Council The Presidential Secretariat The Judiciary The Civil Service Local Administration Political Dynamics Compromise and Reform: July-December 1987 Events in 1988 Returning to the Politics of National Security, 1989 Parties and Leaders Interest Groups Political Extremism and Political Violence Human Rights The Media (Roy U.T. Kim Foreign Policy Organization and Operation Basic Goals and Accomplishments Relations with the United States Relations with the Soviet Union Relations with Japan Relations with China Relations with North Korea Relations with International Organizations and the Third World Future Prospects Chapter 5 - National Security (Rodney P. Katz Development of the Armed Forces Kogyro, Silla, and Koryo Kingdoms The Choson Dynasty and the Japanese Colonial Period The South Korean Army after World War II War on the Korean Peninsula South Korea Responds to the North Korean Military Buildup The Military's Role in Society Organization and Equipment of the Armed Forces Army Air Force Navy and Marine Corps Reserve and Civil Defense Forces Recruitment, Training, and Conditions of Service Officers and Noncommisioned Officers Enlisted Personnel Uniforms, Ranks, and Insignia Defense Spending and Military Production Defense Spending Military Production Strategic Planning for War United States Forces in Korea South Korean and United States Cooperation (Guy R. Arrigoni) Internal Security The Threat from the North Seoul's Responses Intelligence Agencies The Agency for National Security Planning The Defense Security Command Korean National Police Criminal Justice Crime Criminal Prodedure Appendix. Tables Bibliography

PREFACE

Like its predecessor, this study attempts to review the history and treat in a concise and objective manner the dominant social, political, economic, and military aspects of South Korea. Under Roh Tae Woo, who was elected president of the Sixth Republic in 1987 (as well as under the previous president, Chun Doo Hwan, 1980-87), South Korea has been struggling to maintain its economic successes. Movement in more democratic directions has been much slower than economic development. Political unrest, labor strikes, and student agitation continued to challenge the government in the early 1990s.

Sources of information included books, scholarly journals, foreign and domestic newspapers, official reports of governments and international organizations, and numerous periodicals on Korean and East Asian affairs. Chapter bibliographies appear at the end of the book, and brief comments on some of the more valuable sources recommended for further reading appear at the end of each chapter. A Glossary also is included.

Spellings of place-names used in the book are in most cases those approved by the United States Board on Geographic Names. However, the generic parts appended to some geographic names have been dropped and their English equivalents substituted: for example, Cheju Island, not Cheju-do, and South Ch'ungch'ong Province, not Ch'ungch'ong-namdo. The name South Korea has been used where appropriate in place of the official name, Republic of Korea. The McCune-Reischauer system of transliteration has been employed, except in cases of the names of some prominent national figures, internationally recognized corporations, and the city of Seoul, where the more familiar journalistic equivalent is used. The names of Korean authors writing in English are spelled as given.

Measurements are given in the metric system. A conversion table is provided to assist those readers who are unfamiliar with metric measurements (see table 1, Appendix).

The body of the text reflects information available as of June 1990. Certain other portions of the text, however, have been updated: the Introduction discusses significant events that have occurred since the completion of research and the Bibliography includes recently published sources thought to be particularly helpful to the reader.

Data as of June 1990

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