East Asia

ChinaChina

JapanJapanN.KoreaN.Korea

S.KoreaS.Korea

TaiwanTaiwan

Communist bloc

Capitalist economy

Introduction Cultural unity

Legacy of Chinese civilization/Empire Confucianism, Chinese writing system

Ideological division in the second half of 20th century Capitalist economy: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong Communist bloc: China, North Korea

Core areas of the world economy

Environmental Geography

Resource Pressures in a Crowded Land

Insular Insular belt:belt:Mainland:Mainland: geologically activegeologically active

geologically stablegeologically stable Plate boundaryPlate boundary

Japan’s physical environment

85%85% mountain mountain

Limited areas ofLimited areas of alluvial plains alluvial plains

Prone to earthquake,Prone to earthquake, volcano volcano

Taiwan’s environment

Rugged Central/Eastern region

Alluvial West

Also prone to seismic activities

Chinese environments

Yangtze R.

Huang He

North North China PlainChina Plain

Sichuan Sichuan BasinBasin

Xi BasinXi Basin

flatrugged

Loess Loess PlateauPlateau

Landscape regions of China

More accessible

Korean landscapes

Mountainous North and East

scattered alluvial basins in South and West

Temperate climates

Humid summer Dry winter

monsoon

Typhoon in the summer

Three Gorges Dam

Yangtze R.Yangtze R.

Three Gorges Three Gorges DamDam

BenefitsBenefits Prevent floodingPrevent flooding Generate electricityGenerate electricity

CostsCosts Jeopardize endangered speciesJeopardize endangered species Inundate a major scenic attractionInundate a major scenic attraction Displace inhabitantsDisplace inhabitants

Flooding in Northern China

Huang He (Yellow River)

North North China PlainChina Plain

Loess Loess PlateauPlateau

Devastating flood

Upstream erosion Upstream erosion

sediment load accumulationsediment load accumulation

rise of lake level rise of lake level

floodingflooding

Pollution exporting How do you think Japan’s environment is? It’s relatively clean considering large pop and industrialization Why?

Relocating dirtier factories in wealthier countries to poorer countries due to high cost of production and its strict environmental laws

As a result, pollution is displaced to poorer countries

Population and Settlement

A Realm of Crowded Lowland Basins

East Asia, along with South Asia, is the most densely populated, and most populous region

High population density, but low natural growth Low fertility in China “one-child” policy Population loss and aging in Japan

The lowlands in East Asia are among the most intensely used portions

Dense settlements in lowlandsDense settlements in lowlands

Light inhabitation in uplandsLight inhabitation in uplandsNorth China North China PlainPlain

Sichuan Sichuan BasinBasin

Agricultural regions in China

Rice

Wheat, millet, sorghum

Abundant precipitation

Arid climates

Subterranean housing in Loess Plateau

Settlement and agricultural patterns in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan

Highly urban Among the most densely populated countries Crowded into the alluvial plains or basins Major food importers

Global resource procurement pattern Japan is virtually self-sufficient in rice

Settlement and agricultural patterns in China and North Korea

Relatively rural These countries have long been self-sufficient in

food, but recentlyChina is moving towards food imports due to the rapid

industrialization

Major cities in East Asia

Shanghai

Beijing

Taipei

SeoulTokyo

Hong Kong

Major cities in East Asia

ChinaShanghai: economic centerBeijing: political center

Seoul (South Korea), Taipei (Taiwan)Characterized by urban primacy

Japanese citiesCharacterized by superconurbation

Urban concentration in Japan

SuperconurbationSuperconurbation

Cultural Coherence and Diversity

A Confucian Realm?

East Asia is one of the world’s more unified cultural regions

Ancient Chinese civilization in isolation from other civilizations

Writing systemsChinese characters

Belief systemsConfucianism, Buddhism

The Chinese writing system Ideographic writing

Each symbol represents an idea rather than a sound

Chinese writing system spread when the Chinese Empire expanded

Korean modifications Replaced by its own alphabetic system in 1400s

Japanese modifications Chinese characters (kanji) mixed with hiragana, katakana

Belief systems

6c B.C.

IndiaBuddhism 2c A.D.

Theravada:

Mahayana:

South, Southeast Asia

ChinaConfucianismConfucianism

6c B.C. Korea, Japan

China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam

2c B.C.ChinaTaoism

Zen

Shinto (Japan)

Geomancy

The Confucian legacy Confucius’s philosophy aimed at generating social

stability (6th century B.C.)

Deference for authority authoritarian government Emphasis on education (meritocracy) advantage in

competition in global economy

Confucianism in Japan was not as important as it was on the mainland

Secularism in East Asia

East Asia is one of the most secular regions of the world

Confucianism as a philosophy rather than a faith Mahayana Buddhism is nonexclusive Most of Shinto-observing Japanese are not devout Marxist orthodoxy in communist states

The language geography of East AsiaThe language geography of East Asia

KoreanKoreanJapaneseJapanese

Han Chinese who Han Chinese who speak Mandarinspeak Mandarin

: Non-Han Chinese who Non-Han Chinese who speak distinct languagesspeak distinct languages

•AustronesianAustronesian•Taiwanese (FTaiwanese (Fujianese)ujianese)•MandarinMandarin

Han Chinese who Han Chinese who speak language speak language closely related to closely related to MandarinMandarin

Geopolitical Framework

The Imperial Legacies of China and Japan

Centrality of China (until 1800s) Japanese Empire (in the first half of 20th century) Political split by Cold War rivalries (after WWII)

The Evolution of China

For most of the past 2000 years, the Chinese Empire was Earth’s wealthiest and most powerful state

1800 B.C.

Chinese civilization

200 B.C.

The first political unification

1800s A.D.

Decline in power

The Chinese Empire failed to keep pace with the technological progress of Europe in the 1800s

The historical extent of China (200s B.C. ~ 1800s)

China in the 1800s

1840s

Opium Wars

Hong Kong ceded to British

1850s

Northernmost Manchuria annexed to Russia

1900

China divided into “spheres of influence”: European power

The Rise of Japan

Sino-Ja

pane

se W

ar

Taiwan

cede

d to J

apan

Russo

-Japa

nese

War

1868

Meij

i Res

torati

on1895 1905 1910

Annex

ed K

orea

1931

Conqu

ered M

anch

uria

1941

Attack

ed U

.S. p

acifi

c

fleet

in Pea

rl Harb

or

1945

End of

WW

II

Postwar geopolitics

Division of Korea1945 ~ 1950

North occupied by the Soviet Union; South occupied by U.S.

Korean War (1950~53) Korea became a divided country with two governments

Division of ChinaCivil conflict between nationalists and communists

ended with the Chinese Revolution (1949), forcing the nationalists to retreat to Taiwan

Geopolitical issues in East Asia Global

Cold War : communist bloc capitalist economyKorean DMZ, Taiwan-China tensions

End of Cold War: U.S. China

Regional: Border dispute China India, Southeast Asia, Russia

Local: Autonomy in China Autonomous regions in China (eg. Tibet, Xinjiang) Former colonies returned to China (eg. Hong Kong, Macau)

The demilitarized zone in Korea

Geopolitical issues in East Asia

Economic and Social Development

An Emerging Core of the Global Economy

The Japanese economic system The newly industrialized countries Chinese development

Disparities between capitalist and communist bloc Rapid economic growth in the second half of 20th century Increasingly, East Asia function as a global economic core

Guandong, and Shanghai are relatively well connected to the global economy while interior portions of China are isolated from the world economy

Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea are highly integrated into global economic networks

East Asia’s global ties

Let’s compare the economic system of Japan to that of U.S.

Role of private sector

U.S. Japan Role of bureaucracy

Firms are significantly influenced by investors

Flexibility

Loose relationship between employers and employees

Interconnection between a group of companies

Tighter relationship between employers and employees

Stability

Let’s compare the social system of Japan to that of U.S.

Low

U.S. JapanHighBasic living cost

Social condition

Unemployment

Crime rate

Illiteracy rate

Poverty level

High

High

High

High

Low

Low

Low

Low

Civil libertiesWork hourDiscrimination

Short LongLow High

The Rise of South Korea In the 1960s, government initiated a program of export-led

economic growth Government-business ties

Chaebol (large industrial conglomerates) Economic transformation

inexpensive consumer goods heavy industrial products high-tech equipment

Economic development has been achieved at the expense of political and social development Pressure for democratization in the late 1980s

Newly industrialized countries:

Taiwan and Hong Kong Taiwan

Taiwanese government guided the economic development of the country

Organized around small to mid-size family firms High-tech business; Close overseas economic connections

Hong Kong One of the most laissez-faire economic systems in the world (little

government control) One of the world’s most important trading ports Business services, banking, and telecommunication; Close

overseas economic connections

Newly industrialized countries:

Chinese development Under the communist rule, the economy was nearly stagnant

“Great Leap Forward”, “Cultural Revolution” Capitalist openings in the late 1970s

Gradual economic reform while political system remain the same Special Economic Zones (SEZs)

Attract foreign investment with minimal state interference Mostly located in the coastal region Brought huge success shown in economic growth since 1990s

Joined WTO in 2001

Economic and social differentiation in China

The benefits of economic growth have not been evenly The benefits of economic growth have not been evenly distributed throughout the country distributed throughout the country

Booming coastal regionBooming coastal region

Impoverished Interior ChinaImpoverished Interior China

In general, high social indicator despite the poverty in China and North Korea

China’s population quandary

“One-child” policy in the 1980s Has reduced its growth rate

TFR 1.8, RNI 0.9 But generated social tensions and human-rights

abusesGrowing gender imbalance through abortion and

female infanticide

Child-care facilities in China

High female labor High female labor force participation in force participation in ChinaChina

Demographic change in China

In-migrationHigh fertility

The position of women in East Asia

Women have historically had a relatively low position in East AsiaFoot binding in the premodern China

Advanced career opportunities remain limited for womenDrop in marriage rate in Japanese women