Landforms

Over the next few days, I've had a few opportunities to experience the natural beauty of the country. South Korea is a peninsula, and is surrounded by the Yellow Sea and  the Sea of Japan. 70% of the country is covered by hills and mountains; most of the latter are located in the T'aebaeksan range. Mr. Paektusan, as it is called, is the highest mountain, reaching an elevation of 2,744 meters, which is approximately 9,002 feet.

Mr. Paektusan
http://www.google.com/imgresimgurl=http://www.cotf.edu/ete/images/modules/korea/
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Mountains are formed at convergent boundaries, where plates meet. The plates are forced together through convection, which in turn is caused by heating inside the earth. South Korea is located near the borders of the Eurasian and Philippine Plates. This location may increase the amount of plate activity.

Sources: - http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/geo/landforms.htm - World Geography: Building a Global Perspective

Climate

After a few days here, it's become easier to be able to predict what the weather will be like from day to day. I've been staying in Seoul ever since I arrived. According to a website I found, temperatures range from a low of 14*F to a high of 102*F. Summers, including this one, are pretty humid, but it's less so in the winter. From June to September is monsoon season, so that explains the increase in the amount of rain. The climate in South Korea, according to a book I've been looking at, is humid subtropical in parts, but humid continental in others. Other factors that influence the climate of the country are that it is a peninsula, which makes it easily affected by ocean currents, is located in the Northeastern hemisphere, and has many mountains, which may lower the temperature through elevation. More on that in the next post. I'm going to go sightseeing soon.

Seoul Climograph
Courtesy of:
http://www.worldexecutive.com/locations/asia-pacific/south_korea/seoul/weather

Sources: -World Geography: Building a Global Perspective -CIA Factbook -http://www.worldexecutive.com/locations/asia_pacific/south_korea/seoul/weather

Ecosystems

Lemon Bell

Courtesy of:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://kellydnorris.com/wp-content/

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South Korea has an array of flora and fauna. Its moderate climate makes it a hospitable habitat for specific species. After going bird-watching, I learned some of the birds include the baikal teal, tundra swans, yellow-remped flycatchers, and the crested ibis, among others. Other animals include red squirrels, Korean hares, striped field mice, sika deer, gray wolves, and red foxes. Most of the country's ecosystem is characterized by mid-latitude deciduous forest, which is commonly found in Humid Continental and Subtropical climates. The lemon bell is one of the native plants of South Korea.

Baikal Teal

Courtesy of:

http://www.listofcountriesoftheworld.com/ks-animals.html

Sources: - World Geography: Building a Global Perspective - wwww.gardenguides.com/94371-native-plants-korea.html

Natural Resources

Many of the natural resources of South Korea are metals, which is good for an industrial society. They include: gold, silver, lead, graphite, coal, tungsten, and molybdenum. Also, Korea has hydropower potential, which could help to power its factories.

Molybdenum Ore
Picture courtesy of http://www.molybdenumpowder.com/historyofmolybdenum.htm.

Sources: - World Geography: Building a Global Perspective - CIA Factbook

Human-Environmental Interaction

Since South Korea has a peninsula, it has fishing potential. However, this exploitation of resources has brought water pollution. The industrialization of the country has also welcomed factories. These contribute to air pollution, which, in turn, causes acid rain.

South Korean Fishing Boats
 Courtesy of: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/08/29/north.south.korea.boat/index.html

Source: - CIA Factbook

Political Borders

South Korea shares a border with one of the most feared countries in the world, North Korea. The border that they share is heavily garded along both sides. There is also an electric fence that was put in place so that North Korea could make sure that no one would cross the border into South Korea. There are special means by which the two nations commuinicate at either sides of the main border. Troops are stationed there so that there can be no wrong moves done by either side to try to get into the other boundary. There have been many instances in which both sides have fired at each other and it has lead to involvement of other countries, such as the United States.

Culture

     South Korean people value family above all else. The father guides the family and takes place as the head. His responsibilities are slowly transfered to the eldest son, who is given special responsibilities and duties to the family. Korean families have strong values that they display and show to the rest of the community. Each member's actions reflect the entire family as a whole. Also, individuals have to consider their family a priority before their own self interests in an ideal South Korean family. Ancestors are worshiped and there are festivals that are dedicated to them, this is because Koreans feel in debt to them because the ancestors brought the family to the position it is in currently.
     South Korean people value etiquette to an extreme. For example, when you meet some one, the proper action would be to slightly bow down or to shake hands. The shaking hands is an example of cultural diffusion because it is a western custom that has diffused and entered into the Korean culture. The gift giving aspect of Korean culture has a basic rule: if you recieve a gift, then you have to give a gift to the person. Generally people give the gift of fruits because it is not that expensive, and the reciever wont feel compelled to reciprocate with another expensive gift.When entering the house it is appropriate to take your shoes off and allow the host to welcome you in individually. People usually dress formally and simply without much jewelery.
     One of the most important celebrations in South Korea is the Lotus Lantern Festival. It is the celebration of Buddha's birthday. The lanterns are made in the form of lotus shapes. Despite the fact that South Korea is not a Buddhist country, they feel that the festival's traditions represent the culture of South Korea the most. There are booths that display the Buddhist traditions from around the world., as well as performances with singing and dasncing. The festival takes place from May 18th to 20th in Seoul, South Korea. There is also a street parade in which foreigners are huge participants.

Demographics



Map of Korea
Courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea



After exploring the wild part of South Korea, I'm finally getting down to learning more about the people's side of it. Here are the basics:

Absolute Location: 37*33' N, 126* 59' E 
Population: 48,860,500
Since South Korea is a developed country, its population is relatively stable. The birth and death rates are low because living conditions are good. This, in turn, is based on Korea's economics.
Birth Rate: 8.42%
Death Rate: 6.38%
Infant Mortality: 4.08%
Life Expectancy: 79.3 years
Literacy: 97.9%
Land Area: 99,720 km, or about 327,165,354 ft.
Capital: Seoul
Provinces: Chungbuk, Chungnam, Gangwon, Gyeonggi,
Gyeongbuk, Gyeongnam, Jeju, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam
Metropolitan Cities: Busan, Daegu, Daejon, Gwangju,
Incheon, Seoul, Ulsan

83% Urbanized

                                                                                                              

South Korean Flag
Courtesy of
http://wwzw.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://images.travelpod.com/users/will/6.1253730057.
korean-flag-at-the-summit.jpg&imgrefurl=http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-photo/will/6/1253730057/
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=en&start=20&sig2=VhwBTmIGMRQW1vxYXkzcng&zoom=1&tbnid=9odEfYVdH_0pWM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=
133&ei=Yzm1T9jrN6OO2wWY3cAg&prev=/search%3Fq%3DKorean%2BFlag%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1

Source: - https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html

Government Systems

    The government of South Korea is similar to the US government systems in many ways. One such way is that they also have three major branches that are the legislative, judicial, and executive. They follow the rules stated in the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. There will either be a presidential or semi-presidential system. Currently, they are using the semi-presidential system. The semi-presidential system is when the  prime minister and the president work side by side. There is a state council that is composed of the president, prime minister, and the sixteen cabinet official representitaves. The council lacks the power for final decisions, but they are required to look into the matter before it is made.

Economic Activities & Level of Development

South Korea is a developed country. It has undergone urbanization and has low mortality and birth rates. It has a high life expectancy and literacy rate and its GDP is $31,700.00 per capita.

A low 2.6% of South Korea's GDP is in the agriculture industry and 39.2% is in the industrial category, but 58.2% of the GDP is from services. Of industries, some common products are electronics, telecommunications, chemicals, steel, shipbuilding, and automobile production.  In agriculture, rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs, and fish are the usual products.

The country imports goods that value up to $524.4 billion, mostly from China, Japan, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Australia. It exports $556.5 billion worth of goods, the majority of which are sent to China, Japan, and the United States.

Conditions are relatively pleasant for workers. South Korea has a 3.4% unemployment rate and 15% of the population are below the poverty line.



Source: - CIA Factbook

Future Problems

Some future problems in South Korea that pertain to the environment are acidification, acid rain and decrease in biodiversity. Acidification is a side effect of  acid rain. It occurs when the water ands oil pH is lowered because of the acid rain. This can kill many plants and animals. Fish are one of the most commonly affected organisms. Acid rain is when the water has high levels of sulfer dioxide which can wipe out entire forests. One case study is the New England forest.

First Day!!!

Hello all!

Today I arrived in the country of South Korea. The plane landed at Incheon airport, the largest airport here. It's located close to Seoul, the capital city.





Incheon Airport
Courtesy of:

Ø  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Incheon_Road.jpg