History and economics: interconnections and influences

Economic Development of China and Korea

China and Korea, not exactly highly developed countries, but carry a mystique about them that intrigues everyone in the United States. Two countries, on the verge of emerging into their full economic potential, is at the present time, attracting plenty of media attention. Was their economic bankruptcy influenced by the attack on America? The purpose of this essay is to discuss and compare the differences and similarities of the two countries, including education, culture, religion, traditions, way of living and history, and emphasizing the economic development of these two fascinating countries.

Korea had its beginning, about two thousand years ago, when two nations were in a battle, creating a small independent population area, which we now know it today as the nation, Korea. Korea actually evolved spontaneously, with no planning or organization. Although Korea developed it's own identity and uniqueness, it is the envy of many outside nations, wishing to possess and control the country.

Korea's history has been largely beyond its control. Asia and the West have

Collided in the Far East for centuries, and whether intended or not, Korea has always stood in military interests. More than any other East Asian nation, the strong have envied Korea not only for its rich natural treasures, but for what it represents: An Asian Gateway to Japan and the Pacific, a bridgehead to China, Central Asia, and Russian Siberia" (Caraway, William, 3/2001).

Although isolated, but the center of attention, Korea is a determined nation to stay strong, and keep it's unique individuality and identity, uninfluenced by it's many would be dominators.

To this day, Korea is still struggling to find its own way among completing international political, economic, and military interest. It is a nation with a clear sense of national identity, a strong sense of fatalism, a historically justified fear that its fate has rarely been it its own hands, and a stubborn determination to shape its own destiny" (Williams, 3/2001).

The beginning of China was somewhat different from that of Korea. Korea's existence resulted because of a battle, but China's existence emerged due to some issues with the empire.

Confrontation of the empire, and a severe lack of availability of land space created a secluded area of Chinese society, which were forced to be independent and self-reliant, which explains the unusual independence the country experiences today. Although China had a weak military and government, the ability to survive on it's own, without trading with any other nation, China's true power and undeniable strength loudly speaks out for itself. The country started out with about 300 million Chinese citizens.

Just like the Korean nation, China too, struggles to keep its identity and individuality, with conflict from many other surrounding nations. Other nations have been intimidated by China's strength and stability to stand on its own as an independent nation. Every nation wants to feel needed and depended upon for economic, financial and educational reasons. China proved its efficiency to survive on its own. (Poon, Leon, no date given).

Another recurrent historical them has been the unceasing struggle of the sedentary Chinese against the threat posed to their safety and way of life by non-Chinese peoples on the margins of their territory in the North, and northeast, and northwest. In the thirteenth century, the Mongol form the northern steppes became the first alien people to conquer all China.

Although not as culturally developed as the Chinese, they left some imprint on Chinese civilization while heightening Chinese perceptions of threat from the north. China came under Alien rule for the second time in the mid-seventeenth century: the conquerors -- the Manchus-came again from the north and north east" (Poon, no date).

LIVING CONDITIONS

Now that we know the history and emergence of the two fascinating countries, China and Korea, and we know about their past or where they came from, we will now be able to understand the development of their nations, their cultures, and their present and possibly predict their future economic development. We now know that both countries possessed enough soundness and stability to maintain their true identity, despite the obstacles, and struggles they had to deal with. Their way of living may be the backbone of this strength and determination to remain stable and keep their true identity as a nation. This background information can determine the success, and what degree of their success their economic development potential. As of now, we are going to look into the development of their cultures, values and beliefs, and how these came about.

As we found out earlier, Korea was formed by pure spontaneous consequence, and is surrounded by an island. Just like Chinese culture, when a couple decides to marry, they do not move into their own place, in their own apartment or house, and start a separate family, but instead both cultures, Chinese and Korea, marriages evolve into an extension of their present families. Although the research reveals that the Chinese families live in very small houses, I must assume that these houses are small to America's standards, but until one actually sees China, this is not certain.

Korea's living quarters do not exist of a house or an apartment, but instead a courtyard, which is similar to a hotel setting. The living room, or the dining room is what we would think of as a large 5-star hotel lobby. Each family has their own separate rooms, but they come down to the central area for family events, or watching television, parties, dinner, etc... I also found some contradictory in my research regarding this issue, because in a very different source, it explained that each courtyard owns a chef in Korea, and the chef is responsible for cooking the meals and distributing them to each individual room of the courtyard.

Marriage arrangements, as discussed earlier are an extension of the immediate families, in both the Chinese and the Korean cultures. Korean oldest males are obligated to stay in the same courtyard, and take care of their families, again sort of contradictory to my last findings. Other articles give the impression that all offspring stay with their immediate families, and this one implies that the younger males, upon marriage can leave the courtyard. However, from research we know that it is customary for Korean families to live with their immediate families after marriage.

China marriages are very similar, except that when a couple marries, the married couple lives with the girl's family. In China, it is customary for quite a few large families living in one- bedroom houses. There are many reasons for this, but perhaps one of the most influential reasons is that China's economic independence does not allow sufficient material funds to build housing and allow the separate purchase of land, so that couples can live independently.

EDUCATION

There seems to be much disappointment in the Korean education system, because the school system is quite a few years behind in it's learning technologies. Many Korean children who wish to relocate to more developed nations, either after graduation, or becoming an exchange student during the process of their education find themselves not as competitive with other students of their age and/or education level.

Korean schools has been described as an education system with large

Classrooms, rote learning, and a rigid curriculum devised by bureaucrats.

Korean kids do excel in math and science, but critics complain that the schools don't instill in them the creative flair needed to innovate science, and build a knowledge-based economy" (Ihlwan, Moon, 8/2001).

Not many people would argue that the education system of a nation does affect the economic potential of the country. The kids, tomorrow's leaders will invest and act on economic decisions based upon the principles and knowledge gained from their traditional education. For Korea to be more competitive in the economic development, it must improve its school system.

Another problem or complaint with the Korean education system, that although the lack of qualified learning is obvious, when compare to other nations at the same age and grade level, Korean kids are overworked, and exhausted by the schools education system. It is not unusual for Korean children to put in over 18 hours a day in school, in addition to spending more time at home with a tutor. This system has had an impact on the American Public School System, because although American Education Board will not allow citizens of other countries to attend schools in America, many Koreans have been found getting their education in America illegally. However, Korea's education government system does have its defenses, and below is a quote form one of the school boards education directors.

The Korean education system has lots of things to be admired, says

Kim Heung Ju, director general of the state-funded Korean Educational

Development Institute. The problem is only a handful of universities matter in Korea. That leads to excessive competition" (Moon, 8/2001).

Traditions in the Chinese education system are more rigid, and focuses on teaching children obedience and discipline. Chinese schools do not encourage self-expression or individuality, but focuses on the belief their destiny in life was predetermined before they their birth. Chinese education emphasizes the Confucius teachings, which teaches that they cannot defy their pre-determined purpose in life.

As China's economic development emerges, (which will be discussed in detail later) their education system is undergoing quite a few considerable changes. Teaching hours are going to be drastically increased, and more subjects are going to become mandatory. In the past, China schools have not given teachers any guidelines or a specific curriculum for teaching certain subjects. This is all about to change, the schools in China are going to have a specific goal for teachers to accomplish, and for students to pass each level, a certain level of knowledge will be acquired.

One of the factors China seems to be considering important is the teaching of history subjects. History was not one of china's previous concerns, and was only required for tow semesters at the junior level. Chinese history only taught background material covering the Chinese culture and history, which was appropriate, because China was an economically independent nation for its banking, education, finance, commerce and insurance arrangements. Up until an agreement with the World Trade Organization, which was a result of their recent bankruptcy, China did not trade with any other nation. Now, in the process of these changes, and perhaps a stipulation of the World Trade Agreement, China's education in world history has now become mandatory, in order to protect the nations best interest. Incorporating more history academics into the Chinese education system is not the only advancement that China is undergoing; it is making other improvements as well.

The leading role of students in the epistemological process of teaching and learning has been raised to prominence, but at the same time, the guiding role of teachers have not been neglected. This has changed the conventional giver-receiver relationship between teachers and students and ahs given rise to a new cooperative relationship between those who guide and those who learn. Attention is paid to motivating students to use their hands, mouths, and brains in learning, thereby strengthening the training of students' skills and abilities. Emphasis is laid on the systematic nature of historical knowledge and on making it more visual. Priority is given to the content of the textbooks, thus raising the efficiency of learning"

Qingjun, Chen, no date).

No sources could be found on the development of the Korean education system, this may be because the media and the government is focusing more on the economic development of China, instead of Korea, but this is only an observation. The education system was discussed in detail, because the way the students are taught effects the entire nation, and since the attack on America, this may be expanding to all of the nations. Also, education is an ongoing process, not just merely ending when one finishes high school or college. Education training continues through ones professional career, and as new technologies are developed, the economy is always changing and progressing, therefore new procedures must be constantly changed and applied. Knowledge of a nations education system and it's acceptance to changes, gives insight on which nations are going to progress more profitably and economically.

ECONOMY: WHAT REALLY IS AFFECTING EVERY NATIONS ECONOMY?

From this point on, this essay is going to discuss the details of the economy, and compare China and Korea's economic changes and developments. As we all know, the September 11 th bombing did not only attack America, although it was named "Attack on America," it attacked the world, remembering that it was the World Trade Center, consisting over 90 nations involved in this building. This attack, along with the Enron Scandal, and now the MCI, and possibly Xerox downfall, is affecting nations, and nations that are already economically underdeveloped, has hit an all time bankruptcy.

I do wish to point out, however, that the September 11 th attack should not have so much effect on the economy in America as it does. Since President Busch is backing up Enron, because Enron contributed to Busch's campaign, I do believe that the Bush administration is using the attack on America to take the focus off of the Enron scandal. But if this is true, this is only a temporary fix. As the MCI and possibly the Xerox corporations fall, the facts will become obvious, and the true reasons why worldwide economies are falling will eventually emerge. I do not believe that the economy in any nation will improve until Enron loses its ability to divert the attention on the September 11th attack. In all the sources founded on favoring China's economy, I cannot help but think there are some possibilities of Bush controlling these statistics, for reasons no one in America can yet see.

KOREA'S ECONOMY VS CHINA'S ECONOMY

Korea's economy potential does not seem to be as strong as China's economic growth potential, according to the Korean Herald, 2002. "For any potential investor, questions about Korea will arise, because it is a big political risk. Uncertainty is an important criteria in selecting a country to invest in" (Mi-Hui, Kim, 2002). As mentioned before, the media has a considerable amount of control of which nations actually develop; the research found seems to be favoring China as a stronger country for economic progress.

Another reason for the seemingly greater risk difference in Korea, is the realization that trade with other nations may not be as convenient because Korea is surrounded by an island. Korea also has weaker telecommunication potential, a weaker government and a weaker military, that makes it less competitive with China. However, as far as a tourist attraction, Korea, surrounded by beautiful beaches would seem to be a great investment, but the management of investments may not run so smoothly. (Mi-Hui, 2002).

As far as technology wise, Korea is still behind in its technology, and business practices. In comparison, it has not been founded where Korea entered a trade agreement with the government, where as China did, and this may also decrease some of the potential economic growth for investors.

Financial experts have encouraged Korea to incorporate English as a mandatory second language in their education system, but Korea has not responded to this suggestion, although China has. Despite the bad publicity about Korea's economic and education standards, this is not to say that Korea shows no potential for economic growth, statistics just points out that Korea may be less competitive with other countries concerning economic development.

A recent Newspaper source shows an economic growth rater for Korea averaging 3.7%. Another risk for economic investors, is the silence of the statistics. "Korea does not release economic statistics. Korean officials calculated their estimates with data collected from international aid groups and other sources " (NA, 5/2002)

In the past several years, Korea has gone through its ups and downs of economic development, but after the last downfall, was revived by funds from other nations. Korea's economy did show rapid progress in the year of 1999. Foreign aid was an economic salvation for Korea at this point. "North Korea's foreign trade totaled 2.27 Billion dollars last year, a fraction compared to South Korea's 291.5 billion trade volume in the same year, according to the South Korean Bank" (World stream, 2002).

CHINA'S ECONOMY POTENTIAL

There is much publicity about the economic growth of China's potential, and the majority of the publicity is very favorable. Experts agree that China is the investor's best choice, and that it carries the less risk. China will be investing in the newest and latest technologies, including the latest telecommunications.

Telecommunications allows faster business agreements and arrangements, contracts can be signed in a matter of minutes, between two or more parties, all within thousands of miles away from each other, sells can be more easily made, purchases made faster, are possibilities thanks to DSL internet, cell phones, lap-top portable computers and faxes. When a nation is willing to invest in telecommunications, it is making a statement that shows its seriousness and commitment to progressing and succeeding economically.

China has made undeniably remarkable progress recently, showing improvements in every area of economic development and growth. Before China hit bankruptcy, it was an independent nation, and did not trade or make business arrangements with other nations. All of China's financial institutions were independently state owned, and could depend on its own easy resources when the nation became financially troubled.

Where once China was able to boost the economy by releasing the pent-up power of sectors restrained by Maoist folly, it has now run out of easy sources of new growth potential. It must get the marketplace to deploy labor and capital much more efficiently. Both are still being stifled by government interference" (Lardy, Nicholas, 2002).