North and South Korea have grown apart as a result of their vastly differing ideologies. North Korea is a communist country with very strict restrictions on the movement of its citizens. The North Korean regime is well-known for its cruelty. South Korea, on the other hand, is a democratic country with an open-market economy. In a nutshell, both North and South Korea have radically different political and economic systems. They have been two nations for over sixty years.
By 1900 the United States had overtaken Britain in manufacturing, producing 24 percent of the world's output. After 1870 both Russia and Japan were forced by losing wars to abolish their feudal systems and to compete in the industrializing world.