One Peninsula, Two Systems: Explaining the Economic Rise of South Korea

Why do some countries develop rapidly, growing their economies and influence on the world stage while other countries struggle to achieve economic takeoff? This is a central question in Human Geography and an important question in World History. The Korean Peninsula provides a case study for the exploration of this question. This peninsula of a common people with a shared history was divided not only by a civil war but by competing ideologies and foreign alliances. In this lesson students will explore the causes of South Korea’s rise and the sharp divisions that remain between the two Koreas.