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  • Essay / South Korea: a student's view of her homeland

    South Korea: a student's view of her homeland South Korea came into existence in 1953, following an armistice that divided the Korean peninsula into a demilitarized zone. From 1961 to 1979, the new country experienced rapid economic growth and held its first presidential election in 1987 (The World Factbook, 2013). Since then, the country has become a functioning and thriving democracy, still somewhat plagued by its northern counterparts with various attacks on ships and islands, as well as suspected nuclear tests in 2012 and 2013. Although the bulk of South Korea's identity is based on hostility toward North Korea's economic and military presence has flourished over the past four decades. (The World Factbook, 2013). Hyebin Joo, a student at the University of North Alabama, is originally from South Korea and came to the United States to study abroad. In her interview, Hyebin explains South Korea's economic situation from a personal perspective and delves deeper into the perception of "freedom" in her home country, as well as access to media versus information here in the United States. This essay will seek to report, explain, and analyze Hyebin's thoughts on her own country, as well as express her thoughts on the United States. Among the first questions in her introduction, Hyebin explains that her family is middle to upper class in the South. Korea, as his father is employed at CitiBank and his mother sells insurance for a company called Prudential. According to its website, CitiBank Korea has more than 200 branches and is the largest foreign bank in South Korea (CitiBank, 2014). Prudential, a life insurance company known throughout the world, announces that it has been present in South Korea since 1989 (Prudential, 20...... middle of paper ......, because there were still many of underlying government control among Overall, Hyebin gave a very insightful and well-informed description of his country that matched many official resources, and his comparison of South Korea to the United States was both honest and intriguing when comparing our freedoms and our economy (sd). Retrieved April 4, 2014 from http://www.citigroup.com/citi/about/countrypresence/korea.htmlPrudential (sd). ://global.prudential.com/globalpru/worldwide.htmlThe World Factbook (2013 South Korea: Central Intelligence Agency, 2013. Retrieved April 4, 2014 from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications). /the-world factbook/docs/contributor_copyright.html