1. Chapter 7 East Asia and International Studies
Demography and Development

2. Introduction: Why Study East Asia?
Huge geographic scale
East Asia is the most populous region of the world’s most populated continent
30% of the world’s population lives in East Asia
East Asia has a very diverse land mass
There is a long history associated with Asian civilizations
Abundance of diverse cultures in East Asia
Asia is a rising economic power
Asia has great political power in the world

3. [Figure 7.1 The Great Wall of China, while not visible from space, is an important symbol of China, Photo S. Toops ]

4. Geography Asia is divided into four regions:
Northeast Asia
Southeast Asia
South Asia
Central Asia
This chapter focuses on Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia
The following chapters focus on South and Central Asia

5. Geography - Northeast Asia
Northeast Asia encompasses five countries:
China
Japan
Taiwan
North Korea
South Korea
Languages among these countries are not closely interrelated
Ethnic groups are distinct in terms of history and political identities

6. Geography – Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is comprised of eleven countries:
Burma (Myanmar)
Thailand
Vietnam
Cambodia
Laos
Peninsular countries: Malaysia and Singapore
Island countries: Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, East Timor
This region is a crossroad of influences from China and India

7. [Figure 7.1 Map of Asia]

8. History
Indigenous kingdoms and empires have dominated East Asia through its long history
Chinese empires were established in the Yellow River valley in 2000 BCE
The Japanese empire dates back to 50 BCE
Early civilizations were established due to the rich agriculture of the region

9. History – European Colonialism
European colonialism was very strong in Southeast Asia but less so in Northeast Asia
Dutch colonized Indonesia
French colonized Indochina
British colonized Malaya
Spanish colonized Philippines
All of the European powers gained some territorial control in China
Resistance to colonialism in the form of nationalism
Most countries were free from colonial rule by the 1970’s

10. Culture Asia has a significant degree of diversity
Every country has its own language system for the most part
Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Daoism, and Confucianism are present in Asia
1950 Marxist atheism prevailed over traditional religious beliefs in China and North Korea
East Asian culture is found in many places around the world
Example from the text talks about Chinese restaurants in a small Ohio town

11. Economics
Asian economic developmental success is seen as a structural economic system, a common metaphor is that of a goose flock migrating
Japan is the economic leader
Close behind Japan are the newly industrialized countries: Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea
The third group is Thailand, Malaysia, and soon China
The fourth group consists of Indonesia
The poorest group are countries like Cambodia

12. [Figure 7.2. Agricultural activity in South East Asia focuses on rice production as shown here in Thailand. Photo S. Andrus.]

13. Politics East Asia has two models of state formation since the 1950’s:
Japan became a democracy following WWII
China became communist following WWII
Political freedoms and human rights remain issues for communist China
In Southeast Asia, political tensions are strongly related to colonial past
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was formed to facilitate political cooperation in the region

14. [Figure 7. 3 Tiananmen Square in Beijing
[Figure 7.3 Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Chairman Mao’s portrait is at the center. On the left, the banner says 10,000 years to the People’s Republic of China. On the right, the banner reads 10,000 years to the great unity of the peoples of the world. Photo S. Toops.]

15. Social Issues: Demography
Population growth is a problem facing East Asia in coming years
Currently East Asia is home to billion people and Asia as a whole is home to 60% of the world population
To control the population growth, a limit of one child per family has been employed in China
Singapore has the opposite problem and are encouraging people to have more children

16. [Figure 7.4. Most people in Singapore live in huge housing complexes supported by the government. Photo: S. Toops]

17. Social Issues: Demography
Urbanization is another problem plaguing Asia
Huge cities with populations over 1 million or not uncommon and a city of 200,000 is considered a small town
The level of urbanization in Northeast Asia is far worse than that of Southeast Asia
Japan and South Korea are over 70% urban

18. [Figure 7.5. This family in Shanghai has their future hope pinned on the success of their grand daughter. Photo: S. Toops]

19. Asian Economic Situation
After World War II, economic growth mean sustaining an annual increase in GDP at 5% or more
Third world countries were obtaining this goal, but standards of living were not going up
Not a very good indicator of economic growth
By the 1980’s, development expanded to political and cultural aspects rather than just economic aspects
Values of a “good life” were formed:
Sustenance
Self-esteem
Freedom from servitude

20. Goals for Development
In Japan and South Korea, the government works with corporations to set goals and aims for the economy
Recently have moved away from export and industry to hi-tech goods and services
In China, until the 1980’s the economy was totally controlled by the state. Since then they have begun moving toward a market economy
Resembles what Japan and South Korea have done, but the state still plays a very large role in the economy

21. Development and China
Three reasons why China’s development is important today:
One of the largest populations by size
Economic growth has been rapid
Heavily involved in world politics
In the 1950’s land reform by Mao Zedong brought agriculture and heavy industry to the forefront of China’s economy (Great Leap Forward)
The system put in place failed and resulted in famine in which many people died
Deng Xiaoping set forth Reform China in 1979 in which people were responsible for more land
Light industry became the focus of Reform China

22. Development and China
As a result of the reforms of the late 1970’s, trade and services has boomed in China
Initially relied on the Soviet Union for trade
Have now seen great success in foreign investment and trade as result of open-door policy
Tourism has also become big business since Deng’s reforms
Life sustenance in China has increased dramatically since Deng’s reforms
Self-esteem and freedom are still a goal in China and elsewhere

23. The Role of East Asia in the World
East Asia is regarded as highly as Europe and the United States as its economy continues thrive
Asian culture is becoming more and more widespread as religion, food, films, and other cultural components of life enter the global medium through globalization
China especially has become more globally connected and serves important roles in the world
Permanent member of the UN Security Council
Beijing 2008 Olympics