Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 13-6
This is the food floor in the multistory Lotte
Department Store in Seoul.
Photo courtesy of B. A. Weightman.
Improvements in the economy will not necessarily
translate into positions for younger workers. Take the gi-
ant Lotte Department Store as an example (Figure 13-6).
Lotte has developed a checkout counter system that re-
places workers with personal digital assistants and is
planning to install these in its 20 stores nationwide. The
company expects to replace at least 70 percent of its
workers, mostly in their 20s.
The government is trying to help. In 2004, it spent
nearly 500 million dollars in subsidies to companies that
hire jobless youth. Job creation programs last between
six months and a year and are designed to give young
people experience and a chance to improve their job
skills. Government ministries have opened up 142,000
positions and hope to stabilize the youth unemployment
rate at 5 percent over the next four years.
South Korea has managed to avoid a serious impact
of the recent economic downturn experienced by Japan
and the United States among a spate of other countries.
This is thanks to strong export growth, low interest rates,
and major stimulus expenditure by the government. In
fact, it was the only developed economy to actually ex-
pand in 2009.
climate, volcanic mountains, waterfalls, and sandy
beaches. It is a traditional honeymoon destination
and possesses fruit plantations, fish farms, and
abundant seafood. It can get cold and even snow in
winter. Consequently , crops such as citrus are
grown in protected areas or in heated greenhouses.
Because of its historic spatial isolation, Cheju
language and culture evolved differently from the
mainland. Cheju has a matriarchal society . It also
has women who deep sea dive without scuba gear
or oxygen. These
haenyo
gather conch, abalone, and
other seafood. T Today, , all
haenyo
are older than 40
and young women are not interested in pursuing
this occupation. Evidently , this is a dying art.
In contrast to modern skyscrapers in the two
major cities, village houses are made with rough
stones and their thickly thatched roofs are tied
down with wide rubber bands to protect them from
howling winter winds. Houses are heated from un-
derneath by the
ondol
system. In winter, heat from
an outside fire is fanned into channels under the
house. The warm air rises to heat the room and the
thick straw roof keeps it inside (Figure 13-7).
Cheju is known for its carved basalt figures
called
dol Hareubang (harabang)
(Figure 13.7)
.
These mushroom-like statues are called “stone
grandfathers.” Interestingly , their eyes are more
Western than Asian. Their origin is unknown.
Officials who are developing the project boast
of South Korea' s and Cheju' s geographic position
between China and Japan. Cheju is two hours flying
The Development
of Cheju (Jeju-do)
In 2002, the government announced plans to de-
velop the island of Cheju off the southern coast.
The island is very attractive with its relatively mild
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