Difference Between Similar Terms and Objects

Difference Between Korea And Japan

koreaKorea vs Japan

Korea was formerly a single country but was divided towards the end of the send world war into the North and South Korea. The area occupied by these 2 countries is known as the Korean peninsula. Japan is an archipelago of islands forming a country just off the South Korean coast separated by the Strait of Korea.

North and South Korea together have a land area of 84,972 Sq Miles with a combined population of 70,944,029. North Korea has a population density of 480 per Sq Mi while South Korea has a density of 1260 per Sq Mi. Japan in comparison has an area of 145,898 Sq Mi with a population of 127,449,000 and a density of 870 per Sq Mi.

Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910 and remained in the Japanese control till the end of the Second World War in 1945. After the defeat of Japan the Japanese forces in Korea surrendered to the Soviet and the American armies. This lead to the Korean War during 1950-1953 leaving the country divided in two. The North Korea and the South Korea. The North followed the Soviet ideology communism and the South following the American example of capitalist liberal democracy.

The Japanese recorded history dates back to 400 BC. However, human bones and fossils have been discovered in Japan dating back to the Paleolithic period. After the Second World War Japan has emerged as a developed country and also the world’s second largest economy. Japanese enjoy very high standards of living.

Koreans speak their own language called Hangul. This is known to be the most planned language in history and the alphabet is extremely easy to learn. Japanese is the language spoken in Japan. This language has 3 scripts mainly derived from Chinese.

Modern day Korean cuisine mainly consists of simple food. This is probably due to the fact of continued periods of subjection and food shortages. A typical meal would consist of soups, kimchi (pickled vegetables), main rice or noodle dish and a side dish. The Japanese cuisine is a bit more elaborate and they still observe some rituals while eating and serving. Some of the Japanese dishes are world famous like Sushi and Tempura.
Both Korean and Japanese people enjoy wrestling however both these countries have their own form of wrestling. The Korean wrestling is known as Sirium and is the traditional national sport. The Japanese wrestling is known as Sumo and all of us have already seen this at least once.

1.Korea is the peninsula on the eastern part of Asian mainland while Japan is an Archipelago of islands off the Korean coast.
2.Korea was divided after Japan surrendered its occupation of the Korean Peninsula.
3.North Korea is a communist country with a closed economy while both South Korea and Japan are developed countries with the fastest growing economies.
4.Korean speak their own language called Hangul which was invented in the 15th century while Japanese has evolved from various Chinese dialects and uses 3 scripts mainly from Chinese.
5.Korean cuisine is much simpler compared to Japanese.
6.Korean wrestling is called Sirium and the Japanese wrestling is called Sumo.

Search DifferenceBetween.net :

Custom Search

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (19 votes, average: 1.95 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...


See more about : , ,


  1. Doubt:

    1. Hangul is a name of CHARACTERS. It was invented by King Sejeon around 15th century.

    2. Japanese is no dialect of Chinese, though the language took chinese characters for a part of writing and lots of loanwords.

    Plus tips:

    1. Koreans like fabricating. History, origins, products, etc… Some blokes even pretend as if they are japanese, so that they can give you a bad impression against Japan.

    2. A korean kindergarten teached children how to draw Japan-hatred pictures. It was exhibited in a Subway station FOR REAL.
    cf. http://shiratorijun.blog4.fc2.com/blog-entry-22.html

    • “Koreans like fabricating. History, origins, products, etcâ€¦ Some blokes even pretend as if they are Japanese, so that they can give you a bad impression against Japan”

      How ironic — this is exactly what some Korea-hating Japanese do. Have you seen the crap that’s on YouTube every day? As for fabricating history, if you ask actual Koreans, not Korea-haters from — ahem, certain other Asian countries — you’ll see it’s not Koreans who are spreading those lies. No Korean believes Confucius was Korean, for example, or that Korea invented ‘Chinese’ characters. And as for the the drawings, have you seen the anti-Korea crap they put out in Japan? Just look up the graphic novel Kenkanryu — what did Korea ever actually do to Japan to merit such hosbility? At least they have historical reasons for resenting Japan. Japan invaded, harassed, occupied and ruthlessly exploited Korea over centuries. Korea has always been the victim of Japan, never the other way around.

      • Wah..I feel offeneded. I am a Korean and for some reason a lot of people say that Koreans fabricate and point fingers at my kind! Korans fabricating is really a number#1 stereotype of Koreans. Where did that even come from?! Koreans don’t fabricate. Yes, I understand that there are Japanese hating Koreans and all, doing very offensive things to offend Japanese people. I love^^ Japan and its cultures, in fact I love the entire world and its amazing history and culture but I understand why there are some Koreans who go to the extreme to show hatred for Japan. My grand parent from my mothers side barely spoke ever since they were in school when Japan invaded Korea in WWII. My grand parents principles were Japanese during the Japanese control. The students were to learn Japanese and forget Korean. Many younger Koreans at that time didn’t even know that they were Koreans becuase they were born during Japan’s control over Korean, they’d be severely physically punished by their own principle if they were to speak any Korean. So when my grand parents visited us or vice versa, they tended to mix some japanese words in their conversation on accident without knowing..now there gone though..T–T Japan in fact tried to invade Korea sometimes in the 1500′s but you know history of the world has many invasions and wars. But what I am curious about is why is that some Japanese also hate Koreans? Some people said that it was because Koreans open up Japanese restraunts in America. I was pretty amused because Koreans do open some Japanese resraunts in America, my dad opened up a Korean Japanese restraunt in the US of A^^. I told my mom about the Japan hate Korea for restraunt thing and she said that they should be thankful for us spreading and getting Japanese food to be well known in America. I laughed at that. I didn’t know any other response, honestly. Well I tried to be as neutral and safe as I could. I really did’t mean to offend anyone but I know some of you might tell me to bugger off or say that you were offended or what so ever. I’m sorry if I offended any one. I really didn’t have any intention of doing so. Have a good day!!

      • Wow, I couldn’t have said it better myself. The fact that Korean’s tend to fabricate is a recently created stereotype by conservative Japs. If you’ve seen some of the anti-Korean videos on YouTube and read the comments, you’ll understand why. It would be wrong to say that Korea does not over exaggerate its history from time to time in its favor, but then again, which country in this world doesn’t? Heck, if anything, Japan fabricates more than Korea. Let’s presume you didn’t know anything about history and read some Japanese sources on WW2 or the Korean occupation, you’d end up thinking Japan was a very generous county who fought against the West to defend Asia.

        • I am a Korean. Japan and Korea is next to each to other. and comparing those two countries to judge which is better than the other is only to make things worse. While Government and some people do mistake, we should work on how to step forward rather than trying to beat neighbour country. Japan is a amazing country that has high standard of culture and technology. I also am proud of my country, too. The positive question would be “what kind of strength or advantage of each country.” Don’t spend time on hating each other. The best country is the one who try to work on peace and friendship, not on a sense of superior.

    • Racism against Japanese People in China

      Leading up to, during, and following World War II, Japan committed many atrocious acts in China and much of the Pacific Rim (with Korea also suffering greatly). This is something that should be redressed by Japan, and not ignored.

      However, two wrongs do not make a right – and racism against Japanese people in China is wrong.

      Some children in China are taught hate songs against Japanese people in elementary school – and history books in China that deal with Japan focus almost exclusively on the terrible things Japan did around World War II, ignoring much of Japan’s recent history.

      The fact that Japan is now a mostly pacifist country is not part of the general awareness of a person who grows up in China. Instead, the popular conception of Japan in today’s China casts Japan as a huge and dangerous threat.

      There also seems to be more slurs against Japanese people than against any other group of people

  2. I have a few questions:

    1) What’s the difference between Japanese girls and Korean girls? I mean, like stereotypically.. sorry, I don’t mean to offend anyone but i just wanna know.. like is there any way, maybe a type speaking or type of dressing or hairstyles that Koreans do which Japanese girls don’t? Or what do some people usually say is the difference between them?

    2) Same question for the guys. What’s the difference between Korean boys/men and Japanese boys/men?

    3) Are Chinese people considered superior to Korean and Japanese people? As in, u know, “stereotypically”..

    4) Are Asian people who can speak English considered sort of “cooler” than everyone else? Lets say in a high school, if you’re a girl who can speak English, does that mean a lot of guys will like you?

    5) Does that mean you’ll find a higher percentage of people who can speak English in rich schools than in poor schools?


    • 1) Both Korean and Japanese girls are individually unique and like any other girls around the world, but stereotypically and in a general sense they have some differences. If you were to look at the modern cultures at a glance but not truly in depth, Korean girls may seem more outgoing. In relationships some like to act cute or charming and not so much sexy as western girls act. From some observation the korean youth seems more westernized in some ways because they seem to have more fun. Japanese girls seem to be more reserved and keep more things private. But, all traits can be seen in both countries, this are just some observations from what it seems they like to promote in the media.

      2) Boys, like the female gender are unique in both countries. Korean boys seem to like to have more fun but Japanese boys probably do as well, and this goes for all ages. I think Korean men like to drink even though they take business seriously (some get drunk on the streets of Seoul after work). Japanese men may be a bit more reserved but truly I don’t know for sure.

      3) No, I don’t really see messages from Japanese media about China but I know Korea sees china as a business partner/rival etc. Korea also admires their culture and medicine etc. There are probably political feelings that I don’t know about.

      4) From what I’ve heard, English is definitely interesting in both countries. In Japan it may be new for the environment to speak or attempt to speak English, but generally people won’t be going crazy. Japanese tend to be surprised if foreigners are fluent in Japanese more than anything. In korea since English is admired for business and international affairs, it is “cooler” in education environments and since Korean students generally strive to learn English, they might think English fluency is a good asset to have in a friend. Of course these are all observations.

      5) I don’t think English is as much of a focus in Japan but it is taught, but in korea it is everywhere, so it isn’t really separated by class. There are various after school programs and media and signs are covered in english. There is so much exposure to english relative to Japan in korea, that it remains one of the major differences between the two countries.

    • @Kirstan,
      Koreans show more affection in public than Japanese when they are a couple, surely not much as westerners. Hugging and holding hands in public is very common in Korea where in Japan is seldom. Korean girls dress very classic while Japanese girls do to but more adventurous. In both countries pale skin is prized and girls seldom tan.
      Korean guys are definitely taller and bigger in general, look up world stats.
      Korean guys are more tempermental than Japanese guys in general.
      Both countries have an unhealthy drinking culture.
      Although both Korea and Japan borrowed much of their culture from China and admired China in the past but today both don’t have favorable opinion of the Chinese.
      Both countries rank moderate in English speaking ability.

  3. Our country is in a short distance from South Korea.
    I understand South Koreans.
    All people misunderstand South Koreans.
    They do not say truth.
    They do not know the true history of their own country.
    Their small number does not rape.
    Their small number does not use violence.
    Their small number does not prostitute itself.
    It is the insult to Asians.

    • umm… a racist troll…

    • @Asian
      You’re a disgrace ! Please learn your own history of Japanese imperial atrocities and fabrication.
      Which country invaded Asia and murdered millions of people? ummm..Japan.
      Which country for centuries copied Korea and China? ummm.. Japan.
      Which country copied written Chinese characters and use derived ancient Korean language to speak? ummm..Japan.
      Which country til this day is in conflict with four other countries over terriorial issues? ummm… Japan.
      Not saying Japanese people are bad just sad little trolls like this.
      Truth is we are very similar. Japanese people actually have Korean dna as there have been two great wave of people from the Korea who crossed the sea to Japan 400 BC then again 700 AD and intermixed with the islanders living there, Jamon people. And original small minority Ainu people of Japan were wiped out by the Japanese and forced to assimilate. Even the Japanese imperial family has Korean blood as the emperor of Japan even admitted to in 1992 or so. Ancient Korean tombs are found in Japan (Beakje kingdom of Korea)
      So as you can see we are very similar, both Altaic speaking people unlike the Chinese. Except Koreans are taller in general and lot of Japanese girls like that:)

    • Oh my god
      What the hell are you talking about? Hahaha
      I think you don’t say truth now.
      Well i know that teachers in japan dont teach right history to students and the students become like you stupid
      If you are human, why dont you study history again?

    • Well, Koreans and Japanese don’t hate each other. They just have problems with each other’s government and the past. And who on earth gives a crap about height?

      History is history. And I just want to say you should learn and apologize if your country did something wrong in the past even though you yourself did not do it.

      Look at how Germany apologized. That’s how I think Japan should apologize- formal, and sincere-. Not only Japan, that’s how every country should apologize if they did something wrong.
      And good grief,

      And the person who said Korea is a disgrace to Asia, what don’t you look at it from a third person’s view. Not just your own.

      Stop being stubborn and racist.
      Can’t we all just live in peace? For heavens sake

  4. Its kind of funny when caucasus society overly react to racist crimes when it involves African blacks or Jewish, but has no clue when it comes to Asians.

    Japanese did the same, if not worse, of what Nazi German did.

    chinese and Korean people hate Japs for that reason.
    Go google image Nanjing holocaust. Do I need to say more?

    At least Germans now formally regrets and apologizes, While Japs claim, they are all lies: there were no holocausts; like what neo-Nazis will claim there were no Jew killings.

    Its okay if YOU didn’t know. However, I tend to pity those Japs who were not taught about their ancestry crimes properly. Being ignorant is no crime.

  5. Right on “Truth”, you’re about as bad as the troll. You’re both bloody disgraces. Trying to make the whole entire nation of Japan sound like we’re all brainwashed with imperialism are ya?

    We know that our grandparents and grand grand parents have killed millions back in the war. I can apologize to you lot as much as you want, but at the end of the day, I’ll tell you that I didn’t personally kill them, and they just happened to be born in a powerless nation back when the whole world was a lot more primitive in terms of politics and issue solving. Pure sympathy can be felt to those who were victimized in the war though.

    However, if your government demands numerous transactions of money and ODA in the name of an apology, they can go screw themselves. Go and have a look for yourself in the Japanese foreign minister’s website how many times in the past we have apologized officially to China and South Korea and have a look at the amount of money we’ve paid every time we apologized.

    Right, copied China and Korea for centuries. You are correct. However, unfortunately there were things called boats back in the day, and quite frankly, people from what is regarded now as China, Korean peninsula and Japan all went back and forth and exchanged cultures and took each others’ better parts. It’s obvious human nature to do so.

    Copied Chinese characters? Oh really? Did you seriously think that we didn’t know that those Kanji just happen to look like Chinese characters? Didn’t have the slightest idea on that one, man.

    I’m struggling to figure out where all your little “facts” came from, perhaps from a very conservative Korean BBS (bit like 2chan) perhaps? Look, you only have to think logically here – Japanese language derived from ancient Korean language? Maybe so, that could quite possibly be one theory, but I didn’t know that they’ve had voice recorders back then, how can any scholar prove that the ancient scrolls that they might come across sounded as per the hypothesis?

    Territory. Yes. It is because this day that we fight over these islands. No matter how many little historical facts the other countries throw at us, we do not give two flying craps, as those territories are rightfully ours as per the international laws, and stop having a fit because you didn’t get any candy. You all didn’t give a single damn about those islands until natural resources were found on/near them. Now you’re all just buzzing around them like flies over generous chunk of untouched food. Stop using excuses like “Oh we didn’t have enough power to speak up against territorial issues back in the day”. There’s a fair international court for that.

    Congratulation for finding out that us Japanese has Korean blood! Whoo-hoo, nothing better than a cold beer after finding out on wikipedia that few of the thousand DNA trace test conducted showed that Japanese blood contains Korean blood! Yeah!

    Really? Do we really need a DNA tracing to find out that Japanese DNA has Korean DNA in them? Guess what, WE’RE ALL ASIANS MATE, OPEN YOUR EYES!

    Yes you are correct also on the Emperor possibly having Korean blood in him. It is written in Shoku-Nihongi (written in 791A.D.) that a daughter of Byakusai (Baekje)’s king (King’s name is Bunei, if you want to know) have been welcomed into the imperial family of Japan, and gave birth to the 50th emperor of Japan.

    However, according to common sense, that does not make him or the entire Japanese population Korean. It is in our tradition to honor the emperor, so we will continue to do so regardless of what other bs people may come up with. But according to you, we’re all Africans anyway so what the heck.

    As for Ancient Korean tomb found in Japan, that’s bit like well I know, it’s corny, but the chicken or the egg dilemma. There’s just not enough evidence to say what came first. I’m sorry.

    Ah yeh, “Except Koreans are taller in general and lot of Japanese girls like that:)” – South Korean average height is 1.7374m and Japanese average is 1.707m. Oh man, the South Koreans beat us by like MASSIVE 0.0304m. I should probably kill myself while I have some honor left, someone cut my god damn head off! Those Japanese girls really notice the 0.0304m and choose the Koreans over the Japanese for that!

    Trivia! North Koreans are 1.656 m high in average. You guys MUST have different DNA according to research conducted by dudes with PhD in letsalljustgeneraliseeverythingisics. This is true, as letsalljustgeneraliseeverythingisicists have the most advanced DNA testing equipment in the world, just like the rest of the other scientists.

    Oh, and lovely copy and paste skills man, I really do not give a single crap about you to be completely honest as you’re just another slightly opinionated robot in the twine of the internet, but I thought I’d do the right thing and defend rest of the Japanese population against the likes of you copy & pasters.

    As for those who are reading this comment, you’re all welcome to judge the entire Japanese population based on my comment.

  6. According to OECD research, Japanese are taller than Mexican, Portuguese and Korean.

    If you visit Japan, you can see non-Asian looking Japanese and they are Jomon/Ainu Native Japanese blooded:



    There is not such people in Korea.

    • @Ainu, did you not see in the prior comments that YouTube is not to be trusted when it comes to Korea-Japan history and relations? There are way too many lies and hate messages being propagated by Korea-haters in Japan. Don’t believe me? Check out the clip titled “Japanese Girl Wants to Kill Koreans like Nanking Massacre”. It’s pure, raw racist hatred.

  7. Also, the Ainu are just a tiny part of the present Japanese population, and most Japanese do have typical Asiatic facial features (I have been to both Japan and Korea). Many Koreans and Japanese are indistinguishable from each other (I say ‘many’, because overall Koreans tend to look more northern Asian while Japanese tend toward southern Asian looks, but this is just a generalization). And if you disregard such peripherals as fashion, hairstyle and mannerisms (and of course those huge plastic surgery-derived anime eyes), the similarities are even closer.


  1. Difference Between Kickboxing and Boxing | Difference Between | Kickboxing vs Boxing
  2. Difference Between American ginseng and Korean ginseng | Difference Between | American ginseng vs Korean ginseng
  3. Difference Between India and Japan | Difference Between | India vs Japan

Leave a Response



Protected by Copyscape Plagiarism Finder