Who thought that after Christchurch in New Zealand, Japan would be the next target for an apocalyptic 7.4 magnitude earthquake. Japan, with its state of the art technology, pioneering in many different industries was hit a by devastating earthquake that took thousands of lives.
Geographically, Japan which is located at the Pacific Ring of Fire regularly experiences earthquakes but never before with this magnitude. Japan is perched on top of several converging tectonic plates. Geological instabilities cause around one thousand tremors each year. Many of the small ones go undetected by the public, and residents are used to taking medium-sized quakes in their stride.But what’s more worse than the extremely high magnitude earthquake was the wave surge that followed. Japan gave the word tsunami – meaning harbour wave – to the world. And once again, the destructive sea surges which have been recorded throughout the country’s history, has hit the country big this time.
Adding to the complexity of the problem is the damage of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant which posed highly dangerous threat of nuclear meltdown. Talking about hitting three birds with one stone.
Today, Japan is trying to rehabilitate itself. The Japanese government has said it will cost as much as 25 trillion yen or three hundred nine billion US dollars to rebuild the country after the deadly earthquake and tsunami. The cost is about six percent of Japan’s total economic output in 2010 and is the biggest estimate so far.
According to the World Bank, Japan will need up to five years to rebuild and recover from the damage caused. The devastation has been described as the country’s biggest crisis since the end of World War II. The confirmed death toll from the earthquake and tsunami is now nine thousand and seventy-nine with about twelve thousand still missing.
Amidst calamities, economic crises, natural disasters and the likes, Filipinos have always proven to the world how adaptive and strong they are. Even in the early days, the Philippines have gone through various foreign occupations and wars – Spanish, Japanese and Americans – all trying to get a grip of the riches of this Pearl of the Orient Seas.
Korean culture has always amazed many people. From movies to fashion sense, Koreans have made a style all on their own. Many Korean movies have made it to the Hollywood.
Another example was Il Mare, a 2000 South Korean film, starring Jun Ji-hyun and Lee Jung-jae. Il Mare, which means ‘The Sea’ in Italian, is the name of the seaside house which is the setting of the story. The Korean title of the movie, “Siworae” means “time-transcending love.” The two protagonists both live there two years apart in time, but are able to communicate through a mysterious postal box. The film was later remade by Warner Brothers in 2006 as The Lake House starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves.
True to it, not only Asians are enthralled at what Korea can do but the west as well. Their hip,
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