Geography Paper on North and South Korea
The coastlines for North Korea are about 2,495 kilometers. These coastlines are particularly irregular especially on the western part that has many small bays and peninsulas. Despite the western coastline being irregular, the coastlines are also shallow with large tidal ranges thereby it is hard to develop harbors on the western part of the country (Palka and Galgano 18). The eastern coastlines, on the other hand, have small tidal ranges. Like every other country in the region, the larger part of North Korea has many rugged mountain ranges that form 80 percent of the country’s landscape. This leaves the country with less than 20 percent of land for agriculture (Van, Jackson and Hudman 454). Besides taking the larger part of agriculture land, the rugged mountain ranges hamper transport in the country.
Like North Korea, South Korea too has many rugged mountains. There are very few lowlands in the country and they few that are there tend to be sites for the major cities in the country. Due to the geographical location, the country suffers from occasional typhoons that hamper development. The only land that is suitable for agriculture is about 16.58 percent of the country total land (Connor 7).
The major developments in the region, which include the ports at Keelung and Kaohsiung; the international airports at Taoyuan and Taipei; the north-south expressway and high speed railway from Kaohsiung to Keelung together with the science city at Hsinchu, would enhance the modernization of Korea if the two countries would to unite to form one country. The ports at Keelung and Kaohsiung would deal with port challenges facing the two countries (Kim and Crompton 356). The high-speed railway connecting Keelung and Kaohsiung would enhance transport in the region whereas the two international airports would connect the region and enhance air transport in the region.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong like North and South Korea has a hilly and mountainous terrain. The lowlands are commonly found on the northern part of the country. Following the nature of the terrain, most of the land in Hong Kong is reclaimed from the sea. This nature affects the urban geography of Hong Kong city. It affects the city growth and connectivity with major cities in the region. The physical landscape of the city too affects its interior development (Ng and Ren 385). Consequently, the rapid growth of the city has resulted to sub-urbanization of the regions neighboring the city together with establishment of urban-type activities in those regions. As a result of this, the city has been forced to push its administrative boundaries to farmland thereby reducing land for agriculture. However, following the re-unification of Hong Kong with China, Hong Kong has benefitted significantly despite the few challenges here and there.
One of the spatial impacts of re-unification has been the economic benefits that Hong Kong enjoys for being the strong base for doing business for the mainland China (Pang Para. 1). The practice has benefitted both China and Hong Kong. Another spatial impact has been the development of high speed railway in the region connecting the two regions together with development international airports in the region. Consequently, as illustrated by Hong Kong’s case study, North Korea and South Korea would also benefit if they would re-unite to form a single country like they were before they separated. This would not only improve movement in the region, but it would also improve economic growth in the region. As a result, despite the economic challenges that surround the re-unification, it would be important for the two countries to re-unite.
Work cited
Connor, Mary. The Koreas. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print.
Furian, Peter. Shutterstock. Web 6 April 2017.
Kim, Yong-Kwan, and Crompton John. Role of tourism in unifying the two Koreas. Annals of tourism research, 17, 1990. Print. Print.
Ng, Edward, and Ren Chao. The urban climatic map: A methodology for sustainable urban planning. New York: Routledge, 2015. Print.
Palka, Eugene, and Galgano Francis. North Korea: A geographical analysis. New York: Department of geography & environmental engineering United States military academy, West Point NY, 2002. Print.
Pang, Melissa. Hong Kong as a base for doing business in mainland China. Web 6 April 2017.
Van, Harssel, Jackson, Richard, and Hudman Lloyd. Geography of travel and tourism. Australia: Delmar, 2014. Print.