EAST SOUTHEAST ASIA SUPER ULTRA EXTREME MEGA ULTIMATE UNIT SUMMARY
East Asia includes six countries: China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. Taiwan and Japan are island nations off the eastern coast of Asia, North Korea and South Korea share the Korean peninsula, and China and Mongolia are on mainland, or located on a continent, Asia. Much of the area is mountainous and difficult to live on. The rivers and the ocean around the area have helped make life easier. There are a variety of climates in East Asia, most of them comfortable climates like humid subtropical and humid continental.
These countries have existed for centuries and have long histories. China, a cultural hearth, or a place where the earliest civilizations developed, has influenced all the other countries in the region. Japan, another powerful country, has been very important in the area since the 1800s. Korea (it used to be one country) has had a hard time, often being forced to do what its more powerful neighbors want. This is why there are two Koreas instead of one. Taiwan became an important country after a lot of Chinese moved there because they did not like the government that took over in mainland China in 1949. Mongolia had a rich history long, long ago when Mongol leaders controlled all of Asia and parts of Europe.
Today, this region is growing quickly. The economies of most of the countries are doing very well, the people have more of the basics in life than ever before, and they are becoming very important in the world. They do face challenges: overpopulation, environmental problems, and governments that cause a lot of anger and dissatisfaction.
Southeast Asia lies right underneath China on both islands and peninsulas. It has a series of mountain ranges that have created natural borders. At the same time, the region depends on the sea for contact, food, and transportation. It lies in the Pacific’s Ring of Fire and the region frequently has earthquakes and volcanic
activity.
Culturally, Southeast Asia is very interesting. The area is right between two cultural hearths, and served as a stopping point between the two great ancient
civilizations of China and India. The region has been heavily influenced both by countries. People familiar with either China or India will find a lot of things
that seem familiar in Southeast Asia. In addition to the ancient cultural influences of nearby countries, Southeast Asia was heavily influenced by
European culture because most of the region was taken over by various European countries.
Physical
Geography
Both China and Mongolia are large countries in Asia. North Korea and South Korea share the Korean Peninsula which juts out from the Asian continent. It separates the Sea of Japan from the Yellow Sea. Japan and Taiwan are countries located on islands in East Asia. Japan is an archipelago, or groups of islands. There are many other islands off the coast of Asia. They were formed there because of volcanic activity. These islands are a part of the Pacific’s Ring of Fire, so
earthquakes and volcanoes are common. Much of continental East Asia is mountainous. Some of the highest mountains in the world are found in
Western China. Large, high plateaus form a large part of Southwestern China and Western Mongolia. The coastal areas of China, Japan, North Korea, and South
Korea have a much lower elevation.
China has three long, important rivers. The Huang He, or Yellow River, is the most northern river. The Yellow River has brought both benefits and tragedy to those
that live near it. It carries very fertile soil, called loess, and deposits along the banks. This helps farmers. The river also floods often and violently. The longest and middle river is called Chang Jiang. The areas around the Chang Jiang and its tributaries, or smaller rivers that feed into the Chang Jiang, are excellent for farming. More than half of China’s crops are grown along the banks of this river system, which means a main river along with its tributaries.The Xi river is the most southern river and is also a good place for farming.
Southeast Asia is a region that is located on the Indochina Peninsula (it juts out from the bottom of China), the Malay Peninsula (it juts out from the Indochina
Peninsula) and the large number (over 20,000) of islands that surround the peninsulas. Many of these islands are in clusters, or groups, called
archipelagos. Southeast Asia is often divided between the countries of the peninsula (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand) and the island countries
(Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines). Malaysia is located on both the peninsula and an island.
Small mountain ranges create barriers between the countries and between Southeast Asia and other regions. The mountain chains usually run north-south and include a lot of active volcanoes. Many rivers run in the valley between the mountain chains. For centuries, the people of Southeast Asia have used the rivers to grow food, communicate and transport things.
Both East Asia and Southeast Asia form part of what is called the Pacific Ring of Fire. The entire area falls on fault lines between tectonic plates. These plates
move. When they move, natural disasters can result. Earthquakes, tsunamis (giant waves caused by plate movements under the ocean), and volcanoes are common to this region. In 2004, there was a 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia caused a massive tidal wave that killed hundreds of thousands of people through the countries that touched the Indian Ocean. Someone even died in Africa because of this event. It was horrible.
Natural
Resources
China has abundant coal, tin, tungsten, and bauxite. China has the greatest potential for hydroelectric power than any other country because of their numerous
mountains and rivers. Because it is so large, China has most of the natural resources it needs and is often able to export extra to other countries for things they need but don’t have. This wealth has allowed China to industrialize rapidly. The Koreas have iron ore, coal, gold, and copper. Japan lacks a lot of mineral resources and must import what it needs. Much of the land in East Asia isn’t suitable, or good for, farming. Much of China and Korea are mountains, while Japan is very hilly. Only 10% of the land in China can be used for farming. Much of East Asia borders the sea. The people have used the ocean for travel and food for centuries.
Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Malaysia have the world’s largest tin deposits. Tin is a type of light metal. Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam have a lot of precious gems like sapphires and rubies, while the Philippines sells a lot of pearls, which are created by a kind of oyster in the ocean.
While minerals are an important part of Southeast Asia’s economy, the region also has a lot of renewable resources that it trades and sells. Thick, tropical forests
have trees like mahogany and rubber, which are used for furniture and manufactured goods. More than 10% of prescription drugs are made from products
found in the tropical forest. The seas provide a very important resource in fish, shellfish, and sea plants. Seafood is an important part of any Southeast Asian’s diet.
Climate
Monsoons, or seasonal winds, have a major impact on the climate of East Asia. The seasonal winds, called monsoons, blow in different directions based on the season. In the summer, winds come in from the Pacific, picking up moisture over the ocean and releasing it as rain. In the winter, the wind switches direction and brings cold. Dry air blows south from the Northern part of the Asian continent. East Asia has a variety of climates. In the western part of China, there is highland
and desert. Mongolia is mostly steppe. The eastern part of China, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan are humid subtropical and humid continental climates.
The monsoons cause the rivers in the area to flood. This is, and has been, very important to the people living there. The floods are dangerous and can take and
affect human and animal life. However, the fast running rivers also pick up and move (erode) soil from one part of the river and deposit it in another place.
This soil is called loess and it is very fertile. In agriculture, one thing farmers are always worried about is how fertile the soil is. When farmers grow plants, these plants take important nutrients out of the soil. If too many nutrients are taken out, then the soil cannot grow more plants. People all over the world have come up with different ways of dealing with this. In East Asia, new soil comes with every flood. People have figured out if they build terraces carving steps on the side of a hill) to trap the water and fertile soil around their crops, they can grow more food. They also figured out if they plant two different types of crops on the same land,
sometimes one of the plants will add nutrients to the soil the other plant is taking out. In these ways, farmers in East Asia have done a good job of dealing with the high and dense populations in their countries.
Most of the islands and some of the peninsula are a tropical rain forest climate. Tropical rain forest climates are hot, humid, and rainy. The portion of
Southeast Asia that has a tropical rain forest climate is usually 79°F everyday, gets between 80 and 180 inches of rain a year, and usually has 80-90% humidity.
Most of the peninsula has a tropical savanna climate. This climate has a very dry season and a very wet season, caused by monsoons. The northern part of
Vietnam and Laos have a humid subtropical climate, which means the weather is kind of close to Oklahoma, with its very hot summers and fairly cold winters.
Population
China
China has the largest population of any country, with 1.3 billion people. Of this number, 92% are one ethnicity, called Han. The remaining 8% are divided amongst
50 different ethnic groups. Since a lot of China is difficult to live in, most of the people are packed into about 1/6 of the land. The government of China is very concerned about their population growing too fast, so they have policies that reward people who have one child and punish people who have more than one.
Eighty percent of the people in China live in rural areas, but this is changing quickly because of urbanization, or the process of a large number of people
moving to cities. China, because it has such a large population, also has a lot of people who live in cities.
Japan
Japan has 127 million people. Most of the people belong to one ethnic group, so it is ethnically homogenous, or all of one kind. Because Japan is a series of small
islands, Japan has a high population density. Japan is very urbanized.
South Korea and North Korea
South Korea has 49 million people. North Korea has 23 million people. The people of both Koreas belong to the same ethnic group. North Korea is very rural while
South Korea is urban.
Mongolia
Most people who live in Mongolia are ethnically Mongols. They have a small population of 2 million people. Mongolia has a sparse, or light, population density. It is very rural.
Taiwan
Taiwan has a high population density with 23 million people living on a small island. Most Taiwanese live in the cities on the coast.
Southeast Asia has a large population of 574,902,047 and it is growing very quickly. Indonesia, with 230 million people, is the country with the 4th highest population in the world. The other countries have much lower populations, but together, it is a lot.
In general, more people live in those areas of Southeast Asia that are near water, with rivers or the ocean. Java, an island in Indonesia is one of the most
densely populated islands in the world. Singapore, the smallest country in size, has the highest population density, with 6,336 people per square mile.
The peninsula has a lot of people who live in the rural areas and work in agriculture. More of the land on the peninsula is arable, which means land that
is good for growing crops. On both the islands and the peninsula, a lot of people are moving from the country to the cities. This movement is sometimes
hard because it is difficult to make sure there are enough resources for all the new people, especially when the areas are poor. This movement is called
urbanization. There are at least 15 cities in Southeast Asia with a population of over one million.
History
China
China’s history goes back to the beginning of the Neolithic era (around 1600 BC). The Hwang He river was the site of an ancient cultural hearth. China was the most sophisticated place on earth for hundreds of years. China, because it was so well-organized and developed, had a major influence on all the cultures in the
region from the style of writing to the important foods people eat to how the governments run. For a very long time, China was led by dynasties of rulers (which meant the rulers were all from the same family or group). The government was very strong and organized.
In the 1800s, European countries became stronger than China. They wanted many things that China produced that they could not. The Chinese government did not want people from other countries in their country. The European countries tried to force China to trade (The Opium wars) and they were fairly successful. The
Chinese let each of the countries have trading cities on the coast.
In 1931, China would go to war with Japan, starting the Pacific portion of World War 2. They would fight for almost 15 years and China would lose over 10 million
citizens in the conflict. Once World War 2 ended, two groups in China fought for control of the government—the Communists under Mao Zaedong and the Nationalists
under Chiang Kai-Shek. The Communists took over in 1949. The Nationalists left mainland China and took over the country of Taiwan.
After the Communists gained control, they had to convert their economy and government to a Communist/command model. They made many mistakes and many people suffered because of famine and persecution. In the 1970s, the United States stopped ignoring China (the US was mad that China was Communist and pretended that
Taiwan was actually China) and started trading and cooperating more. Shortly after that, China changed to more of a market economy. This made their economy
grow very, very fast until now. They are now a very powerful country because of the wealth they have. Some people wanted China to have more features of
democracy but the Communist government made it very dangerous for people to speak about the government.
Japan
Japan was very influenced by China for hundreds of years. The Japanese developed a system of government that had an emperor but gave the power to rule to military
dictators, or shoguns.
For a very long time, Japan was interested in avoiding contact with other cultures. In the middle of the 1800s, a ship from the United States forced Japan to allow
trade. The Japanese were shocked that another country could force them what to do. The government of Japan decided that they needed to be like the powerful
Western countries that seemed to get what they wanted. So they studied the West and adopted Western ideas about education, the military, and the economy. They
also worked hard to industrialize.
In the 1930s, Japan started a war with China. Japan is an island that lacks many resources. In the past, Japan had done what other countries do when they need
stuff: trade. One of their major trading partners was the United States and the US got mad at Japan for fighting China. The United States cut off their trade.
Japan could not survive as an industrialized country without these resources so Japan decided to take over other lands that would give them easier access to the
things they needed. This brought them into conflict with the United States. Japan attacked the US by surprise at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941
and brought the United States into World War 2. The war would nearly destroy Japan which would surrender after it suffered two nuclear bomb attacks in 1945.
The United States would take over, or occupy, Japan for a while after World War 2. The US wrote a new, more democratic constitution. The US worked to help Japan
become strong because they were afraid the Russians and Chinese would have a strong influence in the area of they did not make Japan influential.
Today, Japan remains strong and influential. Their economy is one of the best in the world. Recently, Japan has had major challenges dealing with a recent tsunami
and earthquake that devastated the northeastern coast of the country. One of the biggest problems was the destruction of a nuclear power plant which caused a
large amount of radiation into the air which can harm people, animals, and the environment.
Korea
The Korean peninsula has been settled for thousands of years. For much of its history, Korea was one country that was heavily influenced by China. Things
changed in the early 1900s when Japan took over Korea. Japan ran Korea like a colony. This lasted until the end of World War 2. Japan lost, so the United
States occupied the south and the Soviet Union occupied the north. Very quickly, these areas became separate countries. North Korea became Communist and the
South Korea was similar to Japan and the United States. In 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea with goal of making it one country under the rule of the Communists. This war, called the Korean War, involved many countries and lasted 3 years until both sides quit without winning anything. Today, they remain two different countries with two very different systems.
Southeast
Asia
People have lived in Southeast Asia for thousands of years. Kingdoms and empires have come and gone over the centuries. Southeast Asia is a place that, because of its
location, has been really influenced by other cultures. Southeast Asia lies in between two huge and powerful neighbors, India and China. Buddhism, which
originated in India, is the dominant religion of most of the countries in Southeast Asia. Chinese beliefs about the importance of education have adopted
by many of the people of the region. Basic farming techniques and food preferences are often based on earlier Chinese or Indian practices. This
influence lasted for centuries and continues today.
During the 1800s and 1900s, Southeast Asia was exposed to other cultures when European countries took control of the region through a process called colonialism.
Colonialism is when one country takes over another place and runs it to help the country that is in charge. Usually colonies exist to economically benefit the
country that took over. In Southeast Asia, Great Britain and France took over and started exploiting the resources Southeast Asia had. “Exploiting” means
making use of something, often harmfully. Sometimes a country that takes over improves the colony’s infrastructure, or the things built to improve transportation and communication. While that is good for the people of the colony, most people living in a colony will have a hard time meeting their basic
needs because a lot of the wealth the colonies made had to go to the country that was in control.
During World War 2 (1939-1945), when the Japanese took over the area they made the old colonial powers, like France, leave. After the war, the old colonial powers
tried to take their colonies back but the people of colonies refused and fought the Europeans. These countries gained their independence. Once that happened,
they had to decide what kind of government to have. While making these hard decisions, other countries tried to get involved. Terrible wars, such as the
United States’ Vietnam war (1965-1973), broke out over this issue in the 1960s and 1970s, killing millions of people. These wars finally ended. Things are more
stable now.
Economy
Most of the countries of East Asia have experienced fast economic growth recently.
Japan has been an important manufacturer of electronics, computer equipment, and cars since the 1960s. The economy has been strong for most of the time after World War 2. The people of Japan have much higher incomes than much of the rest of the world. In the 1990s Japan had a bad economic period, but it got better in the 2000s.
China has gone from a very poor, rural country in the 1970s to one of the most important economies in the world. The government did this by allowing the people
of China to own land and businesses (before they could not). This caused a lot of job growth and economic improvement. One of the problems China now faces is
dealing with coming up with ways to make the economy grow without hurting people. It was recently discovered that baby formula made in China was mixed
with bad chemicals to make money. This made a lot of babies sick.
South Korea has a very successful economy. This country makes a lot of electronics and computer equipment.
North Korea is just the opposite. People regularly starve in this country because of food shortages. There are very few things for the people of the country to
improve their situation because the government of North Korea is very harsh and demands that the people do what the government says. People try to sneak out of
North Korea but sometimes they are caught. The situation is so bad that the people in North Korea are usually several inches shorter than their close
relatives in South Korea. This is because of malnutrition, or poor diet.
Taiwan is a highly industrialized country that produces a large number of products to export (or trade or sell) to other countries.
Mongolia is a rural country where a lot of the population is involved in livestock raising, or raising animals to sell.
Most Southeast Asian families live in a small village. They farm for a living. Since almost every person in Southeast Asia will eat rice every day, rice farming is
the most important agricultural activity in the region. The climate and abundant water make it perfect for growing the grain. Often the countries of Southeast
Asia will grow extra rice and export it.
Other cash crops are sugar cane, rubber, coconuts, palm oil, and spices like cinnamon. Many Southeast Asian countries continue to sell lumber (trees) from their
tropical forests although this often leads to deforestation (cutting down forests to do something else with the land) and environmental damage.
Oil, natural gas, and mining are other important industries. The small country of Brunei has become very wealthy from its oil and gas industries. Indonesia is
such a large producer of petroleum that the country belonged, until 2009, to an important economic organization called the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Every Southeast Asian country has a major mining industry.
In addition, most nations in Southeast Asia are working very hard to industrialize. As time passes, more of the people will work in industry instead or farming. At
this time, Singapore is the most industrialized. It is a major trading port and manufacturing center.
There are several countries throughout East and Southeast Asia that companies use to outsource part of the work their company does. Remember, outsourcing is when a company sends part of the work they need done to a different country. The reason they do this is because it costs less to do the work there. In the United
States, companies have to treat workers a certain way—they have to pay a minimum wage, they have to pay taxes on the worker, they sometimes have to offer
benefits for the worker like insurance or paid sick days. If they send the work to a place like China or Vietnam, usually the people there are just happy to
have a job that pays anything. So, the company pays less for the work to get done that way. Many American countries have their products made in China,
Vietnam, and Thailand and then shipped to the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Culture
There are a variety of religions in East Asia. The main religion is Buddhism, which is based on the teachings of a centuries- old teacher named Buddha. Other important belief systems include Confucianism, which is a collection of views about how to live, and Shinto, a traditional religion in Japan that honors a variety of spirits that exist in nature. The Communist countries of China and North Korea are officially atheist, or one who rejects the existence of god, but some of the
people in those countries work hard to maintain their beliefs. On the peninsula, most people are Buddhist. In Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula, the majority are
Muslim, or followers of Islam. In the Philippines, most of the people are Roman Catholic.
Young people in East Asia often find that they have a hard time. They find that their parents have old beliefs about the world and what young adults should or should not be doing. For example, in many parts of East Asia, one of the important ways to honor a parent is to allow them to select a marriage partner. The child is
then supposed to marry that person. The parents don’t believe in the idea of marrying for love. But a lot of young people do. At the same time, they still
want to make their parents happy and do what their culture demands.
A lot of young people in East Asia share a love of computers, video games, and cell phones that many Western teenagers have. This is another place where they
may disagree with their parents. Parents in East Asia want their children to be highly educated, so they are expected to go to school, be tutored, take
afternoon classes in things like calligraphy (or beautiful writing) or martial arts and always do well. Young people often find that they would like more time
to do what they want, but their parents don’t understand this.
Environment
There are several challenges East Asia countries face when it comes to their environment. Air pollution, or harmful chemicals in the air, makes it difficult
to breathe and can poison people’s bodies. Air pollution is a big problem in those places that are industrialized, especially China. When China hosted the
Olympics, many athletes were worried about what breathing the air in Beijing would do to their ability to breathe and compete. Erosion and farmland
destruction is another big problem, especially in China. Some of the policies of the Chinese government in the past led to very poor use of the little farmland
available. This has led to the destruction of what was once good farmland into barren, which means it can’t grow anything, wastelands. That makes it that much
harder to grow enough food for so many people. Overfishing is a big problem for places where fish is an important part of the people’s diet, like Japan and
Taiwan. Overfishing means catching so many fish that there are not enough left to make little baby fish that will grow, be caught, and eaten. Such large
populations, especially China, make it difficult on the environment just because there are so many people who need things. Human created pollution is a challenge
that is increasing. As these countries make more stuff and have more things, they make more trash, air pollution, and water pollution. Even if everyone in
China worked hard to care for the environment, it would still be hard. Finally, all of the industrial pollution that is created contributes to global warming,
which is a problem we all had to deal with.
Deforestation is a huge challenge in this region of unique plants and animals that need the forests to live. For example, Indonesia is home to dozens, if not hundreds, of endemic species of plants and animals. Endemic means the plant or animal lives ONLY in that place. Because of human needs (mostly farmland), many of
Indonesia’s forests have been cut down. If the animals that live only in Indonesia lose their habitat, then they will go extinct. If certain plants or
animals in a habitat in go extinct then sometimes other plants and animals go extinct because they depended on the first plant or animal.
Another problem caused by humans is the damming of rivers. The Chinese built the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River. The leaders of China hoped that the dam would provide hydroelectric power, prevent violent floods, and help trade. The dam has done these things but it has also caused major problems. Farmers downstream from the dam do not get the loess as they once did which means their soil is less fertile. It has also affected the freshwater fish that live in the river, which also affects the people who depend on the river. Landslides caused by erosion and dry conditions occur more frequently because of the dam.
Southeast Asia is a great example of how the environment can affect humans. There are many active volcanoes, frequent earthquake activity, and tsunamis. Because of seasonal rains, more common natural disasters many people face are floods and typhoons.
The Pacific Ring of Fire and its impact on human economic activity
1. What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?
2. Where is the Pacific Ring of Fire located?
3. How do volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis affect economies in the region?
River flooding in China and its impact on human economic activity
4. What is one positive impact of river flooding on humans?
5. What is one negative impact of river flooding on humans?
6. Why do rivers flood in this region?
Terracing and double-cropping to increase food supplies
7. What percentage of land is used for agriculture in China?
8. Why might Japan be interested in solutions that make the land produce more food?
9. What is terracing?
10. What problem does terracing solve?
11. What is double-cropping?
Abundant energy resources in China help China develop
12. Why does China have such a great potential for hydroelectric power?
13. When a country is large and has access to many different types of resources, what are they able to do with their economy?
The Hwang He river cultural hearth
14. What is the Hwang He?
15. Where was China’s cultural hearth?
16. When did this cultural hearth develop?
17. Why has China’s culture been so influential?
Japan's resource needs and its trading network
18. Industrialized, developed countries require (few or many) resources?
19. Is Japan industrialized and developed?
20. Do they have a wide variety of resources?
21. Why?
22. What has Japan had to do as a result?
23. One historical event that shows this is ________________________?
Outsourcing
24. What is outsourcing?
25. Why would companies in developed countries want to outsource to developing countries?
BONUS: What technological changes have made it easier to outsource?
Deforestation in Indonesia
26. What is deforestation?
27. Why is Indonesia being deforested?
28. Why would we, in Oklahoma City, have any concerns about the deforestation of Indonesia?
The impact of the Three Gorges Dam on the environment
29. What is a dam?
30. Why do people build them?
31. What negative impact does the Three Gorges Dam have on the surrounding area and people?
General Questions
32. What does ethnically homogeneous mean?
33. What does arable mean?
34. Make a timeline in chronological order of AT LEAST one of the countries.
35. What would you see if you woke up in colonial Vietnam in 1890?
36. What does the word exploitation mean?
37. Which countries are developed? Developing? In between?
38. What is the major religion in the region?
These countries have existed for centuries and have long histories. China, a cultural hearth, or a place where the earliest civilizations developed, has influenced all the other countries in the region. Japan, another powerful country, has been very important in the area since the 1800s. Korea (it used to be one country) has had a hard time, often being forced to do what its more powerful neighbors want. This is why there are two Koreas instead of one. Taiwan became an important country after a lot of Chinese moved there because they did not like the government that took over in mainland China in 1949. Mongolia had a rich history long, long ago when Mongol leaders controlled all of Asia and parts of Europe.
Today, this region is growing quickly. The economies of most of the countries are doing very well, the people have more of the basics in life than ever before, and they are becoming very important in the world. They do face challenges: overpopulation, environmental problems, and governments that cause a lot of anger and dissatisfaction.
Southeast Asia lies right underneath China on both islands and peninsulas. It has a series of mountain ranges that have created natural borders. At the same time, the region depends on the sea for contact, food, and transportation. It lies in the Pacific’s Ring of Fire and the region frequently has earthquakes and volcanic
activity.
Culturally, Southeast Asia is very interesting. The area is right between two cultural hearths, and served as a stopping point between the two great ancient
civilizations of China and India. The region has been heavily influenced both by countries. People familiar with either China or India will find a lot of things
that seem familiar in Southeast Asia. In addition to the ancient cultural influences of nearby countries, Southeast Asia was heavily influenced by
European culture because most of the region was taken over by various European countries.
Physical
Geography
Both China and Mongolia are large countries in Asia. North Korea and South Korea share the Korean Peninsula which juts out from the Asian continent. It separates the Sea of Japan from the Yellow Sea. Japan and Taiwan are countries located on islands in East Asia. Japan is an archipelago, or groups of islands. There are many other islands off the coast of Asia. They were formed there because of volcanic activity. These islands are a part of the Pacific’s Ring of Fire, so
earthquakes and volcanoes are common. Much of continental East Asia is mountainous. Some of the highest mountains in the world are found in
Western China. Large, high plateaus form a large part of Southwestern China and Western Mongolia. The coastal areas of China, Japan, North Korea, and South
Korea have a much lower elevation.
China has three long, important rivers. The Huang He, or Yellow River, is the most northern river. The Yellow River has brought both benefits and tragedy to those
that live near it. It carries very fertile soil, called loess, and deposits along the banks. This helps farmers. The river also floods often and violently. The longest and middle river is called Chang Jiang. The areas around the Chang Jiang and its tributaries, or smaller rivers that feed into the Chang Jiang, are excellent for farming. More than half of China’s crops are grown along the banks of this river system, which means a main river along with its tributaries.The Xi river is the most southern river and is also a good place for farming.
Southeast Asia is a region that is located on the Indochina Peninsula (it juts out from the bottom of China), the Malay Peninsula (it juts out from the Indochina
Peninsula) and the large number (over 20,000) of islands that surround the peninsulas. Many of these islands are in clusters, or groups, called
archipelagos. Southeast Asia is often divided between the countries of the peninsula (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand) and the island countries
(Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines). Malaysia is located on both the peninsula and an island.
Small mountain ranges create barriers between the countries and between Southeast Asia and other regions. The mountain chains usually run north-south and include a lot of active volcanoes. Many rivers run in the valley between the mountain chains. For centuries, the people of Southeast Asia have used the rivers to grow food, communicate and transport things.
Both East Asia and Southeast Asia form part of what is called the Pacific Ring of Fire. The entire area falls on fault lines between tectonic plates. These plates
move. When they move, natural disasters can result. Earthquakes, tsunamis (giant waves caused by plate movements under the ocean), and volcanoes are common to this region. In 2004, there was a 9.1 earthquake off the coast of Indonesia caused a massive tidal wave that killed hundreds of thousands of people through the countries that touched the Indian Ocean. Someone even died in Africa because of this event. It was horrible.
Natural
Resources
China has abundant coal, tin, tungsten, and bauxite. China has the greatest potential for hydroelectric power than any other country because of their numerous
mountains and rivers. Because it is so large, China has most of the natural resources it needs and is often able to export extra to other countries for things they need but don’t have. This wealth has allowed China to industrialize rapidly. The Koreas have iron ore, coal, gold, and copper. Japan lacks a lot of mineral resources and must import what it needs. Much of the land in East Asia isn’t suitable, or good for, farming. Much of China and Korea are mountains, while Japan is very hilly. Only 10% of the land in China can be used for farming. Much of East Asia borders the sea. The people have used the ocean for travel and food for centuries.
Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Malaysia have the world’s largest tin deposits. Tin is a type of light metal. Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam have a lot of precious gems like sapphires and rubies, while the Philippines sells a lot of pearls, which are created by a kind of oyster in the ocean.
While minerals are an important part of Southeast Asia’s economy, the region also has a lot of renewable resources that it trades and sells. Thick, tropical forests
have trees like mahogany and rubber, which are used for furniture and manufactured goods. More than 10% of prescription drugs are made from products
found in the tropical forest. The seas provide a very important resource in fish, shellfish, and sea plants. Seafood is an important part of any Southeast Asian’s diet.
Climate
Monsoons, or seasonal winds, have a major impact on the climate of East Asia. The seasonal winds, called monsoons, blow in different directions based on the season. In the summer, winds come in from the Pacific, picking up moisture over the ocean and releasing it as rain. In the winter, the wind switches direction and brings cold. Dry air blows south from the Northern part of the Asian continent. East Asia has a variety of climates. In the western part of China, there is highland
and desert. Mongolia is mostly steppe. The eastern part of China, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan are humid subtropical and humid continental climates.
The monsoons cause the rivers in the area to flood. This is, and has been, very important to the people living there. The floods are dangerous and can take and
affect human and animal life. However, the fast running rivers also pick up and move (erode) soil from one part of the river and deposit it in another place.
This soil is called loess and it is very fertile. In agriculture, one thing farmers are always worried about is how fertile the soil is. When farmers grow plants, these plants take important nutrients out of the soil. If too many nutrients are taken out, then the soil cannot grow more plants. People all over the world have come up with different ways of dealing with this. In East Asia, new soil comes with every flood. People have figured out if they build terraces carving steps on the side of a hill) to trap the water and fertile soil around their crops, they can grow more food. They also figured out if they plant two different types of crops on the same land,
sometimes one of the plants will add nutrients to the soil the other plant is taking out. In these ways, farmers in East Asia have done a good job of dealing with the high and dense populations in their countries.
Most of the islands and some of the peninsula are a tropical rain forest climate. Tropical rain forest climates are hot, humid, and rainy. The portion of
Southeast Asia that has a tropical rain forest climate is usually 79°F everyday, gets between 80 and 180 inches of rain a year, and usually has 80-90% humidity.
Most of the peninsula has a tropical savanna climate. This climate has a very dry season and a very wet season, caused by monsoons. The northern part of
Vietnam and Laos have a humid subtropical climate, which means the weather is kind of close to Oklahoma, with its very hot summers and fairly cold winters.
Population
China
China has the largest population of any country, with 1.3 billion people. Of this number, 92% are one ethnicity, called Han. The remaining 8% are divided amongst
50 different ethnic groups. Since a lot of China is difficult to live in, most of the people are packed into about 1/6 of the land. The government of China is very concerned about their population growing too fast, so they have policies that reward people who have one child and punish people who have more than one.
Eighty percent of the people in China live in rural areas, but this is changing quickly because of urbanization, or the process of a large number of people
moving to cities. China, because it has such a large population, also has a lot of people who live in cities.
Japan
Japan has 127 million people. Most of the people belong to one ethnic group, so it is ethnically homogenous, or all of one kind. Because Japan is a series of small
islands, Japan has a high population density. Japan is very urbanized.
South Korea and North Korea
South Korea has 49 million people. North Korea has 23 million people. The people of both Koreas belong to the same ethnic group. North Korea is very rural while
South Korea is urban.
Mongolia
Most people who live in Mongolia are ethnically Mongols. They have a small population of 2 million people. Mongolia has a sparse, or light, population density. It is very rural.
Taiwan
Taiwan has a high population density with 23 million people living on a small island. Most Taiwanese live in the cities on the coast.
Southeast Asia has a large population of 574,902,047 and it is growing very quickly. Indonesia, with 230 million people, is the country with the 4th highest population in the world. The other countries have much lower populations, but together, it is a lot.
In general, more people live in those areas of Southeast Asia that are near water, with rivers or the ocean. Java, an island in Indonesia is one of the most
densely populated islands in the world. Singapore, the smallest country in size, has the highest population density, with 6,336 people per square mile.
The peninsula has a lot of people who live in the rural areas and work in agriculture. More of the land on the peninsula is arable, which means land that
is good for growing crops. On both the islands and the peninsula, a lot of people are moving from the country to the cities. This movement is sometimes
hard because it is difficult to make sure there are enough resources for all the new people, especially when the areas are poor. This movement is called
urbanization. There are at least 15 cities in Southeast Asia with a population of over one million.
History
China
China’s history goes back to the beginning of the Neolithic era (around 1600 BC). The Hwang He river was the site of an ancient cultural hearth. China was the most sophisticated place on earth for hundreds of years. China, because it was so well-organized and developed, had a major influence on all the cultures in the
region from the style of writing to the important foods people eat to how the governments run. For a very long time, China was led by dynasties of rulers (which meant the rulers were all from the same family or group). The government was very strong and organized.
In the 1800s, European countries became stronger than China. They wanted many things that China produced that they could not. The Chinese government did not want people from other countries in their country. The European countries tried to force China to trade (The Opium wars) and they were fairly successful. The
Chinese let each of the countries have trading cities on the coast.
In 1931, China would go to war with Japan, starting the Pacific portion of World War 2. They would fight for almost 15 years and China would lose over 10 million
citizens in the conflict. Once World War 2 ended, two groups in China fought for control of the government—the Communists under Mao Zaedong and the Nationalists
under Chiang Kai-Shek. The Communists took over in 1949. The Nationalists left mainland China and took over the country of Taiwan.
After the Communists gained control, they had to convert their economy and government to a Communist/command model. They made many mistakes and many people suffered because of famine and persecution. In the 1970s, the United States stopped ignoring China (the US was mad that China was Communist and pretended that
Taiwan was actually China) and started trading and cooperating more. Shortly after that, China changed to more of a market economy. This made their economy
grow very, very fast until now. They are now a very powerful country because of the wealth they have. Some people wanted China to have more features of
democracy but the Communist government made it very dangerous for people to speak about the government.
Japan
Japan was very influenced by China for hundreds of years. The Japanese developed a system of government that had an emperor but gave the power to rule to military
dictators, or shoguns.
For a very long time, Japan was interested in avoiding contact with other cultures. In the middle of the 1800s, a ship from the United States forced Japan to allow
trade. The Japanese were shocked that another country could force them what to do. The government of Japan decided that they needed to be like the powerful
Western countries that seemed to get what they wanted. So they studied the West and adopted Western ideas about education, the military, and the economy. They
also worked hard to industrialize.
In the 1930s, Japan started a war with China. Japan is an island that lacks many resources. In the past, Japan had done what other countries do when they need
stuff: trade. One of their major trading partners was the United States and the US got mad at Japan for fighting China. The United States cut off their trade.
Japan could not survive as an industrialized country without these resources so Japan decided to take over other lands that would give them easier access to the
things they needed. This brought them into conflict with the United States. Japan attacked the US by surprise at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941
and brought the United States into World War 2. The war would nearly destroy Japan which would surrender after it suffered two nuclear bomb attacks in 1945.
The United States would take over, or occupy, Japan for a while after World War 2. The US wrote a new, more democratic constitution. The US worked to help Japan
become strong because they were afraid the Russians and Chinese would have a strong influence in the area of they did not make Japan influential.
Today, Japan remains strong and influential. Their economy is one of the best in the world. Recently, Japan has had major challenges dealing with a recent tsunami
and earthquake that devastated the northeastern coast of the country. One of the biggest problems was the destruction of a nuclear power plant which caused a
large amount of radiation into the air which can harm people, animals, and the environment.
Korea
The Korean peninsula has been settled for thousands of years. For much of its history, Korea was one country that was heavily influenced by China. Things
changed in the early 1900s when Japan took over Korea. Japan ran Korea like a colony. This lasted until the end of World War 2. Japan lost, so the United
States occupied the south and the Soviet Union occupied the north. Very quickly, these areas became separate countries. North Korea became Communist and the
South Korea was similar to Japan and the United States. In 1950, North Korea attacked South Korea with goal of making it one country under the rule of the Communists. This war, called the Korean War, involved many countries and lasted 3 years until both sides quit without winning anything. Today, they remain two different countries with two very different systems.
Southeast
Asia
People have lived in Southeast Asia for thousands of years. Kingdoms and empires have come and gone over the centuries. Southeast Asia is a place that, because of its
location, has been really influenced by other cultures. Southeast Asia lies in between two huge and powerful neighbors, India and China. Buddhism, which
originated in India, is the dominant religion of most of the countries in Southeast Asia. Chinese beliefs about the importance of education have adopted
by many of the people of the region. Basic farming techniques and food preferences are often based on earlier Chinese or Indian practices. This
influence lasted for centuries and continues today.
During the 1800s and 1900s, Southeast Asia was exposed to other cultures when European countries took control of the region through a process called colonialism.
Colonialism is when one country takes over another place and runs it to help the country that is in charge. Usually colonies exist to economically benefit the
country that took over. In Southeast Asia, Great Britain and France took over and started exploiting the resources Southeast Asia had. “Exploiting” means
making use of something, often harmfully. Sometimes a country that takes over improves the colony’s infrastructure, or the things built to improve transportation and communication. While that is good for the people of the colony, most people living in a colony will have a hard time meeting their basic
needs because a lot of the wealth the colonies made had to go to the country that was in control.
During World War 2 (1939-1945), when the Japanese took over the area they made the old colonial powers, like France, leave. After the war, the old colonial powers
tried to take their colonies back but the people of colonies refused and fought the Europeans. These countries gained their independence. Once that happened,
they had to decide what kind of government to have. While making these hard decisions, other countries tried to get involved. Terrible wars, such as the
United States’ Vietnam war (1965-1973), broke out over this issue in the 1960s and 1970s, killing millions of people. These wars finally ended. Things are more
stable now.
Economy
Most of the countries of East Asia have experienced fast economic growth recently.
Japan has been an important manufacturer of electronics, computer equipment, and cars since the 1960s. The economy has been strong for most of the time after World War 2. The people of Japan have much higher incomes than much of the rest of the world. In the 1990s Japan had a bad economic period, but it got better in the 2000s.
China has gone from a very poor, rural country in the 1970s to one of the most important economies in the world. The government did this by allowing the people
of China to own land and businesses (before they could not). This caused a lot of job growth and economic improvement. One of the problems China now faces is
dealing with coming up with ways to make the economy grow without hurting people. It was recently discovered that baby formula made in China was mixed
with bad chemicals to make money. This made a lot of babies sick.
South Korea has a very successful economy. This country makes a lot of electronics and computer equipment.
North Korea is just the opposite. People regularly starve in this country because of food shortages. There are very few things for the people of the country to
improve their situation because the government of North Korea is very harsh and demands that the people do what the government says. People try to sneak out of
North Korea but sometimes they are caught. The situation is so bad that the people in North Korea are usually several inches shorter than their close
relatives in South Korea. This is because of malnutrition, or poor diet.
Taiwan is a highly industrialized country that produces a large number of products to export (or trade or sell) to other countries.
Mongolia is a rural country where a lot of the population is involved in livestock raising, or raising animals to sell.
Most Southeast Asian families live in a small village. They farm for a living. Since almost every person in Southeast Asia will eat rice every day, rice farming is
the most important agricultural activity in the region. The climate and abundant water make it perfect for growing the grain. Often the countries of Southeast
Asia will grow extra rice and export it.
Other cash crops are sugar cane, rubber, coconuts, palm oil, and spices like cinnamon. Many Southeast Asian countries continue to sell lumber (trees) from their
tropical forests although this often leads to deforestation (cutting down forests to do something else with the land) and environmental damage.
Oil, natural gas, and mining are other important industries. The small country of Brunei has become very wealthy from its oil and gas industries. Indonesia is
such a large producer of petroleum that the country belonged, until 2009, to an important economic organization called the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Every Southeast Asian country has a major mining industry.
In addition, most nations in Southeast Asia are working very hard to industrialize. As time passes, more of the people will work in industry instead or farming. At
this time, Singapore is the most industrialized. It is a major trading port and manufacturing center.
There are several countries throughout East and Southeast Asia that companies use to outsource part of the work their company does. Remember, outsourcing is when a company sends part of the work they need done to a different country. The reason they do this is because it costs less to do the work there. In the United
States, companies have to treat workers a certain way—they have to pay a minimum wage, they have to pay taxes on the worker, they sometimes have to offer
benefits for the worker like insurance or paid sick days. If they send the work to a place like China or Vietnam, usually the people there are just happy to
have a job that pays anything. So, the company pays less for the work to get done that way. Many American countries have their products made in China,
Vietnam, and Thailand and then shipped to the United States, Canada, and Europe.
Culture
There are a variety of religions in East Asia. The main religion is Buddhism, which is based on the teachings of a centuries- old teacher named Buddha. Other important belief systems include Confucianism, which is a collection of views about how to live, and Shinto, a traditional religion in Japan that honors a variety of spirits that exist in nature. The Communist countries of China and North Korea are officially atheist, or one who rejects the existence of god, but some of the
people in those countries work hard to maintain their beliefs. On the peninsula, most people are Buddhist. In Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula, the majority are
Muslim, or followers of Islam. In the Philippines, most of the people are Roman Catholic.
Young people in East Asia often find that they have a hard time. They find that their parents have old beliefs about the world and what young adults should or should not be doing. For example, in many parts of East Asia, one of the important ways to honor a parent is to allow them to select a marriage partner. The child is
then supposed to marry that person. The parents don’t believe in the idea of marrying for love. But a lot of young people do. At the same time, they still
want to make their parents happy and do what their culture demands.
A lot of young people in East Asia share a love of computers, video games, and cell phones that many Western teenagers have. This is another place where they
may disagree with their parents. Parents in East Asia want their children to be highly educated, so they are expected to go to school, be tutored, take
afternoon classes in things like calligraphy (or beautiful writing) or martial arts and always do well. Young people often find that they would like more time
to do what they want, but their parents don’t understand this.
Environment
There are several challenges East Asia countries face when it comes to their environment. Air pollution, or harmful chemicals in the air, makes it difficult
to breathe and can poison people’s bodies. Air pollution is a big problem in those places that are industrialized, especially China. When China hosted the
Olympics, many athletes were worried about what breathing the air in Beijing would do to their ability to breathe and compete. Erosion and farmland
destruction is another big problem, especially in China. Some of the policies of the Chinese government in the past led to very poor use of the little farmland
available. This has led to the destruction of what was once good farmland into barren, which means it can’t grow anything, wastelands. That makes it that much
harder to grow enough food for so many people. Overfishing is a big problem for places where fish is an important part of the people’s diet, like Japan and
Taiwan. Overfishing means catching so many fish that there are not enough left to make little baby fish that will grow, be caught, and eaten. Such large
populations, especially China, make it difficult on the environment just because there are so many people who need things. Human created pollution is a challenge
that is increasing. As these countries make more stuff and have more things, they make more trash, air pollution, and water pollution. Even if everyone in
China worked hard to care for the environment, it would still be hard. Finally, all of the industrial pollution that is created contributes to global warming,
which is a problem we all had to deal with.
Deforestation is a huge challenge in this region of unique plants and animals that need the forests to live. For example, Indonesia is home to dozens, if not hundreds, of endemic species of plants and animals. Endemic means the plant or animal lives ONLY in that place. Because of human needs (mostly farmland), many of
Indonesia’s forests have been cut down. If the animals that live only in Indonesia lose their habitat, then they will go extinct. If certain plants or
animals in a habitat in go extinct then sometimes other plants and animals go extinct because they depended on the first plant or animal.
Another problem caused by humans is the damming of rivers. The Chinese built the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River. The leaders of China hoped that the dam would provide hydroelectric power, prevent violent floods, and help trade. The dam has done these things but it has also caused major problems. Farmers downstream from the dam do not get the loess as they once did which means their soil is less fertile. It has also affected the freshwater fish that live in the river, which also affects the people who depend on the river. Landslides caused by erosion and dry conditions occur more frequently because of the dam.
Southeast Asia is a great example of how the environment can affect humans. There are many active volcanoes, frequent earthquake activity, and tsunamis. Because of seasonal rains, more common natural disasters many people face are floods and typhoons.
The Pacific Ring of Fire and its impact on human economic activity
1. What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?
2. Where is the Pacific Ring of Fire located?
3. How do volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis affect economies in the region?
River flooding in China and its impact on human economic activity
4. What is one positive impact of river flooding on humans?
5. What is one negative impact of river flooding on humans?
6. Why do rivers flood in this region?
Terracing and double-cropping to increase food supplies
7. What percentage of land is used for agriculture in China?
8. Why might Japan be interested in solutions that make the land produce more food?
9. What is terracing?
10. What problem does terracing solve?
11. What is double-cropping?
Abundant energy resources in China help China develop
12. Why does China have such a great potential for hydroelectric power?
13. When a country is large and has access to many different types of resources, what are they able to do with their economy?
The Hwang He river cultural hearth
14. What is the Hwang He?
15. Where was China’s cultural hearth?
16. When did this cultural hearth develop?
17. Why has China’s culture been so influential?
Japan's resource needs and its trading network
18. Industrialized, developed countries require (few or many) resources?
19. Is Japan industrialized and developed?
20. Do they have a wide variety of resources?
21. Why?
22. What has Japan had to do as a result?
23. One historical event that shows this is ________________________?
Outsourcing
24. What is outsourcing?
25. Why would companies in developed countries want to outsource to developing countries?
BONUS: What technological changes have made it easier to outsource?
Deforestation in Indonesia
26. What is deforestation?
27. Why is Indonesia being deforested?
28. Why would we, in Oklahoma City, have any concerns about the deforestation of Indonesia?
The impact of the Three Gorges Dam on the environment
29. What is a dam?
30. Why do people build them?
31. What negative impact does the Three Gorges Dam have on the surrounding area and people?
General Questions
32. What does ethnically homogeneous mean?
33. What does arable mean?
34. Make a timeline in chronological order of AT LEAST one of the countries.
35. What would you see if you woke up in colonial Vietnam in 1890?
36. What does the word exploitation mean?
37. Which countries are developed? Developing? In between?
38. What is the major religion in the region?