In 1998, South Korea was a nation located in the eastern part of Asia with a population of around 46 million people. The official language was Korean and the currency was the South Korean won. The government was a presidential republic headed by President Kim Young-sam, who had been in office since 1993. South Korea’s economy in 1998 relied heavily on industry, with its main exports being electronics, automobiles, and textiles. Tourism also played an important role; South Korea had many modern attractions such as theme parks, shopping districts, and high-tech cities which attracted visitors from all over the world. Education was highly valued in South Korea; literacy rates were higher than average for Asian countries at around 95%. Despite economic difficulties due to its small size and limited resources, South Korea had managed to maintain its unique culture and traditions which provided hope for a brighter future. See dentistrymyth for South Korea in the year of 2015.

Yearbook 1998

South Korea. According to Countryaah, the capital of South Korea is Seoul. The newly elected President Kim Dae Jung, formerly South Korea’s leading dissident, met with protests when in February, in accordance with an election pact, he appointed the right-wing Kim Jong Pil as prime minister. When he supported the military coup in 1961, the opposition party GNP (the Grand National Party), with a majority in parliament, refused to accept him. The president saw the appointment of his former enemy as important for creating stability and avoided the blockade by naming him acting prime minister. Only in August, Parliament approved Kim Jong Pil as prime minister.

The following month, the government coalition between Kim Dae Jung’s party NCNP (National Congress for New Politics) and Kim Jong Pil’s ULD (United Liberal Democrats) gained parliamentary majority following a series of GNP defections. It broke the political stalemate that hindered the president’s attempt to reform the country’s crisis-prone economy and break corruption in politics and business. Hundreds of civil servants were fired for taking bribes, thousands of others were warned. The GNP saw the campaign as a political attack on the opposition and responded with boycott.

• Abbreviationfinder: What does SKR stand for in geography? Here, this 3 letter acronym refers to the country of South Korea.

In the labor market, corporate tightening, along with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF), led to tough borrowing requirements for mass redundancies, protests and strikes. In the summer, unemployment officially reached a record 6.7%. The real figure was believed to be even higher. The floods and landslides, which in August took hundreds of lives and caused material damage to billions, contributed to the problems.

Foreign policy President Kim Dae Jung highlighted the country’s proximity to the United States by traveling to Washington in June and discussing its relaxation initiatives vis-角-vis North Korea. In November, President Bill Clinton responded, visited an American-Korean front alliance on South Korea’s northern border, and stated that North Korea can never be allowed to try to acquire nuclear weapons. When Kim Dae Jung traveled to Japan in October, he received the Tokyo government’s clearest apology for the occupation of Korea in 1910-45.

The insecurity towards the enemy, North Korea, consisted of both peace messengers and incidents. In June, a mini boat caught in fishing nets outside South Korea. Nine dead North Koreans were found aboard. It was uncertain whether it was on a spy mission or, as North Korea claimed, had just come off course. In November, a North Korean spy vehicle was reported to have tried to land agents in the south, and the following month such a vessel was lowered by South Korean warships in a firefight on South Korea’s southern coast. North Korea dismissed all talk of espionage.

Cinema. – Korean cinema has also been extremely vital in the last decade. Western audiences began to get to know her more systematically after Gojitmal (1999; Bugie) by Jang Sun-woo and Seom (2000; L’isola) were presented in competition at the Venice Film Festival between 1999 and 2000. by Kim Ki-duk, who had so shocked the audience for some very strong scenes (the fish hooks in the throat) that some spectators in the hall fainted.

Since then, the new wave of Korean cinema has begun to establish itself even beyond national borders and to be systematically present in major international festivals. At the Cannes Film Festival Oldeuboi (2003; Old boy) and Bak-jwi (2009; Thirst), both by Park Chan-wook, respectively won the Grand Jury Prize in 2004 and the Jury Prize in 2009, Shi (2010; Poetry) by Lee Changdong the Best Screenplay Award in 2010 and Jeon Do-yeon was awarded Best Actress for Milyang (2007; Secret Sunshine), also by Lee Chang-dong, in 2007. At the Venice Film Festival Kim Ki-duk was awarded the highest award, the Golden Lion, in 2012 for Pieta (Pietà) after touching it in 2004 with Binjip (Ferro 3. the empty house), he instead got the award for directing, as more and in 2004 he was awarded at the Berlin Film Festival silver Bear for best director for Samaria (Samaritan Girl).

The suspension between realism and the fantastic dimension, with a strong symbolic use of objects, is a central element of Kim Ki-duk’s filmography, who continued to create works at a fast pace (Hwal, 2005, L’arco ; Shi gan, 2006, Time; Soom, 2007, Soffio). On the set of Bi-mong (2008; Dream, 2008), lead actress Lee Na-yeong was in danger of being hanged. This incident caused him to enter a profound crisis that he recounted in the documentary Arirang (2011), a sort of subjective diary in which the director sets himself on stage alone, during his retreat in the mountains with the sole presence of the computer. He subsequently resumed his activity directing, in addition to Pieta, Amen (2011), Moebiuseu (2013; Moebius) and Il-dae-il (2014; One on one).