9781422275757

Introduction N orth and South Koreamay be two of themost different nations in the entire world despite the fact that they share thou- sands of years of history, language, and culture. The differences between these two nations are between peace and war, democracy and dictatorship, capitalism and communism , and freedom and repression . These differences define the two nations of North and South Korea, which, despite being fairly small (the 97th and 107th largest in the world, respectively), loom large in ongoing global debates about security, nuclear arms, foreign aid, and human rights. Events that take place in Korea today draw the attention of the entire world. Relative to 4,000 years of history in Korea, the division between the Communist North and the capitalist South is very new. While Korea has been divided into different kingdoms many times during its history prior to the Korean War of 1950 to 1953, it had never been so rigidly structured into two nations of polar opposites, nor had it ever been so important to the most powerful nations in the Words to Understand Communism: An economic and political systemwhere all property is held in common; a form of government in which a one-party state controls the means of production and distribution of resources. Indoctrinate: To urge assimilation or conformity to a social or political group, sometimes done involuntarily or unconsciously. Megalopolis: A Greek term meaning “great city,” this name is applied to any of the very largest cities or urban areas in the world, usually those with 10 million or more inhabitants. Repression: Restraining or preventing a population from taking action, by force or the threat of force. Sanction: An economic (and sometimesmilitary) punishment of a nation that defies international law.

7