This video is sponsored by Brilliant North Korea and South Korea
Or the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea Wait a second, North Korea is also called
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea? Hahahaha that’s a good one. Anyway... Two East Asian countries on the Korean Peninsula
that are opposite in so many ways. And yet, not that long ago, relatively speaking,
they were just one country. Korea. Yeah this one’s gonna be lopsided, folks. I’ll start by showing you this, which many
of you have probably seen before. One picture sums up so much, doesn’t it. Most already know South Koreans enjoy a much
higher standard of living and much more freedoms, but in this video, let’s dig a bit deeper. That said, since North Korea is such a secretive
country, there’s a lot we don’t know about. But it’s difficult for North Korea to hide
the fact that South Korea is doing so much better than it, based on a variety of factors. First, what do they have in common? Well, both are made up of mostly Koreans,
ya silly goose, and residents of both speak Korean. That said, residents of both have developed
different Korean dialects over the past several decades since residents of both barely interact. In addition, since it's taught widely in school,
around 45% of South Koreans also speak English. The largest city in both is also the capital,
although Seoul is much larger than Pyongyang. (Pyongyang- 3 million, Seoul- 25.7 million)
South Korea even has a second capital- Sejong- where many of the government’s most important
agencies are located. There is a culture in both that values communitarianism,
or the greater good, over individual liberty. Both have similar climates and have four seasons,
although it does get much colder in the winter in North Korea and a bit warmer in the summer
in South Korea. Much of North Korea has either a temperate
continental climate or warm continental climate. Much of South Korea also has a warm continental
climate, but along its east coast it has an oceanic climate and a humid subtropical climate
in the south. Both are affected by annual monsoons. Both are affected by occasional droughts and
flooding, but overall South Korea gets more annual precipitation. Both border the East Sea, or Sea of Japan,
to the east and the Yellow Sea to the west. Both are separated by the 2 and a half km
wide, 250 km long DMZ, or Korean Demilitarized Zone, which is probably the most dangerous
border in the world. Tens of thousands of troops, and dozens of
forts line the DMZ, and it has around 2 million mines near it. Oh, and a bunch of wild tigers since it’s
basically wilderness now since so few humans dare try to cross it. Believe it or not, a handful of North Koreans
have dared tried in recent years. One North Korean man tried and got shot at
by his own troops 40 times. That all said, there is a meeting point at
the DMZ where South Korean and North Korean officials can meet and negotiate stuff. It’s called the Joint Security Area, and
it’s actually a place where tourists can visit, too. It’s the only place where North Korean and
South Korean soldiers can stand side by side. So anyway, why the heck is the DMZ such a
heavily guarded border? Well, I suppose we ought to get into some
history here. Ok, a very brief history. Humans have lived on the Korean Peninsula
for at least 10,000 years. Around 4,500 years ago, these humans developed
kingdoms in the area. There was the Proto-Three Kingdoms period,
the Three Kingdoms period, Northern and Southern States period, and Later Three Kingdoms period. It wasn’t until 918 that the entire peninsula
was united by a dude named Wang Geon, who founded the kingdom of Goryeo. The Mongols invaded in the 1200s and sort
of held a grip over Goryeo until the mid-1300s. In 1392, General Yi Seong-gye established
the Joseon dynasty after overthrowing the Goryeo dynasty four years prior. Shout out to King Sejong the Great, who put
into place lots of reforms and even created the Korean alphabet during the 1400s. In 1592, the Japanese began invading the Korean
peninsula, but after a few years the Joseon dynasty was able to hold them off, with the
help of the Ming dynasty of China. Throughout the 1600s and 1700s, the peninsula
under Joseon rule became more isolationist and a bit stagnant developing technology. By the mid 1800s, European imperialist powers
were trying to interfere, but the Joseon dynasty couldn’t do much to stop them, and was forced
to sign treaties in which they were screwed over. A series of crazy events in the late 1800s
led to the creation of the Korea Empire. During its existence, the peninsula quickly
modernized and there were big reforms. In 1905, after it won the Russo-Japanese War,
Japan was like...Korea, what’s up now? So, Korea signed a treaty with Japan in which
it became controlled and protected by Japan in return for peace. Well Japan went ahead and annexed the Korean
Empire five years later. However, even as the annexation was taking
place, a growing Korean independence movement was brewing on the peninsula. After Japan quickly crushed the March 1st
Movement, many Korean leaders fled to China. For the next 35 years, most of the resistance
movements were organized by exiled leaders in Manchuria, China and Siberia, influenced
by many peaceful demonstrations within Japanese-controlled Korea. Jump ahead to World War II, and the Allied
Powers defeat the Empire of Japan, resulting in a free Korea. Ok, well maybe not so free, since the Allied
Powers now occupied it with their militaries. The Allies divided the peninsula at the 38th
parallel into a northern area, protected by the Soviet Union, and a southern area, protected
mostly by the United States. However, as you could imagine, the Soviet
Union and the United States had different visions for what a future Korea should be. After not being able to agree on a government,
the 38th parallel became the boundary for the two countries this video is about. In 1950, Kim Il-Sung, the new leader of North
Korea, launched an invasion of South Korea to try to reunify Korea, but under Communist
rule. This led to a three year war that ultimately
resulted in the deaths of around five million people, including a larger proportional civilian
death toll than World War Two. The war was indeed devastating and displaced
millions of Koreans. The Soviet Union and China aided North Korea
and the United States and several other United Nations countries aided South Korea. It ended basically in a stalemate, with an
armistice and that DMZ I was talking about earlier. Technically speaking, the Korean War never
ended, and I can tell you, even though the armistice was signed 68 years ago, the war
is still fresh in the minds of both North Koreans and South Koreans. For the first few decades after the war ended,
both countries had authoritarian regimes. However, in South Korea the people ultimately
didn’t put up with it. Until the 1980s, South Korea had much political
turmoil and instability. However, since 1987 and the June Democracy
Movement, South Korea has had a competitive electoral system and a fairly stable government. North Korea has had a stable government since
the war, but has successfully kept the authoritarianism. Meanwhile, economically both countries did
fairly well in the decades following the war. South Korea liberalized its economy, becoming
more market-based, and for forty years saw huge economic growth. In fact, some even called it The Miracle on
the Han River. Both were admitted into the United Nations
in 1991. But it was around that time that things went
to crap for North Korea. After the Soviet Union collapsed, they lost
a bunch of aid, and their economy sharply declined, just as South Korea’s economy
dramatically improved. In the 1990s, North Korea experienced floods
and droughts. This, combined with no longer importing food
from the Soviet Union, ultimately led to what became known as the North Korean famine. Some estimate up to 600,000 North Koreans
died. North Korea has since somewhat recovered,
but yeah...I’m hoping you realize already why these two countries are so, so very different
today. So one obvious difference is their governments. North Korea infamously is a dictatorship. A one party state, with that one party being
the Workers’ Party of Korea. North Korea is still very authoritarian. It has its Ten Principles for the Establishment
of a Monolithic Ideological System, which guide all behavior of North Korean citizens. Kim Jong-un, the North Korea dictator, has
the title Supreme Leader of North Korea. He basically has absolute power over everything
in the country, although his sister has a lot of power, and in reality there’s a few
powerful people that control a lot. North Korea’s official ideology is juche,
which translates to “national self-reliance.” South Korea, on the other hand, is still a
democratic republic with three branches of government and checks and balances to separate
power. It has a unicameral national assembly, a court
system, and a president who is directly elected by the people every five years. Wait a second, Mr. Beat. Doesn’t North Korea have elections, too? Mr. Beat: Sure, they have “elections.” But wouldn’t ya know it, Kim Jong-un wins
every time! There is a cult of personality around the
Kim dynasty. Every office building and school is required
to have a picture of Kim Jong-un’s dad, former leader Kim Jong-il, and his grandfather,
the aforementioned Kim Il-Sung, who again was the founder of North Korea and seen as
sort of a god today, still seen as the President even though he’s been dead since 1994. Much of public education in North Korea is
straight up indoctrination. One study found that students there spend
about 684 hours learning all about Kim Jong-Un, Kim Jong-il, and Kim Il-sung. Here are North Koreans after Il-sung died. Here are North Koreans after Jong-il died. Like I said. Cult of personality. Oh, and North Koreans even use a special calendar
that begins with the birth of Il-sung. The current year there is Juche 110. The only country South Korea borders is...uh...North
Korea. North Korea borders China, who, in many ways,
is like a Big Brother to it. Nearly half of all Chinese foreign aid goes
to North Korea. North Korea also shares a 17 km border with
Russia. A single bridge links the two countries, though. The Friendship Bridge. Aw, how friendly. Unless you’re not Russian or North Korean. Then you’re not allowed on it! North Korea has mostly a command economy,
meaning the government owns the means of production. Most services, from housing to education to
healthcare to even food production- is paid for by the state. That said, the North Korean government turns
a blind eye toward some black markets there. South Korea, on the other hand, has a mixed
economy that’s one of the strongest economies in the entire world. South Korea has about twice as many people. (NK- 25.8 million, SK- 51.8 million) North
Korea has a higher growth rate, though. (NK- .5%, SK- .2%) The median age is much
higher in South Korea. (NK- 34.6, SK- 43.2) North Korea is about 21% larger. North Korea has a higher literacy rate. (NK- 100%, SK- 98%) It’s probably true. From what we can tell, pretty much everyone
in the country can read. More South Koreans live in urban areas. (NK-63%, SK- 82%) Apparently North Korea built a fake city just
across the DMZ to entice South Koreans to move there. It hasn’t worked. I hate to be so blunt, because usually I am
not in this series, but the standard of living just is so much better in South Korea. First of all, the life expectancy is MUCH
higher in South Korea. (NK-71.7, SK-82.8). In fact, South Korea has one of the highest
life expectancies in the world. North Korean women are much more likely to
die during childbirth and South Koreans are 85% less likely to die during infancy. South Koreans are even 5 cm, or about 2 inches,
taller than North Koreans, on average. The poverty rate is much, MUCH higher in North
Korea. While it’s only about 14.4% in South Korea,
according to one study at least 60% of North Koreans are living in extreme poverty. That said, we just don’t know the true extent
of poverty in North Korea today. When foreigners visit the country, the North
Korean government is quite good at hiding its citizens who are struggling. That said, many who live in Pyongyang are
actually doing quite well and the city has a stunningly thriving arts community. It often hosts a huge arts and gymnastics
festival in Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang called the Arirang Mass Games, and it’s
quite possibly one of the most amazing things you will ever see. North Korean is also known for exporting art,
including giant statues to around the world. Check out Polymatter’s great video on the
topic if you want to learn why that is. The GDP per capita in South Korea is more
than 24 times as high. (NK-$1,300 USD, SK-$31,846.22 USD) Some estimate that just 26% of North Koreans
have access to electricity. ALL South Koreans have access to electricity. Only around 1/4 of North Koreans own cell
phones. Now, because it is far less developed, North
Korea does have much less pollution. And North Koreans don’t eat live octopus
nearly as much as they do in South Korea. What the heck?!? North Korea has nuclear weapons. South Korea does not. I mean, it could if it wanted to, but it really
doesn’t want to have them, because, ya know, death and destruction is bad and stuff. Major industries in North Korea include mining
and agriculture. Major industries in South Korea include electronics,
telecommunications, car manufacturing, and shipbuilding. Oh, and K-pop. You can’t forget K-pop, or Korean pop music. And K-dramas, or Korean dramas. South Korea’s entertainment culture is very
popular around the world. K-pop is like a national sport in South Korea. South Korea is also known for major international
companies like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and Kia. Ok, so this is probably obvious to you by
now, but the North Korean government does not allow freedom of speech at all. Internet access is still barely available
there, and only some high level government officials are allowed access to the global
internet- the rest can connect to the country’s national intranet, which of course is cut
off from the rest of the world so that the government can control what information gets
distributed. This video will probably not be played there. From what we know, it is much more difficult
for foreigners to become citizens of North Korea. North Korea has a bigger military. In fact, it has the fourth largest army in
the world. North Korea is higher. In elevation, that is. It has more mountains. The highest peak there is Paektu Mountain,
at 2,744 meters (9,003 feet), and right at the border with China, and the highest peak
in South Korea is Hallasan at 1,947 meters (6,388 feet). It’s actually on an island. Both peaks are volcanoes, by the way. South Korea has more islands, but North Korea
has more coastline. Hey, do YOU want to visit one of these two
countries? Well, if you’re an American, it’s nearly
impossible to visit North Korea. In fact, unless you are a journalist or maybe
from South Korea or Dennis Rodman, it’s pretty difficult to visit North Korea, which
is why it’s referred to as a hermit kingdom. Even if you can get in, state-owned travel
agencies control exactly where you get to go and what you get to see. South Korea? Oh yeah, you can visit. No problem. Go wherever. North Koreans can’t even leave their country. In fact, they often can’t even travel freely
WITHIN the country. The North Korean government often forces citizens
to live in certain areas. Hundreds of thousands of North Koreans have
fled the country since 1953, and thousands still try each year, but less than a thousand
actually make it. North Korean refugees who flee to South Korea
or China but are caught are regularly beaten and sent to concentration camps. While South Korea rarely lets its citizens
go to North Korea, it welcomes with open arms North Koreans who have fled, helping them
with a wide range of social services and aid to adjust to their new environment. It’s aided tens of thousands of North Korean
defectors over the years. South Korea has American military bases. Like, 15 of them. North Korea ranks dead last on just about
every international ranking. The Index of Economic Freedom? Last. The Press Freedom Index? Last. The Democracy Index? Last. Freedom House? Oh hey, would you look at that, they’re
not quite last. South Korea has freedom of religion. North Korea says they do but they do not. If you live there, you’re basically just
supposed to worship the state, or the government. If North Koreans practice other religions,
it’s often in secret. According to at least one report, at least
200,000 Christians have gone missing in North Korea since 1953. You do see traces of Confucianism and Buddhism
in North Korea culture, though. Approximately 73% of the country is either
atheist or agnostic. Again, though, look at that. North Korea’s official ideology of juche
is basically the state religion. The majority of South Koreans are also not
religious. However, a sizable minority practice Protestant
Christianity, Buddhism, and Roman Catholicism. South Koreans have done better responding
to the COVID-19 pandemic than most of the rest of the world, mostly due to contact tracing,
the wide adoption of masks, and heavy testing. North Korea? Well, we really don’t know how they’ve
been doing handling the virus. So, will both countries ever reunite? Well, on August 15, 2019, South Korean president
Moon Jae-in called for reunification of both by the year 2045. The day he called for reunification was special. That was on a holiday called National Liberation
Day, which celebrates victory over colonial Japan at the end of World War Two. Remember, it was shortly after that that Korea
was split into two. Both governments want it to happen, and many
citizens in both do as well. However, it’s worth noting that in recent
years less and less South Koreans want to reunite, especially if it means giving up
their much higher standard of living. In conclusion, North Korea and South Korea
demonstrate just how quickly countries can become dramatically different in a relatively
short amount of time. Today, it’s really hard to tell that they
used to be one country. And if they ever do reunite, all of these
significant differences will make it a very difficult reunification. This video is sponsored by Brilliant. Brilliant is a problem solving based website
and app with a hands-on approach, with over 60 interactive courses in math, science, and
computer science. Brilliant puzzles you, surprises you, and
expands your understanding of the modern world. Brilliant is the best education site I’ve
seen for developing critical reasoning skills. I’m typically not a math or science guy,
and many of you watching maybe aren't too. However, maybe if this was around when I was
in school I would have enjoyed math and science so much more. As I tried it out, I was amazed with how I
didn’t even realize my brain was being exercised. Go to brilliant.org/mrbeat and sign up for
free. Also, the first 200 people that go to that
link will get 20% off the annual Premium subscription. A shout out to my Jobsolete co-host Helen
Hong, who just launched a YouTube channel that features her father, who is an actual
Korean War survivor and has some amazing stories to tell about his experiences. Check it out! It’s called Old Korean Dad stories. Also, a special shout out to Jacob Fridman
for his help researching this episode. So, do YOU think that by the year 2045 North
Korea and South Korea will reunite? Let me know down below. And if you’re watching this in 2045, tell
me if it actually happened. Also, I love hearing your suggestions for
countries to compare next. A special shout out to Kim Jong Un who comments
regularly on my videos. Thanks for watching!
Ayyy home country represent!
Hi