Analysis of Korean War - Essay Example

The acceleration of development in Korea took effect in 1905 when Japan secured Korea as a colony from Russia. Japanese peasants and proprietors came to Korea and invested heavily in rice farming through improvements in technology such as irrigation and new rice seeds.

The colonial started in 1910, which was marked by positive developments such as population growth because of improvement in hygiene and the introduction of modern medicine. The colonial government was also responsible for many other improvements besides health such as implementing policies to modernize institutions and the Korean economy (Thomas White International, Ltd.). Other developments were the expansion of railways, roads, harbors, telegraphs, and the telephone network. Korea was not happy with the colonization by the Japanese.

As much as the colonization brought development, Koreans were being oppressed by Japanese rule. It was common for them to carry out demonstrations for independence from time to time. One incident was when young Koreans mostly students and Christians were inspired by US president Woodrow Wilson's Idealism in 1918 and decide to carry out peaceful demonstrations. This did not go down in favor of the Koreans because the Japanese responded with brutal force, which comprise beheading schoolchildren and nailing Christians on crosses.

Korea had been divided into two after World War II, the north and south. The north had been occupied by Soviet troops and the south by Americans. T Most notorious being Major general Park Chung Hee, however coincidentally his rule saw significant economic growth in the country.

Protests led to the military regime holding elections in 1987, which led to stable governance starting in 1990. In terms of economy, South Korea impressively has transformed from poverty to one of Asia’s greatest economies. It's per capita GNP has grown greatly from $100 in 1963 to over $16,000 by 2005 (Thomas White International, Ltd.). As much as the political situation was tough, the country focused on economic revival programs promoting industrialization, implementing them in a series of five-year plans.

The government directly supported the economy by offering incentives to businesses, enforcing fiscal policies, and regulating foreign exchange. Before 1960, the North Korean economy seemed to perform better than South Korea. However, since then the economy deteriorated and been worsened by the collapse of communist governments in 1991, which was the country’s main source of support. North Korea in contrast to its neighbor South Korea remains to be among the poorest and least developed countries in the world.