The Korean peninsula was once one country; then a conflict carved it down the

middle and created two nations divided by their rulers’ opposing ideologies.
Almost 75 years on, how different are North and South Korea, despite being
just a few kilometres away?

North Korea–South Korea relations are the bilateral relations between

the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and the Republic of
Korea (South Korea). It started off a single nation, that was later annexed by
the Empire of Japan in 1910. So, In the last days of World War Two, when it
became clear Japan would surrender to the Allied powers, the question of
what would happen to Korea became louder than ever. After decades of
occupying the Korean peninsula, Japan had retreated.

The Division of Korea began at the end of World War II in 1945. With the
declaration of the Soviet-Japanese War, the Soviet Union occupied the north
of Korea, and the United States occupied the south, with the boundary
between their zones being the 38th parallel. After World War II, a democratic-
based government (Republic of Korea, ROK) was set up in the southern half of
the Korean Peninsula while a communist-style government was installed in the
north (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, DPRK). This was however
supposed to be only a temporary decision.

Unfortunately, with the onset of the Cold War, negotiations between the
United States and the Soviet Union failed to lead to an independent and
unified Korean state because of the deep rooted ideological difference the two
countries shared. This led to the Korean War (1950-53), under which US troops
and UN forces fought alongside ROK soldiers to defend South Korea from a
DPRK invasion supported by China and the Soviet Union. It concluded on A
1953 armistice split along the Peninsula has left the two Koreas separated by
the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) up to the present day. Diplomatic
initiatives have so far failed to end the division.

As of today, North Korea is a one-party state run by the Kim dynasty. It is a

Stalinist state and keeps between 80,000 and 120,000 state prisoners, most of
whom are held for political, not criminal, offenses. The DPRK demonized the
US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded
propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the
core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's
control. Years of isolation have seriously damaged North Korea's economy, and
the country's populace has long suffered from poverty and famine. The United
Nations reports that over a third of the population is malnourished and many
people lack access to proper healthcare.

In a 2011 report the US State Department stated “systematic and severe

human rights abuses occurred” in North Korea’s prisons.In fact, North Korea
received the lowest press freedom score on the 2013 press freedom index and
is seen as one of the world’s most corrupt countries, according to
Transparency International’s 2014 corruption perception index. Its nuclear
programme is also a concern for South Korea and western nations, as The
regime abides by a policy calling for the simultaneous development of its
nuclear weapons program and its economy.

South Korea on the other hand was formerly governed by one-party military
dictatorships until 1987 when it held direct elections. The country is officially a
constitutional democracy.
Life in South Korea is fuelled by an unashamedly loud and proud style of
capitalism. In South Korea, large corporations, known as "Chaebol's" have
lifted the local economy to riches previously unheard of. Some of these
companies include the well-known Hyundai, Samsung, and LG. South Korea has
a rising middle-class, and more and more people are moving into the suburbs,
built around the wealthy cities, with developed service economies.
However, South Korea’s controversial National Security Law makes it an
offense to express sympathies with North Korea. But South Korea ranks as far
less corrupt than its northern neighbour. And it’s a key ally for western powers
- particularly the United States, which still carries out military drills there.

Despite being divided by just a few kilometres, the two countries are very
different, especially in terms of their political systems. In the next section we
shall focus on carrying a comparative study between the two.

Keeping in mind all the divisions to carry out a proper comparative study
(mentioned in the introduction), we now apply the guidelines to understand
how North Korea and South Korea have evolved over the years with resoect to
each other:
 1. Political Culture
HISTORICAL INFLUENCE
The division between f the Korean penisnual was not only a geographical
division, rather an indeological division. Because of which The politics of
Korea today are the result of interaction between political histories. The political
culture is heavily influenced by the diviosn of the peninsula, as it gave both the
countries political weapons, namely the liberal-democratic and communist ideology,
to be driven against each other, while simultaneously developing the ideology they
support further.
i. GEOGRAPHY
II. ATTITUDE AND BELIEFS

SOCIO ECONOMIC SYSTEM

After emerging from the 1950-53 war with North Korea, South Korea emerged as one of the 20th
century’s most remarkable economic success stories, becoming a developed, globally connected,
high-technology society within decades. In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion-dollar club of world
economies.
The change in South Korea's economic structure has given rise to the middle class. It consists
of people in many fields.who are highly educated. This is an important factor in the
development of democracy. The structure of production from agriculture to industry. It
resulted in the migration of workers from the countryside to the citIES.
In 2018 and beyond, South Korea will contend with gradually slowing economic growth - in
the 2-3% range - not uncommon for advanced economies.

North Korea, one of the world's most centrally directed and least open economies, faces chronic
economic problems. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of
underinvestment, shortages of spare parts, and poor maintenance. Large-scale military spending
and development of its ballistic missile and nuclear program severely draws off resources needed
for investment and civilian consumption. Industrial and power outputs have stagnated for years at a
fraction of pre-1990 levels. Frequent weather-related crop failures aggravated chronic food
shortages caused by on-going systemic problems, including a lack of arable land, collective farming
practices, poor soil quality, insufficient fertilization, and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel.

The North Korean Government continues to stress its goal of improving the overall standard of
living, but has taken few steps to make that goal a reality for its populace.
Firm political control remains the government’s overriding concern, which likely will inhibit formal
changes to North Korea’s current economic system

2. Political instituions
the process of democratization in South Korea Has been a stable development. In the aspect
of the political institution, political parties were more dependent on the mass than under the
guidance or patronage of politicians. In addition, the emphasis is placed on the separation of
roles between the executive and the legislature. the president as the leader of the political
party must not interfere with the work of the National Assembly to cause power balance and
to monitor each other, including the freedom to work for organizations that have been used as
political tools.
Executive branch[edit]
Main office holders

Office Name Party Since

President Moon Jae-in Democratic Party of Korea 10 May 2017

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon Democratic Party of Korea 31 May 2017

The head of state is the president, who is elected by direct popular vote for a single five-
year[3] term. The president is Commander-in-Chief of the armed force of South Korea and enjoys
considerable executive powers.
The president appoints the prime minister with approval of the National Assembly, as well as
appointing and presiding over the State Council of chief ministers as the head of government.

Legislative branch[edit]

National Assembly of South Koreain Seoul

The National Assembly (국회, 國會, gukhoe) has 300 members, elected for a four-year term, 253
members in single-seat constituencies and 47 members by proportional representation. The
ruling Democratic Party of Korea is the largest party in the Assembly.

Judicial branch[edit]
The South Korean judiciary is independent of the other two branches. The highest judiciary body
is the Supreme Court, whose justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the
National Assembly. In addition, the Constitutional Court oversees questions of constitutionality.
South Korea has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

Nk

The politics of North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) takes
place within the framework of the official state philosophy, Juche, a concept created
by Hwang Jang-yop and later attributed to Kim Il-sung. The Juche theory is the belief that
through self-reliance and a strong independent state, true socialism can be achieved.[1][2]

Judiciary[edit]
Main article: Judiciary of North Korea
North Korea's judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea, which consists of a Chief Justice and two People's Assessors; three judges may be
present in some cases
The judiciary does not practice judicial review. The security forces so often interfere with the
actions of the judiciary that the conclusion of most cases is foregone; experts outside North
Korea and numerous defectors confirm this to be a widespread problem.[8] Freedom House
states that, "North Korea does not have an independent judiciary and does not acknowledge
individual rights...reports of arbitrary detentions, 'disappearances,' and extrajudicial killings are
common; torture is widespread and severe"
KIM DYNASTY

North Korea has been ruled by one of the world’s longest-running

dynastic dictatorships. Three generations of the Kim family have ruled
with absolute authority, using heavy repression and a system of
patronage that ensures support from elites and the military. Kim Il-sung
was the founding father of North Korea, where he ruled from 1948 until
his death in 1994. He was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-il, who
served for seventeen years until a fatal heart attack in late 2011.
Leadership then passed to Kim Jong-il’s twenty-eight-year-old son,
Kim Jong-un, in 2012
The latest supreme leader, Kim Jong-un, appears to have deftly
handled his early years at the top through reshuffling party and military
structures and accelerating a buildup of nuclear and missile capabilities.
A lot of emphasis is gibven to the military, when it comes to
government rule and executibve decsions. Outside observers generally views
North Korea as a totalitarian dictatorship[18] particularly noting the elaborate cult of personality
around Kim Il-sungand his family.
The status of the military has been enhanced, and it appears to occupy the center of the North
Korean political system; all the social sectors are forced to follow the military spirit and adopt
military methods.

Executive
Chief policymaking comes from the WPK’s Central Committee and
three subordinate institutions: the Political Bureau, or Politburo; the
Control Commission; and the Executive Policy Bureau, which also
controls surveillance and appoints top personnel across the party,
cabinet, and military. The Central Committee’s Organization Guidance
Department (OGD) and Propaganda and Agitation Department are
among the most influential party agencies.

3. Interest groups

The politics of the Republic of Korea takes in place in the framework of

a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state,
and of a multi-party system. The Economist Intelligence Unit has rated South Korea as the 20th
most democratic country in 2017, the highest ranked Asian country and
above Belgium, France or the United States.[1]
North Korea's political system is built upon the principle of centralization. While the North Korean
constitution formally guarantees protection of human rights, in practice there are severe limits
on freedom of expression, and the government closely supervises the lives of North Korean
citizens. The constitution defines North Korea as "a dictatorship of people's democracy"[3] under
the leadership of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), which is given legal supremacy over other
political parties.
but a moral and ethical icon for the people.