If you ever find yourself pondering why differences exist between cultures, you might want to look at the environment as one factor. We may not think about it much, but our environment has a huge impact on what food we eat, the seasons we experience, our economic history and how we live overall. Just as we learned in our science classes that an animal species’ anatomy evolves over time to adapt to its habitat, we humans have also learned to make the best of the land we reside in. In this field note, we are going to talk about South Korea’s geography and topography and how they are manifested in Korea’s development both as a country and as a people.
South Korea is found on the southern part of the Korean peninsula, located in East Asia. Because the peninsula protrudes out of the Asian continent, the only land route is the North Korean border, and that area (famously known as the Korean Demilitarized Zone) is closed off to Korean citizens. After all, Korea remains the only divided country that is still at war, with no peace treaty and only an armistice to keep the two sides from firing at each other. With land travel closed off, it makes sense for South Korea to have well-developed ports and airports as means of international transportation.
