Korea during early 20th century up to 1970s

[koreanboy]

agree,but as you know that philippines is still better place to invest than s.korea ,thats why lot of korean national trying to put there own business there in phil..and you why...?co'z 'til now north korea is still trying to attack even though they were separate ,i think lately you heard the news bet. 2 koreas .sa isang iglap lang pweding bumagsak ang s.korea dahil sa alitan na ito...

[architec101]

Originally Posted by kenken94

The success of South Korea is really astonishing. I'm just sad that the success is not happening in my country. I remember back then, the PHL was just a notch after Japan for being the most developed country in Asia. The Americans were generous to rebuild the City of Manila after the war. We had a large army and a prosperous economy, obviously, everything was getting better. We even participated in the Cold War, sending soldiers to the Korean Peninsula and Vietnam to aid them fight the communists. Our democracy is a failure, corruption is prevalent.

The supposedly, USA style democracy never worked, instead people are suffering from poverty and the government is not transparent enough. Hae, I'm just optimistic but the odds are just great.

We are endowed with rich natural resources, fertile soils, vibrant fishing grounds and a people who are highly proficient in English but yet we lack the determination and hard work of the Korean People and the Japanese that took their country to great heights.

Keep the faith, you will be the one to change it. While I am glad that SK is seen as a model country by you, Phillippines have an entirely different situation from that of SK. SK is situated in a very volitile and geographically conflicting area of Asia. South Korea has many issues and Koreans have to fight to survive everyday. Perhaps that's what inspires them to work harder. I do admire the beauty of your country. My colleagues went to Cebu and they did not want to come back.

[kenken94]

Well if ever war breaks out again, PHL would be filled with refugees. But also, our country if I'm not mistaken has also diplomatic relations with North Korea at the same time. Just like how we recognize the "One China" policy and yet still has relations with ROC (Taiwan).

We're also in a dispute with China over Spratly's. And yes, there are lots of Koreans here in Cebu. A lot of my friends are actually English teachers to korean students here. I see a lot of them Kors in malls and in tourist areas. Really though, I never knew PHL was a better place to invest. Actually according to latest figures, Koreans were the largest number of tourists the country garnered in terms of nationality followed by the Chinese and Americans.

[kenken94]

Originally Posted by koreanboy

agree,but as you know that philippines is still better place to invest than s.korea ,thats why lot of korean national trying to put there own business there in phil..and you why...?co'z 'til now north korea is still trying to attack even though they were separate ,i think lately you heard the news bet. 2 koreas .sa isang iglap lang pweding bumagsak ang s.korea dahil sa alitan na ito...

North and South had the same ambition to unite the Korean peninsula but uses two separate methods. The North wants to simply invade the South and make it communist while the South prefers to use diplomacy and negotiation to find common ground and establish agreement.

Frankly, in case of war, SK has way a lot more to lose than NK. Remember that SK is an economic powerhouse, any damage to your vital infrastructure will greatly disrupt the economy. Aside from the casualties, the economy and the quality of life of the people will suffer most.

Though, SK really changed dramatically since the 70's. Hope that change will also happen here soon.

[drunkenmunkey888]

The story of Korea is truly a modern rags to riches fairy tale come true. It is very inspiring to read about and see pictures of the intensity of change that has happened in Korea. To see pictures from the 1950's of starving orphans born into one of the poorest, most abjectly impoverished countries in the world and know that they (assuming they stayed in korea) would retire in one of the wealthiest, most advanced countries in the world is beyond words. Those starving orphans' grandchildren would enjoy a standard of living equal to that of the United States really shows how nothing is beyond the realm of possibility.

[jlee]

Gallery of post-war Korea.
http://photo.media.daum.net/slide/in...s=img&nil_id=4

[jlee]

[jlee]

[jlee]

[jlee]

All photos taken by Dr. John Crones, British, between 1954-1956.

[Remolino]

Originally Posted by kenken94

The success of South Korea is really astonishing. I'm just sad that the success is not happening in my country. I remember back then, the PHL was just a notch after Japan for being the most developed country in Asia. The Americans were generous to rebuild the City of Manila after the war. We had a large army and a prosperous economy, obviously, everything was getting better. We even participated in the Cold War, sending soldiers to the Korean Peninsula and Vietnam to aid them fight the communists. Our democracy is a failure, corruption is prevalent.

The supposedly, USA style democracy never worked, instead people are suffering from poverty and the government is not transparent enough. Hae, I'm just optimistic but the odds are just great.

We are endowed with rich natural resources, fertile soils, vibrant fishing grounds and a people who are highly proficient in English but yet we lack the determination and hard work of the Korean People and the Japanese that took their country to great heights.

Wrong. Read somewhere that after WW II it was agreed by some of the major powers that Japan would be rebuilt into a modern Industrial power while the Philippines and some other nations would be left has second rate nations that would supply those industrial nations with resources. It explains alot. Soviets were knocking at Japans door so rebuilt them into a major industrial nation. Soviets and Chinese knocking at South Koreas doors so rebuilt them into a major industrial nation. No one knocking at the Philippines door so too bad for them. Thats why you must admire Israel. Lobby groups which represent Israel, at least in the US, make sure the US always has there small nations interest at heart.

Concerning Manila, the US unfortunately did destroy most of the City of Manila during there attack on the Japanese. They say after Warsaw that Manila was the second most damaged allied city in WW II. Under the Japanese the Manila Massacre also took place.


Found this movie which shows South Koreas Capital near the beginning of the 20th century. Near the end it shows what some of those places look like today.



Found other videos of the then poverty of Korea. It seems people get the feeling that Korea was always poor before South Korea came into being. But if you go centuries back it does not seem to be the fact. They had trade with the outside world. They had an good military and navy. It takes money to maintain all those things. A poor economy cannot really sustain those things.

During its reign, Joseon consolidated its absolute rule over Korea, encouraged the entrenchment of Korean Confucian ideals and doctrines in Korean society, imported and adapted Chinese culture, and saw the height of classical Korean culture, trade, science, literature, and technology.

Seem Korea started really declining after they closed off there Peninsula to the world because of wars with China and Japan.

However, the dynasty was severely weakened during the late 16th and early 17th centuries, when invasions by the neighboring Japan and Qing nearly overran the peninsula, leading to an increasingly harsh isolationist policy for which the country became known as the Hermit Kingdom.

They did manage to bring stability from wars but being isolated destroyed there economy.

However, whatever power the kingdom recovered during its isolation further waned as the 18th century came to a close, and faced with internal strife, power struggles, international pressure and rebellions at home, the Joseon Dynasty declined rapidly in the late 19th century.

Like someone said on another site, Korean History is interesting really interesting. Currently, watching a Korean Soap Opera on the famous Queen Seondeok of Silla. Most of the story about the Queen does not seem entirely factual but the soap opera is really good.

You can watch it on Hulu. It has english subtitles.

This should take you to it - http://www.hulu.com/the-great-queen-...a/Korean-Drama

[Cha2002]

@jlee,
Thanks for the pictures. Those pictures bring that era closer to home.

Originally Posted by Remolino

Read somewhere that after WW II it was agreed by some of the major powers that Japan would be rebuilt into a modern Industrial power while the Philippines and some other nations would be left has second rate nations that would supply those industrial nations with resources......South Koreas doors so rebuilt them into a major industrial nation........

How do you know this? Could you provide us with a link? You tell him to go look for it, but are you sure what you said was correct? The UN forces saved South Korea, there's no doubt about it. However, the major powers didn't rebuild everything in South Korea. I don't know what they rebuilt in South Korea because it was the South Koreans who did it themselves by starting with what they could afford at that time and then improve as time went by. It was the exports, getting involved in projects outside Korea and hard work that helped Korea the most. The investments started to come later. Japan did this earlier. The US used Japan as a base to support the defense of Korea and the Japanese businesses started to earn a lot of money from this. This was what jump started the Japanese economy and helped Japan recover. Japan already had the technology so it was a matter of time that Japan became an industrial power.

I see a lot of people getting the wrong belief that the major powers have been giving money and rebuilding Northeast Asia throughout the Cold War. They look at South Korea today and claim that the building and infrastructure were done by other countries. I even see comments on the internet demanding their own government to stop giving money to Korea. They blame East Asia for their own economic woes because they thought their own government is giving aid to East Asia. Major powers aren't giving economic aid to East Asia and they haven't been doing this for a long long time.

Originally Posted by Remolino

Found this movie which shows South Koreas Capital near the beginning of the 20th century. Near the end it shows what some of those places look like today.



Found other videos of the then poverty of Korea. It seems people get the feeling that Korea was always poor before South Korea came into being. But if you go centuries back it does not seem to be the fact. They had trade with the outside world. They had an good military and navy. It takes money to maintain all those things. A poor economy cannot really sustain those things.

Seem Korea started really declining after they closed off there Peninsula to the world because of wars with China and Japan.

They did manage to bring stability from wars but being isolated destroyed there economy.

Like someone said on another site, Korean History is interesting really interesting. Currently, watching a Korean Soap Opera on the famous Queen Seondeok of Silla. Most of the story about the Queen does not seem entirely factual but the soap opera is really good.

You can watch it on Hulu. It has english subtitles.

This should take you to it - http://www.hulu.com/the-great-queen-...a/Korean-Drama

Yes, but that wasn't his point. The war destroyed most of what was built in Korea. Korea started to recover some years after the armistice.

[Remolino]

Have tried to find that article on the internet again several times but I have not been able too. But I can point out that after WWII there were all sort of plans like these. For example, there was a plan after the war to break up Germany including de-industrialize them and turn them into agricultural nations. Plan was started but discontinued after a few years.

Read this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgenthau_Plan

Edit - I found it.

It was called the Dodds Report.

The Dodds Report

In 1946, the Truman administration adopted the recommendation of the report which proposed that Japan be developed as the primary, if not sole, industrial powerhouse in the Asia-Pacific region and that countries like the Philippines should be preserved as raw material economies, obviously to service the requirements of Japan's factories.

Concerning the rebuilding of SK., you are correct that after the ceasefire foreign help, principally by the US, helped kickstart the rebuilding of Korea and its economy. And that it was the Koreans themselves after that point that pulled SK. up into a first rate modern nation. Koreans did most of the building. And I really never heard about foreign money going to SK. in these modern times. Today, it is usually the other way around. SK. sending money to help developing nations.

Got to tell you that many people here buy Hyundai and Kia autos here. Hyundai are said to be really good. And lets not forget Samsung and Avanti products.

Off topic - While looking for the Dodds report found information on the Taft-Katsura agreement. Supposedly, it was an unofficial agreement in which the Japanese empire would not bother the US in the Philippines and in return the US would not bother the Japanese empires claim to Korea.

Read this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft–Katsura_Agreement