University of Cebu, Banilad, Cebu City

COLLEGE OF LAW

In Partial Fulfillment in the Course Requirement

in Environmental Law:

Climate Negotiations in Class- Simulation: A

Background Paper of South Korea

Submitted by:
Christian Marc E. Lianza
Reality Mae S. Tabernero

Submitted to:
Atty. Rose Liza Eisma Osorio

September 15, 2015

1st Semester A.Y. 2015-2016

SOUTH KOREA

BACKGROUND
An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by
Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. In 1910, Tokyo formally
annexed the entire Peninsula. Korea regained its independence following Japan's
surrender to the United States in 1945. 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). During the Korean War (1950-53),
US troops and UN forces fought alongside ROK soldiers to defend South Korea from
a DPRK invasion supported by China and the Soviet Union. A 1953 armistice split
the Peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. PARK Chung-hee
took over leadership of the country in a 1961 coup. During his regime, from 1961 to
1979, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to
roughly 17 times the level of North Korea. South Korea held its first free presidential
election under a revised democratic constitution in 1987, with former ROK Army
general ROH Tae-woo winning a close race. In 1993, KIM Young-sam (1993-98)
became the first civilian president of South Korea's new democratic era. President
KIM Dae-jung (1998-2003) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his contributions to
South Korean democracy and his "Sunshine" policy of engagement with North
Korea. President PARK Geun-hye, daughter of former ROK President PARK Chunghee, took office in February 2013 and is South Korea's first female leader. South
Korea held a non-permanent seat (2013-14) on the UN Security Council and will host
the 2018 Winter Olympic Games. Discord with North Korea has permeated interKorean relations for much of the past decade, highlighted by the North's attacks on
a South Korean ship and island in 2010, multiple nuclear and missile tests, and a
five-month closure of the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex in 2013. 1
Population: 48,636,068 (July 2010 estimate)
Capital: Seoul
Bordering Country: North Korea
Land Area: 38,502 square miles (99,720 sq km)
Coastline: 1,499 miles (2,413 km)
Highest Point: Halla-san at 6,398 feet (1,950 m)
1 Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). Brazil. In The World Factbook. Retrieved from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html
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South Korea is a country that is located in eastern Asia on the southern part
of the Korean Peninsula. It is officially called the Republic of Korea and its capital
and largest city is Seoul. Most recently, South Korea has been in the news due to
growing conflicts between it and its northern neighbor, North Korea. The two went
to war in the 1950s and there have been years of hostilities between the two
nations but on November 23, 2010, North Korea attacked South Korea.2
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE OF SOUTH KOREA
Geographically, South Korea is located on the southern part of the Korean
Peninsula below the 38th parallel of latitude. It has coastlines along the Sea of Japan
and the Yellow Sea. South Korea's topography consists mainly of hills and mountains
but there are large coastal plains in the western and southern parts of the country.
The highest point in South Korea is Halla-san, an extinct volcano, which rises to
6,398 feet (1,950 m). It is located on South Korea's Jeju Island, which is located
south of the mainland.

2 Central Intelligence Agency. (24 November 2010). CIA - The World Factbook South Korea. Retrieved from:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/ks.htmlency. (24 November 2010). CIA - The World Factbook - South
Korea. Retrieved from:https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/ks.html
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The climate of South Korea is considered temperate and rainfall is heavier in

the summer than in the winter due to the presence of the East Asian Monsoon.
Winters are cold to very cold depending upon altitude and summers are hot and
humid.3
CULTURE
Until 1948, Korea was a single country on the world map but political unrest
resulted in a division of the region into two countries with different political
ideologies. However, culture and traditional values of the region still bind these two
countries with each other. The Korean language is spoken in both the countries and
a similar family system is followed in both countries. Globalization has made certain
changes to the family patterns and social structure, predominantly in South Korea
because of its flexible policies, which is not the case with North Korean politics. As
good and old habits die hard, both the Korean countries are still deeply rooted in
their culture and traditions. Influenced by the philosophical brilliance of Confucius,
Koreans believe in family, community and society, unlike western ideology of
individualism.

Korean Beliefs and Practices

Koreans believe in sincerity and following protocols while meeting, eating,
praying or even celebrating is very important. Let us have a look at different Korean
etiquette in this section of the article.
Bowing is equivalent to the handshake in Korean culture. Bowing means showing
gratitude and respect to the person you are meeting with. The younger generations
have blended the western culture with their native culture by shaking hands after
bowing to each other.
3 Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Korea, South: History, Geography, Government, and
Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved
from: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107690.html
4 The Korean Hanbok ,Retrieved from:
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/cel/hanbok.htm
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Gifts have remained an integral part of their culture; however, gifts are always
given according to the capacity and affordability of the other person because
Koreans firmly believe in reciprocating. The quantity or numbers also add value to
your gifts; seven is considered as a lucky number so anything in multiples of seven
will be accepted heartily. However, they avoid giving anything that falls in the
multiple value of four because Koreans consider four as an unlucky number. Red,
yellow and pink colors denote happiness and prosperity in the Korean culture. The
use of white, black or green colors for wrapping is offensive and must be avoided.
Korean food and drinks add flavor to their traditional lifestyle and rice malt
served

withkimchi is

their

specialty.

Cold

noodles, bibimbap, bulgogi and dakgalbi are some of the world famous Korean
dishes. However, dining and eating means following a strict protocol. No indoor
farewells, the removal of shoes before entering the house or dining room, and most
importantly, only male hosts will serve the drinks.
Buddhism is the main religion in Korea and its teachings reflect in Korean lifestyle,
culture and arts. Numerous Buddhist statues, monuments and temples have been
included

in

the

National

Treasure

and

Monument

list

by

the

government. Yungdrung is major symbol of Korean Buddhism and it can be seen

outside temples and religious places in Korea. Korean culture is incomplete without
pottery and ceramics. Pottery is Korea's cultural emblem and it started thousands of
years ago. Today, celadon, a Korean blue-glazed pottery, is famous all over the
world. This pottery style was passed on to the Japanese by the Koreans. 5

ECONOMY
Economics and Land Use in South Korea
Recently, South Korea's economy has begun to boom considerably and it is
currently considered a high-tech industrialized economy. Its capital, Seoul, is a
megacity and it is home to some of the world's largest international companies like
5 The Korean Hanbok ,Retrieved from:
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/cel/hanbok.htm
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Samsung and Hyundai. Seoul alone generates over 20% of South Korea's gross
domestic

product.

The

largest

industries

in

South

Korea

are

electronics,

telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding and steel

production. Agriculture also plays a role in the country's economy and the chief
agricultural products are rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit, cattle, pigs,
chickens, milk, eggs and fish.

GDP PER CAPITA

$35,300 (2014 est.)
$34,100 (2013 est.)
$33,200 (2012 est.)6

Related statistics
Electricity consumption per capita

10,161.95 kWh (2011)

CO2 emissions per capita

11.49 metric tons (2010)

Population

50 million (2012)7

South Koreas Viewpoints on Issues Related to Climate Change

In the advent of climate change that is caused by global warming, is
increasingly recognized as a major threat to mankind's survival. Thus, climate
change has both direct and modifying influences on environmental, social, and
public health systems undermining human health as a whole.
6 Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). Brazil. In The World Factbook. Retrieved from:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html
7 Energy consumption (2012). Washington DC. Retrieved from:

http://www.worldbank.org/

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Climate change will seriously affect agriculture, forestry and fisheries in South
Korea, with an impact on health, the coastal and marine environment and terrestrial
ecosystems, and an increase in natural disasters. The government has been
carrying out research into the effects of climate change on

socio-economic and

natural systems as well as attempting to develop adaptation measures to mitigate

these impacts.

Climate change will result in rising water temperature and sea level

around the Korean Peninsula, which will ultimately affect the marine ecosystem and
impact on fisheries' resources and fish and shellfish production.

Vulnerability to Climate Change and its Impact in Korea

According to Department of Environmental Cooperation Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade that in the span of the last century average temperature has risen
by 1.5C (global average has risen by 0.6C). Temperature has risen from 12C in
the 20th century to 13.5C in the 21st century even when excluding the effects of
urbanization, there was an increase of 0.4 -0.8C(larger impact of urbanization
rather than global warming). Moreover, during the past 20 years, annual rainfall and
days with heavy rainfall has increased in the Southern region of Korea.
Consequently, annually it increases rainfall by 7% and days with heavy rainfall by
23%. In addition, there is a decrease of annual number of rainy days by 14% and
occurrence of extreme natural disasters such as the heaviest snowfall in 32years,
the worst draught in history, and the heaviest rainfall in 37years, are rising in
frequency and intensity. Thus, it is estimated that the average climate will rise 1.2
by the 2020's, 2.4C by the 2050's, and 4.0C by the 2080's.
The impact of Climate Change also overarches its effect to the agricultural
sector, regions ideal for cultivation will proceed northward and expand due to global
warming. Cultivation areas for warm season fruits including tangerine, citron, and
kiwi fruit will expand and cultivation areas for temperate fruit trees such as apples,
pears, peaches, grapes, and other agricultural products are expected to face
8 Energy and Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.zeroco2.no/projects/southkorea
9 Susann Schfer, Climate Change Adaptation in South Korea Environmental Politics
in the Agricultural Sector, 2015
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difficulties if global warming continues. Furthermore, parts of the region cultivating

apples may have to abandon future cultivation and the possibility of cultivating
subtropical fruit trees in Jeju Island is expected, but regions growing cool-season
vegetables will have to move north, due to a rise in average temperature, frost
damage has decreased yet the damage from noxious insects has increased. Thus,
there is a rise in frequency and intensity of damage due to agricultural atmosphere
disaster. This includes the frequency of typhoon, hurricane, heavy snow, drought,
hail, yellow sand storms.10
In Forestry there could be a change of air composition, such as the increase
in density of CO2, and the extension of rearing period is anticipated to increase the
productivity of mountains and forests. On the contrary, limiting factors such as
forest fires, landslides, outbreaks of insects, pests and plant pathogens may occur
and may cause further of forest destruction. Hence, trees more acclimatized to
colder environments such as pine trees may decline in number due to rise in winter
temperature.11
Moreover, there lies a possibility that the rise in water temperature will change the
surrounding temperate waters of Korean Peninsula to subtropical waters, in fact
during the past 30-40years, the catch of warm water fishery species such as
mackerel, anchovy, cuttlefish, etc. has increased. The winter fisheries for cuttlefish
has moved 60miles north and expanded during the past 20years. The catch of cold
water fisheries species such as walleye Pollack, codfish, etc. had decreased sharply
Hence, the rise in water temperature due to climate change may induce long-term
and large-scale red- tide, causing serious harm to the reproduction of fish and
shellfish and on the other hand, the rise in sea level will cause a serious loss of vast
tidal flats.
In line with this, the Department of Environmental Cooperation Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Trade provided that when the sea level rises by 1 meter, 1.2% of

10 Kim, B.J., R. H. Kripalani, J.H. Oh, and S.-E. Moon, 2002: Summer monsoon rainfall
patterns over South Korea and associated circulation features, Theor. Appl. Climatol
11 Jeong, H.S., 2010: Prospect of Korea Climate change. Rural and Environmental
Engineering Journal, pages 2223
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the total territory (2,643km) and 2.6% of the total population (approximately
1,250,000 people) will be vulnerably exposed to the flood.
While in the sector of health, there could be an additional casualties due to
intense heat will increase. In Korea, additional casualties due to intense heat were
recorded in 1994. In the northern regions of Gyeonggi province, there was a
consistent reoccurrence of malaria since 1993. According to the fourth report of the
United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global average
temperatures have increased over the past 100 years by 0.74, with a total
predicted rise of 6.4 by the century's end . A broad swathe of scientific research
has documented the adverse public health effects of such a shift in climate, such as
increased incidence of disease and overall mortality rates. The World Health
Organization (WHO) has outlined eight categories of risk factors for environmentrelated diseases. Climate change sits high on that list.

12

The Korea peninsula is experiencing a rise in average temperatures higher

than the global average. According to the Korea Meteorological Administration,
average temperatures have risen 1.7 over the past 100 years (from 1912 to
2008 . The winter period has shrunk by 22-49 days and phenomenally heavy rains
and high temperatures during the summer have resulted in heat waves that have
claimed the lives of 2,127 people between 1994 and 2005. Clearly, Korea is
vulnerable to the health impacts of climate change.

13

In this, we could wit that the effects of climate change are global and far-reaching,
we are primarily concerned about the human health effects, thus its effects also
overarches to the different sectors in South Korea. It is imperative that concrete
solutions must be materialized in order to address this kind of global problem.

12 World Health Organization. Quantification of the disease burden attributable to

environmental risk factors. [cited 2012 May 31]. Available
from:http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/summaryEBD_updated.pdf
13 . (Ministry of Environment. Health impacts of climate change and adaptation

measures Gwacheon: Ministry of Environment; 2005. p. 91. (Korean)

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SOURCES
Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). Brazil. In The World Factbook. Retrieved from
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html
Energy

consumption

(2012).

Washington

DC.

Retrieved

from:

http://www.worldbank.org/

Energy and Climate Change, Retrieve from: http://www.zeroco2.no/projects/southkorea

Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Korea, South: History, Geography, Government, and CultureInfoplease.com.Retrieved from: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107690.html

Kim, B.J., R. H. Kripalani, J.H. Oh, and S.-E. Moon, 2002: Summer monsoon rainfall
patterns over South Korea and associated circulation features, Theor. Appl. Climatol
Jeong, H.S., 2010: Prospect of Korea Climate change. Rural and Environmental
Engineering Journal, 109, 223

Koreas Vulnerability to Climate s Vulnerability to Climate Change and its Adaptation

Policies
Change
and
its
Adaptation
Policies,
Retrieved
from:
http://www.env.go.jp/en/earth/ap-net/documents/seminar/16th/kim_session3.pdf

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Policy Directions Addressing the Public Health Impact of Climate Change in South
Korea: The Climate-change Health Adaptation and Mitigation Program, Retrieve
from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3524451/
The Korean Hanbok , Retrieved from:
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/cel/hanbok.htm

World Health Organization. Quantification of the disease burden attributable to

environmental risk factors.[cited 2012 May 31].Available from:
http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/summaryEBD_updated.pdf

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